15 giugno 2012

Sanjay Leela Bhansali: I'm rowdy at heart

Vi segnalo l'intervista concessa da Sanjay Leela Bhansali a Upala KBR, pubblicata il 2 giugno 2012 da The Times of India. I'm rowdy at heart:

'What prompted you to make a massy, commercial film like Rowdy Rathore?
I wanted to make a hit film. As a producer, it’s important to make films that are different from my usual style. I wanted to make a film that would entertain people, and I wanted them to go home loving everything - the songs, the dialogues, the action. RR is not my genre, but I wanted to be part of a film that people like watching. Guzaarish changed my perspective on life, and purged me of my fear of death and sorrow. Now I am in a happy, adventurous zone. I want to do different things.

How did RR happen?
My co-producer Shabina (Khan) asked me to see the Telugu film Vikramarkudu on which RR is based. I found the plot wonderfully entertaining, and felt it was a film that needed to be produced in Hindi. I am extremely proud of what we have made. It is entertaining, beautifully-crafted and has great action and songs. My mother loved every minute of it! She whistled and screamed. She loved Akshay and kept laughing at the one-liners. (...)

Could you direct a film like RR?
Yes, it’s very easy for me to direct a film like this. I am rowdy at heart! I have done lots of mad things in my youth. Being rowdy is a state of mind, and means getting up and doing anything as a filmmaker. There is fearlessness in me as a filmmaker. I make anything that touches my heart - be it as a director or producer. After Saawariya, people thought I was mad to make Guzaarish, but I will always make what I want to.

How was it working with Akshay?
I have always wanted to work with him. He’s a very big star and a competent actor, but none of the scripts that I was working on, suited him. It was a pleasure working with him. There was not a single moment of drama, complaint or ego issue. He would be ready for a 9 am shift, in make up and costume. He’s come up with a splendid performance. Rowdy Rathore will be his crowning glory in cinema'.

Kamal Haasan: I prefer to be like Steven Spielberg

Vi segnalo l'intervista concessa da Kamal Haasan a Meena Iyer, pubblicata oggi da The Times of India. I prefer to be like Steven Spielberg: Kamal Haasan

'Is Vishwaroop (Hindi) (Vishwaroopam in Tamil) - written, produced and directed by you - your most ambitious project?
I’m borrowing a line from writer-filmmaker Ingmar Bergman here. He said, ‘Every time I do a film, I think this is the last film.’ It could be. We don’t really know. Hypothetically, what would I do if this were my last film? I don’t know if I will be allowed to make another film. Anything unforeseen can happen. So every film that I make, I just put everything I have in it. You see, for the audience it may not be the last film that they are seeing. But for an actor, every film he does, should be done in that spirit, because that’s the only way to approach your work. I will not kill myself over a film. I adopt a very motherly attitude to every film of mine. I want to feed it, nurture it, and give it all the emotion I have. (...) Believe me, if you live, eat, breathe movies like the way I do, then you tend to obsess over your movies. An actor, filmmaker can either be just an actor (...) or he can be right there with the rest of the crew leading from the front. Makers like Steven Spielberg etch every line that goes into making their film. I prefer to be like Spielberg, this keeps me happy and busy. (...)

You were very prolific at one point. Of late you have cut down on assignments as an actor.
That’s because we have no good producers here. A man having money and respect doesn’t qualify as a producer. Production is a technique. It needs a talent, just like acting does. (...) Producing a movie is as important and as much a hands on job as direction. When I say that out of 200 films that I have done, I’ve only 100 perfect producers, it doesn’t mean that as an actor, I wasn’t served my breakfast on time, or that I got my tea in a plastic cup. I’m talking about producers who have done evil to the film. Those who’ve harmed the aesthetics of the film.

So the attitude of callous producers seems to have left a bitter taste in your mouth?
I can’t generalize. For every bad producer that I met, I have also met a good one. However, the dismissive producers and their talks disturb me. I have heard guys saying - ‘these guys are fussing too much over the script.’ Or others suggesting - ‘Sir, take two nice girls, go to a foreign location and shoot the film.’ It’s almost like they are suggesting that I have a picnic. It’s also been suggested that there should be more women on set because it’s fun. This is the wrong attitude. (...)

Will we see Rajinikanth and you in a project again?
If you have Rajini and me on board, the sky is the limit to how much you can sell a film for. But there is also a limit to how much you can pay the two of us as actors. When you finish giving him and me our remunerations, I don’t think there will be much of a budget left to make the movie with'.