It takes Amole Gupte precisely a minute to shatter the dilettantish myth of the fearsome, unapproachable actor-auteur. Ensconced in his office, he harbours a twinkle in his eyes, and a geniality that belies the two most well-known characters he has portrayed on the screen — Bhope Bhau, the mischievous, yet menacing gangster in Kaminey (2009); and Khadoos, a blundering, perpetually hungry teacher in Stanley Ka Dabba (2011) .
Acting, however, is one of Gupte’s many talents. He is a fine artiste, a screenwriter, and an accomplished director of children’s films. And this is where our conversation begins. First, because he has recently wrapped up his forthcoming feature Sniff, about a young boy whose superior sense of smell lands him in adventures. Second, because he has much to say on the semantics of the phrase “children’s film”.
Beyond labels
Gupte, who speaks softly, but articulately, is unhappy with the moniker. “Aren’t children the younger ones of our own species? How do you exactly specify and segregate content for them?” he wonders. “Children possess sharp minds. And there’s a difference between bachpana [relating to childhood] and bachkana [childish]. Often, we confuse the two, and insult children by calling something childish. If we really want to draw lines, we shouldn’t let people over 18 watch Majidi’s films, should we?”
The real trouble, says Gupte, is that adults are not interested in discussing or tabling children’s issues. “Most adults assume that since they managed to grow up, the same is true of their children,” says Gupte. Perhaps it’s a case of voting rights – children, after all, are the most disenfranchised lot. They are nobodies, he ruminates. And add to that the “I, Me, Myself” generation that shuns children’s films in deference to family entertainers with banana jokes. “Parents these days prefer to go for a 10.40 p.m. show for a U/A rated film with item numbers and violence. Since they’re buying the tickets, they worry about their own entertainment,” he says. This wasn’t always the case. In Gupte’s childhood, he remembers family films were wholesome entertainers that ran house-full shows, but were also strong in content. “Our families took us to watch Mrinal Sen’s Bhuvan Shome (1969) and Basu Chatterjee’s Sara Akash (1969). When I was in seventh standard, we used to go every weekend to Bahaar cinema. Our seats were fixed – E13, 14, 15, and 16. It was a fixed seat diet,” he chuckles. However, once television started in the early 70s, the family ritual faded. With the advent of good television – and parallel cinema invested fully invested in it – Bollywood turned to the Amitabh Bachchan films where the anti-hero gained centre stage.
Gupte’s work with children traces a long history, far beyond his most resounding success as the writer and creative director of Taare Zameen Par (2007). In 1996, he did a show called Bindaas Bol on Sony. It focused on bringing out the agonies and thoughts of teenagers. Helmed by Vinod Dua and Priya Tendulkar, the show won multiple awards. Through the years, Gupte and his wife, editor and director Deepa Bhatia, have been deeply involved with children’s stories and issues.
On course
An affinity for children comes naturally to Gupte. “I looked after my younger brother since he was an infant, as well as my neighbour’s son. I’ve always been carrying one child on my arm, and sometimes on my shoulder. I feel a magnetic pull towards them. The world feels a little lighter with them,” he smiles.
He enjoys directing children since, to him, unlike adults whose armours are difficult to break through, children are like putty. “I’ve never taken a piece of paper on set or given a child something to memorise. We sit together and I narrate the scene. Then I ask them what they want to say. As the rehearsal starts, the camera starts. The rehearsal can then become the take,” he shares.
For his latest Sniff, Gupte wrote the screenplay from a promising story that emerged from the Trinity Films writers’ room. “But this is not a film on a child detective. He’s Sunny Gill, not Fatty from Enid Blyton’s books. It has everything – action, adventure, special effects but cannot compare with a Harry Potter , of course. Within our budget, we have delivered with sharpness, not cleverness.”
Gupte says his attempt with the film is to make a social portrait of the child, limning his social compulsions, his background and then question whether they are genuine or lending unnecessary precociousness to the child character. “I want to make a story, not a suit for a star who has preconceived notions about how the story should fit him”, says Gupte. “Thankfully, children are happy with stories, not suits,” he reflects.
Now that the film is complete, the next challenge will be promoting and selling it. However, even in a bleak landscape, there is reason for optimism. When Gupte completed Stanley Ka Dabba (2011) , he met numerous school principals, requesting them to promote the film through their official newsletters to parents if they liked it. Of the many who responded, the most enthusiastic was Utkarsh Marwah, a creative director at Ryan International and himself a keen participant in children’s theatre and dance forms.
Spreading the word
Marwah told Gupte to forget reaching out to parents. Instead, the school would book shows and take the children to watch the film, after which they’d be required to write a dissertation. “It’s an amazing example”, says Gupte. “He had no faith in the parents because he knew that only a small percentage would take their children on a Sunday. The upper middle class especially are more bothered about whether they’re likely to get something like a certificate out of such an experience.”
Gupte’s next film is the Saina Nehwal biopic with Shraddha Kapoor in the lead role. Understandably, he is tight-lipped about it. What he does venture is that good content is the need of the hour. “We wonder what Aamir Khan will do next. He has now gained a sense of responsibility. Content drives the trade. Otherwise, you cannot achieve something like Dangal (2016). If you ignore the star presence, it was also a children's film. For me, Bajrangi Bhaijaan is also a children’s film,” he says. He adds that there’s a tendency to judge other people’s films and rubbish their work in the industry. Often, this infighting among the precious few hurts the audience as well.“Things are changing but I’m not sure it’s for the good”, says Gupte. “The value system was better before. I don’t think bedhadak [unbridled] cinema is the need of the hour for children. We need to understand what will get them into theatres. We need a renaissance of the Indian mind,” he states emphatically.
