The ‘real’ Dabangg

As he hands out the first animation assignment to the school kids — to design the logo of his newly-opened production house,Movie Temple Productions,Abhinav feels as a director,his job is to use the talent of other people. “Be it mainstream or arthouse,for me,it’s important to speak in the language people can comprehend,and not get offended by. This is a point of contention with my brother,Anurag. He believes in profanity,in shock value whereas I feel one can always maintain the dignity and still deliver great cinema,” for Abhinav,another zone of conflict lies in the use of English. “As a aam admi,I would like to see Guzaarish in Hindi…there is so much use of the English language in our films,that we’ve forgotten our Hindi. Did you know ours is the only country where there is a credit for story idea,where screenplay is written in English and ,dialogue writers are hired separately to write it in Hindi…also,here,actors are going global,not the cinema,” Abhinav is amused,and in order to keep the sanctity of his work,he prefers to write and direct on his own. “Because the writer is still struggling for his due in this industry,and to combat that,he is turning into a director.”

His film might have had a ripple effect,but Abhinav feels the word mass is a very inclusive term. “When more and more people come together,it becomes massive whereas today,the cinema space is becoming exclusive,and hence films suffer.” He believes the ‘talking space has been hijacked by the so-called intelligentsia who revel in post mortem analysis and criticism,whereas the mass audience comprises of an average guy who wants his regular cinema.’ This is where Dabangg scored brownie points,and to validate it,he runs the figures: “According trade news,3 Idiots was seen by 2.93 crore people which is less than 3 per cent of country’s population. Robot was seen by 3.1 crore people in Tamil Nadu alone while nation’s 3.75 crore people saw Dabangg making it higher than 3 Idiots and second highest grosser of the year.”

That said,Abhinav is already working on another script,and no,it’s not the sequel. “The sequel will be there for sure,but in 2012. And I will be retaining team members from part one,” says Abhinav,who is often asked the question whether the Dabangg worked because of Salman Khan factor. “I’m a writer,and I believe good films run on strong scripts. If Salman hadn’t been there,someone else would’ve been and film would’ve also been a bigger hit…who knows,” says the director who sticks to improvisation,new ideas and prefers to be an opportunist rather than an egoist.

The analysis,the critic’s woodpecking,the deliberations,the debates and discussions don’t mess with Abhinav’s head. For him,more than passion and hobby,filmmaking a profession and he needs to make money out of it. “Anurag may have made the best of films,and I am also working as a mentor in his forthcoming productions,but most of his films didn’t make money for him. We’re in the business of entertainment,and we need to continue doing that.”