Director: change status quo

DIRECTORDibakar Banerjee made his intentions clear as to what he intends to demonstrate – with the entertainment factor, of course – in his latest release, Shanghai.

Just days before the movie’s release, Banerjee said that although he was not yet making any huge patriotic declarations, he was of the view that, as a country, India could definitely see a better future for itself – something that was also at the core of Shanghai.

“We have to keep our hope in India’s constitution alive,” said Dibakar. “We need to hope that one day the promise made to us and the belief that we have about a roof over every head is met. Basically, there needs to be an ability to give our children the life, the education and the facilities they deserve. We saw that dream in 1950 and all know we are getting there. Still, a lot has to be taken care of.”

Banerjee feels the first step in that direction would be to take to task those politicians who are taking the country for a ride.

“We are a country of 100 crore (more than a billion) people and we are allowing it to be run by1 000-odd people. It’s because of their shamelessness that we are where we are. Look at these 1 000 people, what is their sheer percentage of the Indian population?

“This is what is screwing us all over and the fact remains that we are letting ourselves be screwed over time and again. We are allowing them to get away with murder. If we can take care of these 1 000 people, then trust me, India will be a much better place.”

While we look forward to that happening in real life, in reel life there are senior actors such as Prosenjit Chatterjee and Farooq Sheikh who intend to add their celebrity clout to the proceedings.

Moreover, while it is a known fact that as the character Jogi Parmar, Emraan Hashmi will play the part of a porn filmmaker in Shanghai, what has excited one and all is to see Abhay Deol play a man much older than his real age.

“Abhay is playing a highly positioned bureaucrat. However, he has his own predicaments to battle since he is being pushed and pulled by forces from those above or below him. But since his mandate is to get the job done, he battles on, despite the episode bringing a crisis to his career. Now he has a choice to make – go with the people who are rich and powerful, or with commoners like us,” Banerjee divulges.

In the movie a political activist meets with an accident in an Indian city that is gearing up for the elections. A lone girl believes it to be a murder.

A porn filmmaker (Hashmi) claims to have proof that will bring down the government. A highranking bureaucrat (Deol) is brought in by the government to do damage control, and the three of them blow the lid off the Indian dream called Shanghai. – BollywoodHungama.com