I am gearing up to make my first Dhollywood film: Umesh Shukla

Theatre, films, acting, direction – Umesh Shukla has done them all. What strikes you instantly about this soft-spoken, down to earth

102 Not Out

director insists that he really wants to stay connected to his roots. Speaking all about his journey from theatre to movies, Umesh mentioned, “theatre will always be the most important part of my existence”. Umesh was in Ahmedabad to announce the films that will be part of International Gujarati Film Festival to be held in New Jersey. Excerpts from a chat:

ON A

DHOLLYWOOD

HIGH
I have been in touch with most contemporary Gujarati film makers, from Abhishek Jain, Ishaan Randeria, Deepesh Shah to Krishnadev Yagnik and Sandeep Patel. Most of them are making some commendable films. It makes me immensely happy to see that Gujarati movies are shaping up this well! I plan to direct a Gujarati movie soon – I am looking at meeting a few young writers during this trip.

AHMEDABAD FEELS LIKE HOME
I think for most Gujaratis who don’t stay in their home state, coming back for even a short visit makes one feel emotional. Ahmedabad is like a second home to me, now that Mumbai is definitely my real home. I have many relatives staying here and a few great friends. I keep on looking for excuses to visit this city – and each time I am here, I make sure that I visit Manek Chowk or Law Garden for some lip-smacking street food. Nothing beats this city when it comes to the walled city’s fairytale charm and the gorgeous pol houses

HINDI TV IS REGRESSIVE
I have been associated with the small screen for a very long time. In fact, it was fun to make an appearance in

Khichdi

recently. I chose the show because of

JD Majethia

and Aatish Kapadia, two of my closest friends. Also this show didn’t have any regressive content. Currently, Hindi GECs are full of content that is really regressive – I can’t connect with them any more. I am planning to come up with a show – it will be a slice-of-contemporary life story. I might make it like a web series, since the audience watching web shows are more evolved. Besides the web is a better platform to showcase my creative as opposed to the Hindi GECs.