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Adi Chopra and I share sheer passion for filmmaking - Dibakar

2013-02-09 12:32:00 (читать в оригинале)

Dibakar Banerjee speaks to Subhash K Jha about his short film with Nawazuddin Siddiqui & his 3-film deal with Yash Raj Films

Have you finished shooting your short film?
Yes, I've just completed it. Its part of a larger feature film that would have short films by three other directors Zoya Akhtar, Karan Johar and Anurag Kashyap. It's been a great experience shooting with Nawazuddin Siddiqui. It was almost like shooting the core of a film.

Please explain?
A feature-film on the concept level has 6-7 key scenes. Martin Scorsese said, 'When I think of a film I always think of those 6-7 key scenes'. For example in Raging Bull the key scene is Robert de Niro beating his head against the wall. So those key scenes become the core of your film.

Your short film will be part of the larger scheme of films called Bombay Talkies?
All the 4 films are stand-alone products. But they will be released together. A bit like Paris Je T'Aime. But the unifying theme would be cinema in Bombay Talkies. But we aren't making documentaries. We are celebrating cinema.

What's it like to work with Nawazuddin?
Fantastic. He is evolved into one of the best actors we have. Nawaz plays a normal everyday man who nurses a fascination for the world of cinema. He's a dreamer like all of us. But everyone's dream differs.

What's your short film called?
The overall compendium is called Bombay Talkies. The individual stories don't have titles.

You've been lately in the news of for your 3-film deal with Yash Raj Films. How did you and Aditya Chopra come together?
Frankly, we turned out to be quite similar in our goals. We both like making films. If I didn't make films I wouldn't know what to do with myself. Aditya Chopra and I share the sheer passion for filmmaking, all kinds of filmmaking. We both simply enjoy the process of filmmaking. I'll be directing two films for Yash Raj while a third film would be directed by Kanu Behl who wrote Love Sex Aur Dhokha.

But your next two directorial films are for Yash Raj?
They'd be Yash Raj-Dibakar Banerjee co-productions.

Since you're directing for Yash Raj would you incorporate elements from the Yash Raj school of filmmaking?
Not at all. It would be entirely what I'd like to make. When I met Aditya Chopra he made it very clear that he was only interested in the kind of cinema that I made. The whole idea of bringing me into Yash Raj is so I can bring my sensibility into the production house.

Which of your films has Aditya Chopra liked?
Khosla Ka Ghosla, Oye Lucky Lucky Oye and Love Sex Aur Dhokha. I am told he sees all the movies as part of the public audience. We had a long discussion on the climax of Shanghai. Aditya really liked Abhay Deol's performance in Shanghai.

The awards have eluded your latest film Shanghai?
I've never thought about it. But Khosla Ka Ghosla, Oye Lucky Lucky Oye and Love Sex Aur Dhokha got many awards. Shanghai got 8 Filmfare nominations this year. That's an honour. But the biggest award is that I am able to make the films that I want. Who would've thought that I'd be able to survive in this film industry with the kind of cinema that I make? My biggest award is that I'm at the right place at the right time. How many filmmakers are lucky enough to say that? I've a consistent audience that is growing. That gives me the confidence to go on. Ten years from now that audience would've travelled that distance with me. It's comforting thought. I want to live long enough to make the films that I want to.

Will an element of surprise continue to underscore your cinema?
Trying to say something new and finding new answers to the question of life is what I find most enriching in my work.

A short film then two back-to-back feature films for Yash Raj. Does that look like a lot of work to you?
Oh, it looks like a lot of play to me.

I hope to see you make an intense love story?
But first, I've to grow up for it. It isn't easy talking about love at 40 in cinema. Most love stories are about the 18-25 age bracket. To do a true love story you've to know the man-woman relationship. It takes a lifetime to know what oneself. Then it takes another lifetime to know a woman.

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Subhash K Jha speaks about Special 26

2013-02-09 12:32:00 (читать в оригинале)

Gimme raid, said the fake CBI officers who in a daredevil swoop-down on a well-known jewellery outlet in Mumbai in 1983, escaped with a loot worth lakhs. If done today it would have been a heist worth crores

But that's the devilish beauty of Neeraj Pandey's second feature film. Though set in a world where lakhs were a large fortune, he gives us a caper-thriller worth crores. The period detailing of the 1980s--the cars, hotel lobbies, clothes, hairstyle and most importantly, the attitude to wealth acquisition (scams were unknown back then, scandals were as far as the financials over-reachers went)-they all add a luster of underscored believability to the proceedings.

Morality is a prime casualty in the tale. And if crime should not be allowed to pay in our movies then this one doesn't qualify for a pat on the back from the moralists and purists, as the con-persons walk away from the scene of their outrageous crime richer and, yes, no wiser. They are coming back.

Get this. There are two sets of CBI officers on duty in this deviously-plotted tale of daredevilry and drama in real time. The real and the fake teams are helmed by Akshay Kumar and Manoj Bajpai. Both put in impressively understated performances. But since Akshay Kumar is a bigger star than Bajpai, he gets a bonus romantic track with the unimpressive Kajal Aggarwal. It's like listening to a soft ballad at a New Year's party minutes before midnight. It is sad to see M M Kreem's elegant melodies ('Mujh Mein Tu' is especially evocative) wasted in speed-breaking romantic interludes which add nothing to the plot.

The high energy-level in the plot-how high, just check out Manoj Bajpai's introductory chase sequence across Connaught Place, it leaves you panting for breath-- comes entirely from the way the quartet in the core group plans its various pseudo-CBI raids across the country from Kolkata to Mumbai, bringing to the plot a meticulousness that doesn't interfere with the entertainment quotient. After a point you don't care about the headlines. It all about the deadlines.

The goings-on resonate in rapid-fire speed, imparting the kind of urgency to the proceedings that Oceans 11 would have achieved if it wasn't a caper devoid of a moral centre, or Race 2 were it not devoid of a soul.

Special 26 achieves a rare synthesis of real-life credibility and cinematic flamboyance. Pandey's perception of cinematic license is liberating. The real-life incident involving the CBI scam which shook the nation and embarrassed the Rajiv Gandhi regime, is given a sensuous spin that culminates in a completely unexpected and spectacular culmination.

Cinema, Pandey tells us, is not only about being true to life. It is also about making life seem more engaging than it actually is. This is where the director's ability to punctuate socio-political anomalies with edge-of-the-seat excitement comes into full play. The mix of fact and fiction was earlier applied by Pandey to the theme of terrorism and the wounded individual in A Wednesday. No character who goes so audaciously against the law in Special 26 seems particularly wounded or terrorized. You suspect they are all in it for fun. The characters are not in search of a moral payoff and we are not eager to find it for them.

Pandey weaves vivid vignettes into the main heist-format from each of the four protagonist's personal lives. One of them played with compelling gusto by Kishore Kadam washes his wife's clothes at home when he is not away carrying out fake CBI raids with his comrades. Another, played equally effectively by Rajesh Verma lives in a sprawling joint family where everyone is caught sleeping while he sneaks out to do his clandestine thing with his pals. These moments define the individual and the crime.

Anupam Kher who has a sizeable part is Akshay Kumar's right-hand man. A nondescript family man with an unending brood of children Anupam is just your regular aging guy on the verge of retirement who wants to stop life from going by. Anupam's Sharmaji could've been the reluctant terrorist Naseeruddin Shah in Pandey's A Wednesday. Thankfully Sharmaji decided to protest against his inconspicuous life with some serious con-jobs and not something more...er, explosive. In one sequence where real CBI officer Manoj Bajpai grills him a hotel room Anupam nails the sequence's parodic poignancy to give the kind of performance that is flashed on video monitors to announce awards nominations.

Another reined-in but riveting performance comes from Jimmy Sheirgil as a conflicted cop who must redeem himself before the final reel. And what a resounding redemption! Jimmy who has lately shaped into one of our finer actors imparts a secret life to his duty-bound cop's role without being given leisurely space to do so.

Manoj Bajpai is in many ways the film's main protagonist. In fact he gets the kind of breathtaking breathless introductory chase sequence that Akshay Kumar would normally secure for himself. Curiously Bajpai underplays his part in a film where the performances are purposely italicized. In just a couple of shots with his screen wife we get a full measure of Bajpai's idealistic character.

"e;Would I get that raise or should I start accepting bribes?' Manoj asks his senior with a poker face. Luckily we're spared the senior's response.

Whether it's the lucid and long-limbed writing or the performances or maybe a yummy yoking of both, one doesn't know. But the narrative's over-all mood is one of urgent crises-point reached with minimum fuss and optimum energy. Pandey adds considerably to his narrative's credible climate by shooting on real locations, wherever the pseudo-raids take our 'hero' and his three unlikely associates.

Akshay Kumar as the mainstay of the governmental masquerade moves away from his by-now patent and predictable comic moves to deliver a surprisingly subtle unassuming performance. His Ajay Singh is a bit of a loner, a bit of an enigma. The only character he bonds with is Sharmaji .Kher and Akshay bring a very understated father-son feeling to their bonding.

Feelings are frequently hammered into place in the no-nonsense plot by a background score by Sanjoy Chowdhary which goes way over the top, with all punctuation marks done in italics . It was the same in Pandey's A Wednesday where the characters' silences were loudly interpreted and interrupted by the background score.

Strangely the film makes no use of the songs and music of the 1980s to evoke periodicity. Maybe Pandey didn't want to take the easy way out. Special 26 is not a film that favours soft creative options. It takes audacious the heist-story audaciously through a complicated maze of morality without getting snarled in sermons and messages. This is a film that engages you while letting the protagonists cross mischievously from one side of the line of morality to the other.

Special mention in this special caper must be made of the editing by Sree Narayan Singh which allows every character (even the small and cute cop's role played by Divya Dutta) to breathe as individuals, and the unassuming but illuminating cinematography by Bobby Singh which takes us to the cities of the raid without pausing to define the location.

Bobby died months ago.

But then this film wouldn't let him die.

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Akshay clears air on why he first refused Special 26

2013-02-09 12:32:00 (читать в оригинале)

Special 26 has released and accolades have already started coming in. What seemed like a good movie in the offering has indeed turned out to be the case with Neeraj Pandey spinning an entertaining tale once again after A Wednesday. The only complaint that an average moviegoer has from the filmmaker is the long gap between the two films.

While the stories have already been floating around how the filmmaker had pitched the film to Akshay Kumar long ago and an apparent 'miscommunication' with the superstar's office had resulted in the script not really finding a second helping (until Pandey tried his luck again), one hasn't really heard about the real reason from the man at the hot seat.

Well, this is what Akshay has to say.

"e;There is a huge difference when someone hands me a script and says 'Read it, let me know what do you think?', to coming back to me after a polite refusal a few years later with the narrators of the screenplay, and having it read to me with the passion of Robin Hood & the Prince of Thieves"e;, smiles Akshay.

"e;See, I am not a reader. I am not blessed with the skills of making something sound interesting. In my head I read a story like 'Once upon a time there was a bad man'. But then in the head of the scriptwriter, it sounds like 'Once upon a time there was a convict King who had 26 conniving con-men who would bring me riches that would blow the mind of the Queen of England herself!"e;, he adds in an animated tone.

This is exactly what happened when Pandey and his team approached Akshay again and the reading sessions that followed brought home an altogether different perspective for all involved, hence resulting in the actor consenting to do the film.

"e;So now you do understand why I enjoy script readings; they change my perception of a film"e;, he says, "e;That is exactly what changed my mind with Special 26 the second time round. Instead of giving me something to put in my back pocket and read later, Neeraj Sir gave me something to remember for a long time - 'A True Story' which I truly cherish!"e;

Well Akshay, given the kind of feedback that has been pouring in, one can well imagine you and Neeraj share a hearty laugh over turning out to be second time lucky!

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Check out Baby Azad on sets of PK

2013-02-09 12:32:00 (читать в оригинале)


Just a couple of days back, we saw images of Aamir Khan dressed in beige jacket and a ghagra on sets of PK. Now we came across an image of Aamir's little bundle of joy, baby Azad, on the sets of papa dearest's film. Currently being shot in Rajasthan, the schedule will last for two months. Anushka will join the team later in February. Apparently, she plays an alcoholic in the film.

PK is said to be a political satire about God and godmen. Directed by Rajkumar Hirani, the film also features Sanjay Dutt in a prominent role.

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The Big Deal Salman- Star Network tie up

2013-02-09 12:32:00 (читать в оригинале)

Given the impressive success ratio of Salman Khan starrers over the past few years, Star Network struck a deal with the actor for obtaining satellite rights of all his upcoming films in the next five years.

"e;Apart from making good money at the box-office, his films also receive overwhelming TRPs. Keeping in mind his successful track record, we went ahead and struck a deal with him,"e; says Hemal Jhaveri, executive vice-president and general manager, Star Gold and Movies OK.

As per the contract, Star Gold (Star Network) gets the exclusive satellite rights to broadcast all films featuring Salman Khan that releases between January 2013 to December 2017 - which may include Kick, produced by Sajid Nadiadwala, Sohail Khan's Radhe, No Entry Mein Entry a sequel to No Entry produced by Boney Kapoor and also Sooraj Barjatya's family drama.

First of its kind

While earlier such deals about satellite rights were between the channels and the producer/studios (of the films), this is the first time that a channel locked a deal with an actor.

Talking about this one of a kind deal, film-maker Ramesh Sippy opines, "e;Today all top actors have their production houses. They also have shares and stocks in the media and TV channels. So such deals are not surprising. Big stars will always have a hold over the market."e;

Who gets the money?

Interestingly, since it's a contract between a channel and an actor, Star Network has announced that it will pay Rs. 500 crore to the actor. It can be thus assumed, that each Salman Khan film will approximately be priced at Rs. 50 crore and that the actor will do two films on an average, per year.

So, with channels now approaching the stars directly, should the producers worry about their business in terms of the satellite rights? When Screen contacted Subhash Ghai, who has announced a film with Khan, this is what he had to say, "e;It is an open business, such business models keep changing. With money, comes power and people with power get a lion's share of profits. Let it be put to practical use, then we shall talk about it. Everybody will get their share of profit. Mera hissa divide hoke mujhe mil jayega."e;

The Naysayers

While Star Network celebrates this first of its kind deal, Jayantilal Gada, CMD Pen India Pvt Ltd, an exclusive agency for Zee Network which takes care of their movie business, points out certain loop holes in this new venture and calls it an impractical affair.

"e;Rs. 500 crore is a huge sum amount when it comes to buying satellite rights for films. I don't think Rs. 500 crore would only be restricted to buying satellite rights, there is much more to the story than what is being revealed to the media,"e; he says.

Though a difficult task, Saurabh Tiwari, ex-programming head of Colors and Imagine TV feels that it is possible for the deal to work out. "e;I am sure recovering Rs. 500 crore would be a difficult task for channels with single platform, but considering that Star Network has so many channels belonging to various genres, it should be easy for them,"e; he says, adding, "e;Today all the leading GECs are separated by only a few TRPs in terms of ranking, and one good weekend movie is a game changer. They have booked Salman Khan's films for Rs. 500 crore for five years and by showing this content on different channels of their network, I think they can easily recover the money and make a profit."e;

Personal agenda

Over the years producers have had personal tie-ups with television networks. For example YRF has always given the rights of their films to Sony TV, which recently telecast Ek Tha Tiger, starring Salman Khan.

Keeping these points in mind, Gada feels that each of the producers of a Salman Khan starrer would have to sit and discuss with the star if they are okay with telecasting their film on Star Network.

"e;That is not possible. The actor and our company are contractually bound. What the producers say is not our concern. We have done a deal with Salman, and we shall not tamper with our contract and change terms and conditions as and when required,"e; affirms Jhaveri.

In that case, a time will come when even the channel (Star Network) would manipulate their decision of whether they want to telecast a Salman Khan film. "e;What if in these five years Salman's films don't work? The channel will then have to decide if they want to bear the losses and air his films even if they flop,"e; establishes Gada.

Earlier there have been many instances where TV channels have bought rights of the films which were yet to release. Even after such films bombed at the box office, the television networks have continued to screen them on TV, the recent example being Players.

Win-win situation

Today, the cost of buying the satellite right of a big budget Bollywood movie, on an average is Rs. 50 crore. Assuming that if every year, two Salman Khan starrer's release, then Rs. 500 crore for five years is justifiable. While some call it an impractical deal, this new business model works safe for both the parties.

According to Tiwari, the growing inflation may see the price of buying the satellite right rise to Rs. 60 crore or more instead of the estimated cost of Rs. 50 crore. Since Star Gold has already signed a contract for Salman Khan's films, they shall not fall prey to the rising cost for at least five years, no matter how big a hit the film is.

On the other hand, even if Khan delivers a flop at the box-office, he will not have to worry about the recovery of his film by way of satellite rights, considering that he has already sold his project to Star Network at the rate of Rs. 50 crore.

A win-win situation indeed.

Screen India