Murder he wrote

Suhail Tatari.

Suhail Tatari, the director of “Ankur Arora Murder Case”, was in town to promote his film, due to release next week. The film speaks about medical negligence in the country. Excerpts from the interview:

After “Summer 2007”, you are coming up with “Ankur Arora Murder Case”. Do social issues excite you?

Yes, they always excite me. I get excited by any social issue. As a director, I feel I have some connect with them because I know them, have read about them and have seen them. If it’s complete fantasy, then I don’t know who these people are.

How did your association with Vikram Bhatt, the film’s producer, begin?

We had done something earlier together. That’s when he liked my work, because he makes lots of films with directors from outside his banner. It takes a while to understand each other, and what kind of work will excite me as a director. So one day he called me and gave me this script.

Do you think every kind of film is getting a market these days?

I think the audiences are becoming very discerning. They want something new. They don’t want to watch the same thing over and over again unless you package it with a huge star cast, and even then you have to entertain them thoroughly. They are willing to get into a world that is not seen or touched. Audiences are hungry for everything. Tell them a good story they can relate to, and they will come and watch it.

Do you think cinema is evolving?

Of course. The style of acting, the style of shooting of a film… everything is becoming more real. There’s a certain evolution that happens. It is more realistic now; even commercial cinema is making a shift and becoming more realistic.

Do you think your film can bring back social issues to the fore?

As a filmmaker, we can only raise issues. But the youth today are taking up issues of social relevance. Look at the world around us. There is a revolution everywhere — the Arab Spring and the like. Why should we be lagging behind? There are many issues that we need to raise.