‘Youth should be portrayed in the right light’
Film-maker Madhur Bhandarkar is known for realistically portraying the lives and lifestyle of the subjects he chooses for his films; Fashion (2008) and Page 3 (2005) being some of his critically and commercially acclaimed films.
So when the Padma Shri awardee attended a youth theatre festival in the Capital, we asked him if he would consider making a film on the student politics scene in the Capital? “No, I don’t have any such subject in mind at the moment,” he said.
Referring to the violent clashes between student groups on Delhi University (DU) campus last year, as well as the sloganeering incident on Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) campus, he added, “DU and JNU mein jo hua aur jo kuch bhi beech-beech mein hota rehta hai, uska mujhe bada dukh hai. I strongly feel that those incidents should not have happened.”
Although if he does make a film on students, he’d like to “showcase them in the positive light”, since “youth is a very strong and important part of society”. He added, “I also feel that there should be right portrayal of their side of the whole situation.”
And if the film materialises, the Chandni Bar director is not ruling out casting real students in it. “I feel no talent should be wasted. I have worked with the best of theatre people, and have also cast people from bars, streets, ramp and Page 3 parties. I don’t mind promoting young artists (from university campuses) either,” said the National Film awardee, who called it “an amazing performance to see the young talent perform” at the fest.