Q&A WITH ANUBHAV SINHA

Director of films like Mulk, Article 15 and Thappad, Anubhav Sinha, on Covid-delayed projects and the politics of privilege in the film industry

Q. You were supposed to have shot your next project with Ayushmann Khurrana in May.

Yes, we were looking for a jungle to shoot in. I went to Arunachal Pradesh to see some locations. There is no yardstick on when we can shoot. I am hoping that around Diwali we will be able to. I don’t think we will be ‘fine’ vis-à-vis the virus but I think we will have the means to start working.

Q. Is the Bachchans testing positive worrying? Did the industry rush to resume work?

It did shake me up. My first thought was how safe is my house where I live with my 88-year-old father? We aren’t rushing in terms of time, but preparedness. No magic is going to happen for a year. I have been shooting for 30 years and know that on set everything is about that frame being shot. Everybody forgets everything else. I don’t think we are disciplined enough to maintain social distancing, hygiene and sanitation.

Q. Have you got any work done?

It’s been difficult since one is not in a very upbeat state of mind. I am writing a contained movie script. It happened one fine day. I jumped out of one sofa and plonked myself on another. That’s how I wrote Mulk. That took three days. This one has taken a month.

Q. Your tweet on the Bollywood Privilege Club in the wake of Sushant Singh Rajput’s death went viral. Why do you think it resonated?

Because people like the truth. They just like someone else to say it because truth invites trouble. I was just angry about a lot of things. I didn’t want to write about nepotism. I could see the discussion becoming self-centred, agenda-driven and political, so I ejected. But yes, I still feel that the industry and the ‘privilege club’ needs to look at the way it functions.