Don’t know what I’m feeling, says Mukesh Chhabra
The last month, following actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s demise, has been difficult for many in the industry, and perhaps a bit more for casting director, Mukesh Chhabra. A close friend and “like a brother” to the late actor, Chhabra turned director with a film starring Rajput and has been working on “finishing it for the last few weeks”.
He says, “It was so difficult to work on the film. Right now, I don’t know what I am feeling, if I should be happy or sad. There are a lot of mixed emotions and I don’t know how to react to situations now. It is bittersweet, perhaps. For me, the meaning of the film has changed as he is gone.” Chhabra’s debut directorial, starring Rajput and newbie Sanjana Sanghi, is a remake of the Hollywood film The Fault In Our Stars (2014).
The director tells us that the last time they spoke was on Chhabra’s birthday in May. “We had a normal conversation. I didn’t know that he had any issues (regarding mental health),” he shares. Ask him about the theories regarding Rajput’s death and demands for a CBI inquiry, and the director replies, “I haven’t been on social media much. The investigation is on, and will take its course. My focus is to do justice to Sushant’s last film.”
While fans have been asking for a theatrical release for the film, Chhabra feels releasing on an OTT platform is the best decision as “everyone can watch it”. “Times are such that every other film is releasing on OTT... At the end of the day, why do we make films? So that maximum number of people watch it. Ab wohi hoga. For another one year, there’s no chance of going to the theatres, I feel,” asserts the director.
Actor Taapsee Pannu has never shied away from talking about her tough journey in films — coming from southern cinema to Hindi film industry, and having zero connections or a “godfather” to guide her. As the nepotism debate rages on, she feels that it’s just an “added challenge” to the several others a newcomer faces in Bollywood. “But it will be wrong to say that one is not aware of it beforehand. And once you’re aware of the challenges, you make sure to develop the strength to deal with it,” says the 32-year-old.
The one thing Pannu can’t comprehend, however, is that when the children of actors use their advantage to its full extent, why don’t the outsiders do it, too, especially when the common man connects with them? “If star kids milk their advantage, I don’t understand why don’t we outsiders rely on our strength and use it to our advantage as well? We have the relatability factor with the audience. We’ve their support because they feel we are one of them,” says the actor, known for films such as Pink (2016) and Thappad. However, she adds that things won’t be as smooth. “The journey will be harder and longer, but every inch of success we achieve will be ours. No one can claim a stake in that. That’s a beautiful feeling in itself,” she asserts.
Having delivered critically acclaimed performances, Pannu is excited to “go through the hard test of nepotism to experience that high of selfmade story”. Reiterating that nepotism exists in most industries, including Bollywood, she adds, “No matter how many debates we have, it’s never going to go away. So, it’s better that we learn ways to deal with it, and that our audience and media becomes unbiased enough to give us an equal opportunity, and a chance to get their love and attention.”