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Monday October 16, 01:07 PM
 He is not a man who is overtly
worried about what people have to say about his films.
For him, films have to tell a new and original story
every time and this is what prompts him to dwell into
the life of a bar girl [Chandni Bar] or a woman
politician [Satta] or a socialite [Page 3] or the
corporate world [Corporate]. Now all set to tell a
tale of those living in the streets and spending their
time on a signal, he is ready with his third in the
trilogy of life in Mumbai - 'Traffic Signal'.
Over to Madhur Bhandarkar.
How is 'Traffic Signal' shaping up?
Touchwood, it has been shaping up quite well. It's a
slice of life film with a lot of realism attached to
it. It tells you about the day to day activities that
happen at a traffic signal and how lives of people
around it are affected. It is about innumerous
vendors, beggars, eunuchs, etc. who live their life at
a signal. And yes, let me put it on record that this
is not a kind of film which is overtly intense or
dramatic. I would put it as a 'dark comedy' since
there is a lot of humor to it.
Dark comedy? Now that's a news since one was led to
believe that Traffic Signal would be a lot dramatic
I won't say that there is no dramatic moment at all
but 60%-70% of the film has humor to it. Also, there
is no story in the film. It is in fact about these 60
characters who have their world centered on the
traffic signal. Everyone has their own life and how
each of them make it happen on the road is what
'Traffic Signal' is all about. What you would see is
an element of beggar mafia and how people from the
grassroots level to the top are involved.
So who are these characters in the film?
Kunal Khemu plays an interesting character here whose
job is to collect money from people on the signal. We
have shown an entire process of how this money moves
from one channel to second, from second to third, from
third to fourth and so on. Since there are people even
at the top who get their share of moolah collected
from the beggars, it makes for an interesting premise.
Then about Neetu Chandra, everyone is aware that she
plays a Gujarati origin girl who sells embroidery
stuff on the pavements. Upendra Limaye [who played the
main villain 'Bapu' in 'Shiva'] is someone who does 'rangoli'
on the road. Now this is a spot where people are
expected to put in money. Konkana Sen is another
interesting character in the film as she is a night
walker who is always surrounded by 2-3 men when she is
on her job. There is this gay character who again
sells himself on the streets and hence turns out to be
Konkana's competitor. Apart from all these people
there is Ranvir Shourey who is a drug addict. Then
there are beggars, eunuchs and so many other
characters who find their bearings on the signal!
Sudhir Mishra sounds like an unusual addition to
the film too.
Yes, he plays the main villain of the film and to
think of it, he was very reluctant to be facing the
camera. He continuously asked me if it was really
necessary of him to be a part of the film as an actor.
But I was very adamant and wanted to him to be there.
It was sheer gut factor that was driving me to get him
on board. Meanwhile, you would be surprised to know
that so many senior people from the industry called me
and asked me about my choice. They said, "Why don't
you cast me instead?" But on my end, I was sure that
Sudhir was the man for the role.
One heard Konkana was reluctant too.
Oh yes, she was not really comfortable with an idea of
catching the nuances of a prostitute who eats pan,
chews tobacco, uses foul language and the works. But
once she was on, she was all there for the character.
One has to look at the kind of job she has done in the
film.
But how about the box office returns?
Well, if a film recovers 4 times or more than the
budget of the film, it is considered a hit. In that
sense my 'Page 3' was a hit along with 'Corporate'
that made a table profit and did good business on box
office too. This is why it surprises me when people
come up and say ki 'Corporate' cities mein to chali
lekin interiors mein nahi? But my question is ki bhai,
what is so shocking about it? I never set out to make
a film that would be lapped up in the interiors or
would be easily identified by them. It was a film for
the cities and it did quite well there. Agar mujhe
chote shehron mein bhi picture chalani hoti to main
iska naam 'Business ka baazigar' ya 'Dhandhe ka
Baazaigar' rakhta, 'Corporate' nahi! On the other
hands, for some films one hears that it ran in the
interiors but not in the metros. It is such a two
edged sword. People don't understand that a film finds
its audience based on its subject. Well, I did have
hits in the form of 'Page 3' and 'Corporate' and I can
already see as 'Traffic Signal' being third in line.
'Satta' is probably your one film bearing your
stamp, be it 'Chandni Bar', 'Page 3' or 'Corporate',
which didn't make money.
Yes, and incidentally it is my favorite film. People
come and tell me that 'Chandni Bar' is their favorite
or 'Page 3' is what they liked most or 'Corporate' had
a maximum impact on them. But if you ask me, I find 'Satta'
to be my best work. In fact even Late Pramod Mahajan,
whom I met in a flight, told me that he really liked
watching 'Satta'.
Well, the film did have Atul Kukarni's character
bearing resemblance to Mr. Mahajan.
[Laughs] Yes, people tell me that, in fact a lot of
them feel so.
So how did 'Aan - Men at Work' come into picture?
After 'Chandni Bar' and 'Satta', lot of people came
and told me that after such women centric subjects, I
should make a man centric film. 'Aan - Men At Work'
was a result of that. But what happens is that
sometimes when you are set out to make a film, there
is a lot of passion involved but you loose the vision
later on. Moreover in those days, there were a lot of
cop films being made and hence 'Aan - Men At Work'
didn't really stand out. But hey, one should
appreciate the kind of cinema that I am making. At
least I don't watch a DVD in the night, copy it and
then come ready with a script in the morning.
No one is accusing you of doing so.
But then there are so many film makers who actually do
that. I at least strive to come up with something new,
something original. At least no one can accuse me of
not trying out things; some give me credit for that.
How many film makers are there who do so much of
research for their films? I did so much of that for 'Chandni
Bar' or 'Satta'. For 'Page 3', I actually attended so
many Page 3 events, for 'Corporate', I attended board
meetings and met with so many top notch corporate
folks. For 'Traffic Signal', I went to one of the
densest slums around i.e. Dharavi in Mumbai. How many
film makers would actually do that? In the kind of
time I have put up for 'Traffic Signal, I could have
got 4 films on floor but at least I am not into
rehashing or remaking.
There has been speculation around that 'Chandni Bar
2' is in the making. Can you please set the matters to
rest once for an all?
No, 'Chandni Bar 2' is not getting made. Not at least
for 2-3 more years. Yes, I agree it is a good idea and
it would be interesting to take the story of bar girls
forward from the stage when bars have been closed and
they are back on streets. But things haven't even
reached conceptualization stage. When an idea clicks
and there are signs of any progress, it is only then
when I would think of continuing the story of 'Chandni
Bar'. But till then there is absolutely nothing
happening on that front.
Coming to a tangentially different topic, are you
by any chance thinking of doing a film with your
mentor Ram Gopal Verma?
No, not in near future. I am right now quite busy and
concentrating on setting my production house 'Madhur
Bhandarkar productions'. There are 2-3 films in the
pipeline that need all my attention and hence there is
no question of getting involved elsewhere.
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