Shoojit Sircar took six years to bring ‘Madras Cafe’ on the big screen and the director, who faced protests in South before its release, feels Indian cinema is still not ready for political films.
The film is inspired by the conspiracy and assassination of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi and Sircar knew that balancing the truth with drama would be tricky.
“It is very difficult to make films like ‘Madras Cafe’ in India, given the diverse nature of the country. We are going there slowly but it will take sometime before we start accepting such stories. I feel fortunate that my film is one of the firsts,” Sircar told PTI in an interview.
The director believes the film has worked because it does not deviate from the plot and avoids frills of conventional cinema such as song and dance.
“When I first thought about it, I knew that this one would be tricky. This is why it took me six years. I did not want to take any chance with the story. My biggest worry was mounting the civil war of Sri Lanka onscreen. It went through several drafts but once we figured out how to end the story, we were on,” Sircar said.
Given the historical premise of the film, Sircar has been asked about his decision not to send the film to festival circuits. But, he does not think that it was a missed chance.
“It is very difficult to explain but I did not think it was a festival film. I don’t want to categorise but I believe ‘Madras Cafe’ was much more populist in its sentiments. I have seen many festival films and I will be blunt, I don’t think ‘Madras Cafe’ was ready for festivals.”
Asked about the protests that the film faced in South, Sircar admits he was worried about it.
“I am exhausted but relieved that film has found its audience. There are Tamilians who have watched the film and liked it as it does not politicise the issue and takes a neutral point of view,” Sircar said.