‘Approach towards acting has changed’
Shekhar Suman is back with his second directorial. The film, which is still in the scripting stage, deals with a sensitive topic of stone-pelters in the region of Jammu and Kashmir. “We have seen scenes of skirmishes in J&K on TV, and how a set of patharbaaz (stone-pelters) emerge from nowhere and fight with our jawans. Whenever I see it, I wonder what is happening to our country. But people don’t know what prompts them to come on streets and pelt stones. The story explores this complex issue,” says Shekhar.
The actor-director says he would be interested in casting Kashmiri students or youth in the movie. “Apart from the fact they would look the part, I think non-actors can also portray those emotions,” says Shekhar, who would also cast his son Adhyayan (Suman) in the film. “It’s an ensemble cast where everyone will play a protagonist. It’s not about a lead pair. Adhyayan has been keen on being a part of the project ever since he has heard the idea,” says Shekhar.
Talking about dealing with real subjects, he says, “We have moved away from fantasy cinema. People have become very realistic and closer to life. They want to see things they can identify with. I don’t want to deal with a subject that people find completely alien.”
He further adds that even the “approach towards acting” has changed over the years. “It is not contrived and preposterous anymore. Things are becoming so right with Indian cinema. The typical commercial cinema, which would happen in the 80s and 90s, has sort of withered away. You have one or two sporadic films that belong to the ‘leave-your-brains kind of cinema’, but I don’t subscribe to it. Though I am not completely against them because that kind of cinema has an audience,” says Shekhar.