Madhur Bhandarkar, 44, has evolved his own brand of cinema based on real life, winning the National Award four times. Just ahead of his upcoming film Heroine, he talks to TOI about his struggling years, the realities of the film industry and the constantly changing equation between stars and the media.
Tell us about your childhood?
I failed my sixth standard. My father was an electrical contractor while I used to deliver video cassettes on a cycle to people including celebrities like Mithun Chakraborty. Mithunda remembers me and is very proud of me. Then there came a time when the video cassettes business went down dramatically. So I decided to go to Muscat to stay with my sister and find work. But I came back as I had a film bug in me and wanted to make films.
How did you get your first
break as a filmmaker?
One of my cousins introduced me to Ramu and I got to assist him in Rangeela. I wanted to make my own film, but in the absence of a big star or a production house it was tough to get a break. I got to make Trishakti with Arshad Warsi who was a newcomer at that time. The movie took three years to complete and became dated by the time it was released. It was a very bad patch of my life and a big disaster for my career. Film industry takes failures very seriously. I was told by everybody that my career was over. But I am a fighter and I don’t give up easily. I wanted to make a movie in which I had 100% conviction. One day I was sitting with a friend of mine at Mahim and he asked me to accompany him to a ladies bar for a drink. I had never been to one before and was shocked to see the girls dancing. I was very uncomfortable and left within 15 minutes of getting there. But the song playing there kept haunting me and I requested my friend to take me to another bar the next night. This triggered the idea for Chandni Bar. I approached R Mohan who had seen Trishakti and knew that technically it was a decent film. He agreed to produce Chandni Bar. From there on I had a series of lucky breaks. For instance, I only envisioned Tabu in that role. R Mohan had worked with Tabu before and took me to meet her. Tabu laughed when I told her that I had made Trishakti, but she loved the script of Chandni Bar. We made the film in 1.5 crores. Today, Kareena alone has charged 1.5 crores for Heroine.
Why are all your films so closely linked to real life?
I am an emotional and fragile person. I observe life, I am perceptive and can read a person’s body language. I have a strong journalistic streak in me, and had I not been a filmmaker, I would have become a film journalist. I have combined my perceptive and journalistic traits to create my own brand of cinema.
Has the industry’s attitude
towards you changed?
I don’t have any friends in the industry. Here you come on transit visa. I live in my own world and have struggled enough to know that what goes up has to come down. I see actors, actresses, directors, producers who are left nowhere once the limelight fades. I remember when I got the first National Award for Chandni Bar and my name was announced in President Kalam’s presence, I literally pinched myself. I couldn’t believe that a man who had been standing at a bus stop just six months ago was now receiving the National Award. I always do a reality check in my life. I am very optimistic but practical and know that even if my films flop in the future I can be proud that I have won 4 National Awards and built my own brand of cinema.
Why are your protagonists
always women?
I myself introspect why that is the case. I have a very impromptu way of writing and directing. I have always gone with the flow.
Why are most actresses so fragile?
Actresses have a brief shelf life and while they are in the limelight they need to compete fiercely to remain there. There is a lot at stake for them which makes them very fragile. There is a dialogue in your film Heroine “Mumbai daily ki editor ho tum. Heroine ki friendship tum se nahi tumhari position se hain”? Do you believe this is true in real life? I do. I am a media-friendly person and know that the equation between a star and a journalist changes constantly. When a journalist holds a position, the entire industry wants to rub shoulders with you. The moment your position goes down, they stop taking your calls and the bouquets disappear. Likewise when a star loses celebrity status journalists stop interviewing and chasing them.
