This generation of filmmakers is much ahead of me: Gulzar
Right from her debut film Filhaal... (2002), director Meghna Gulzar, has been collaborating with her lyricist father, Gulzar. And going by their success rate, the talented father-daughter duo make a formidable team. Gulzar says he enjoys working with his daughter but admits that she is indeed a very demanding director.
“For that matter any director, who is focused on what they are doing, would be. They have to be demanding, but Meghna was demanding even when she was young. Her demands were tough even as a child, and that trait continued when she directed her first film. Filhaal was very difficult to do and even Chhapaak was not easy,” shares Gulzar.
Before their association as a director and lyricist, Meghna had also assisted her father on films such as Maachis (1996) and Hu Tu Tu (1999). Talking about Meghna’s journey so far, Gulzar says he is mighty impressed with the way her career has shaped up.
“I look at her as an industry person would, and not as a father. As one of the technicians working on her film, what I admire most about her is her focus. She has motive to make a film and always has a statement to make through her film. She is convinced about her voice, and is socially conscious while also striving to make relevant films,” he says. From Talvar 2015), which as based on the 008 double urder of teenager arushi Talwar and mraj Banjade, to Raazi ), based on a true account of an Indian Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) agent who gets married into a family of military officials in Pakistan to relay information to India, and now with her latest, Chhapaak, a film inspired by the life of acid attack survivor, Laxmi Agarwal, Meghna’s films are always hard-hitting. Gulzar feels that it requires deep conviction and motivation to make the kind of films that she does.
“Meghna picks difficult subjects. She makes it difficult not only for me as a lyricist but also for herself. I don’t know why she likes going through all the hardships. But in the end, she has always come out victorious,” he says.
On whether he will ever make another film, Gulzar whose last directorial was Hu Tu Tu, says, “Why should I? This generation of filmmakers is much ahead of me. Now, I just want to sit back and enjoy their work. I depend more on the younger generation for films. They are doing it so much better. Not just Meghna, but even names such as Vishal Bhardwaj and Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra are doing good work.”
Meghna picks difficult subjects. She makes it difficult not only for me as a lyricist but also for herself. I don’t know why she likes going through all the hardships.
GULZAR WRITER-LYRICISTDIRECTOR