“I really want to laugh now, and make others laugh,” says Madhur Bhandakar as he digs into a saadhaa dosa at his well furnished office in Four Bungalows, Mumbai. Though it's a hot and dry evening, Madhur doesn't appear to be tired or exhausted; he is his enthusiastic self.
For the youth
One of the most coveted directors of new-age cinema elaborates: “My latest film ‘Dil To Bachha Hai Ji' is a youthful comedy, with Ajay Devgn, Emraan Hashmi, Shruti Haasan and Omi Vaidya. Ajay has a rare comic sense that's not been properly utilised. Emraan Hashmi too can be equally good. Shruti Haasan is fresh and gifted, whilst Omi Vaidya has proven his ability in ‘3 Idiots'. I'll start shooting in Mumbai, the first week of July. Pritam Chakraborty's scoring five tunes for the film. With ‘Dil To Bachha Hai Ji', I'm striving to follow the trend set by Hrishikesh Mukherjee and Basu Chatterjee in the 70s, with memorable films such as ‘Golmaal' and ‘Rajnigandha'.”
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Considering Madhur's a fun-loving person, how come he's attempting comedy, which is meant for serious people? “Hrishikesh Mukherjee, Vijay Anand and Basu Chatterjee were serious directors, who could direct comedies and serious films with equal ebullience. I've been influenced a lot by their works, and I guess my light-heartedness won't affect the spirit of the film.”
Director of trend-setters such as “Chandni Bar”, “Satta”, “Page 3”, “Corporate”, “Traffic Signal” and “Fashion”, he's known for working wonders with his female leads — Tabu, Raveena Tandon, Konkona Sen Sharma, Bipasha Basu. In fact, after watching “Satta”, Vijay Anand is said to have complimented him for having handled the women in his films with a rare efficiency.
“There's no greater compliment than my idol's praises. I have a reputation for handling my heroines well, but then, I've never neglected my heroes and other actors either,” he says.
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Do awards matter to him? He lifts an eyebrow, pauses, and replies: “Yes. Not just to me; any creative soul is satisfied and happy when rightly awarded. But, I never make films with the intention of winning awards. Guru Dutt and Vijay Anand never did! I direct films for my subject and audience. Awards may come my way or not, but, I'll continue to direct.”
On his contemporaries, he says: “Ashutosh Gowariker, Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Vishal Bhardwaj and Anurag Kashyap are all very talented directors in their own right. I make it a point to watch almost all their films and praise them if their work is commendable. But, there can never be comparisons among our works just as there cannot be comparisons among the creations of Mehboob Khan, Bimal Ray, Raj Kapoor and Guru Dutt. ”
His cameo
The conversation veers towards his cameo. How was it facing the camera for Rahul Dholakia's “Society”? Madhur laughs: “It's a cameo, and I received ample cooperation from Dimple Kapadia, the female protagonist. She clapped after my shot! She is an ideal combination of beauty and talent, and some day I want to work with her, with a special script.”
It's time to leave, and he says: “I'll soon explore rural India — an aspect still untouched by me. Manoj Kumar had requested me to, and I will keep my promise.”