‘For me, it’s all about innovation’
Meghna Gulzar’s directorial venture, Raazi received critical acclaim and is also doing good business at the box office. She says she had not anticipated such a response, although she had the inkling that the audience would like the film. “I don’t think any film-maker and actor can anticipate the intensity and magnitude of response. It’s very heartwarming. Several people on social media said that the audiences in the theatres stood up and applauded the film. This gesture is an old-world ritual. And even if they’re applauding the film, the text that comes at the end of the film about our unsung bravehearts, the audience is commemorating them. That for me is very gratifying,” says Meghna, whose film was produced by Junglee Pictures.
Meghna is one the few women directors in Bollywood, whose films have struck the right chord with audiences. She says she has come a long way. “During the beginning of my career, which is about 17 to 18 years ago, things were very different. We have more film-makers today than we have ever had. I started out with a subject (Filhaal; 2002) which was experimental. If my recent hit track record is spoken of, I am coming from 14 years of failed films, which has now changed. But I think that is because the audience has also changed. Our film-making language has changed. So film-makers like me are only benefitting from it,” says the Talvar (2015) director.
Ask her if she has always believed in breaking the stereotype with her stories and characters, and if that also runs in the back of her head when nurturing a script, and she says, “All these things are not part of consideration when I take up a subject. These are by products of the journey. For me, it’s all about innovation, and if that results in breaking stereotype, then that’s good. But it’s not something that I consciously aspire to do. So, even the expectations or pressure to deliver at the box office doesn’t drive me while making a film.”
Meghna’s next project is based on the life of Field Marshal Sam Maneckshaw. Talking about acing the truelife genre, she says, “One guiding principle is to make it cinematic but not a fairy tale or fictional. So, you will take certain creative liberties. But you’ve to stay rooted in the reality and the authenticity of it. I try to keep things simple and minimally stated, so that you are not manipulating the audience because it’s also a responsibility, which is riding on your shoulders, and that also makes me work harder.”
Several people on social media said that the audiences in the theatres stood up and applauded the film. This gesture is an oldworld ritual. MEGHNA GULZAR, DIRECTOR