Sudhir Mishra gets candid

Manjula Negi / TNN / Apr 30, 2007, 01:08 IST

Text Size

Small
Medium
Large

Sudhir Mishra of Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi fame in a candid session talks about the Hindi film industry, its stars and their insecurities and reveals his idea of what makes a 'period' film... An LT Exclusive
Filmmaker Sudhir Mishra is only 24-years-old – in his field that is. And while he will complete a quarter century in cinema next year he is as candid and down-to-earth as they come.
Spare a glance for the formidable (if select) list he's directed – including Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi..., Calcutta Mail, Iss Raat Ki Subah Nahin, Dharavi and Mohan Joshi Hazir Ho and you can safely look forward to his next, which is being produced by Prakash Jha and stars protégé Shiney Ahuja and Soha Ali Khan. We caught up with him for an exclusive tête-à-tête when he was Lucknow recently for a day on some personal work.
Mishra's relationship with the celluloid matches his personality – both are laidback and intense. His story-telling is complex but his plots explained in single lines. And the beauty is, they mirror one another – as life and cinema do. His forthcoming venture has Soha playing a successful film star. Predictably then, her real life is mirroring her reel self. And Mishra's explanation is as much for his film's characters as it is for those enacting them: “It is about capturing the Hindi film era of the late 50s-early 60s but in their lives they are not governed by the conventions of that time. The stars (in his film) are very modern, very passionate people so the story is contemporary."But what is it with him and period films? “Every moment captured on film is gone forever. So the 24 frames/second actually captures death in motion. In that sense, every single film is a 'period' film because it's in the past. A period allows you to create another world. The trick is to make you forget that period. Why confuse it with a 'historical', which is set in a particular era? The attitude of the film has to be modern. For me, films with regressive attitudes are period films.".

And the stars who feature in them “modern day Hamlet(s)! They are constantly wondering 'to do or not to do (a role)' smiles Mishra, tongue-in-cheek. But it is the insecurity that they suffer from, which he empathises with: “The stars start believing in their own myth. You become the game, not the one playing it."
But then there are some who manage to remain objective, “like Amitabh Bachchan, who once said at an awards function 'When you honour me, you honour the genius of Manmohan Desai, Salim-Javed and Prakash Mehra.' It sounds modest but I think he's right because he completely understands this myth and has distanced himself from it. He has that ability. But those who can't be objective, live with the fear that the telephone will stop ringing one day."

Yet, all is put on stake because “it's the high of the moment that you live for. That is something we can't get rid of. I like being here. It allows me so many journeys. So, if you don't concentrate on glamour, avoid the glitz and concentrate only on work – it's a field worth being in."
And it's a field that fascinates a large portion of the populace. “Yes, our audiences have been large-hearted enough to accommodate almost all of us. It must be a worthwhile journey for them too. While we take risks and explore subjects, the audience also has to come half way. They shouldn't keep coming back for the same ride."
And with audience's acceptance of films like Hazaaron Khwaishein..., Khosla Ka Ghosla, Being Cyrus and Bheja Fry has the time come for a resurrection of 'parallel' cinema? “I like the word 'parallel' as compared to art or off-beat. And with cleaner money flowing into films (atleast apparently), there are people with whom one can actually have a conversation with...”.

End of Article