Social Experiments

The very mention of Hazaaron brings a smile to Mishra’s face — after all,the film is his most acclaimed work. “I like to observe the way people react to the film; how Vikram,despite his corruption,is the hero and Geeta,despite using the men in her life,is still admired.” But then,the filmmaker also admits that he is a victim of his own success as far as this film is concerned. “People are still looking for a Hazaaron in every film I do. I cannot replicate my previous work. Besides,a film like that doesn’t get funding,even today,” he rues.

Mishra isn’t entirely unaffected by the failure of his last,Khoya Khoya Chand,but he cannot fathom why people could not relate it with the rest of his work. “People said it lacked my touch. I say it’s my most personal film. Every aspect of the film has been derived from real life — my father,like Zafar,was from Lucknow and he too was disappointed with his father; the film industry and people around me inspired too.”

He may experiment with genres but irony and a detour from the expected are what remain constant in Mishra’s works. “What defines my films? They aren’t pulpy love stories with a definitive ending. There are no obvious heroes but some people find themselves in a position where they can be heroes for one moment. Here,when the poor become rich,they exploit other poor. And all dreams,whether communistic or capitalistic,are like fairness cream ads that never deliver what they promise.”

The director’s reference to his politics is always of interest. Having earned a reputation as a liberal left during his early days in the industry,his films often reflect the loss of that faith. “Ideologies are like experiments,and being a mathematician’s son,I know experiments fail. So I was never disappointed. In fact,I have always been a fence-sitter. Critics didn’t like the fact that the poor weren’t depicted as exploited or moralistic in my Dharavi,as was the trend in the Left-inclined parallel cinema back in the late ‘80s. Even my cinema is halfway between parallel and popular.”

Mishra,who gained acclaim for his depiction of Mumbai in movies like Dharavi and Chameli,returns to the subject with Johny. Parvez (Neil Nitin Mukesh) is in love with Divya (Shahana Goswami) who is married to a corrupt cop Chiple (Kay Kay Menon). Parvez’s pursuit of money so he can marry Divya,brings him in contact with Preeti (Soha Ali Khan) who changes the game altogether. “It’s the story of Mumbai trying to be Shanghai,told through four characters and narrated by a young boy Johny who sells tea and whose life depends on these characters.”

But YSZ,asserts Mishra,is his lightest film. “It’s a comedy about the mating game between three people in the guise of a thriller.” And the film,starring Irrfan and Arunoday Singh,famously brings back his protégé Chitrangada Singh. While refuting that her character in the current film will overlap with Geeta in Hazaaron,the filmmaker explains his decision,“The film industry,including women filmmakers,tend to show women in a certain moral light. They are never shown as Lotharios and are devoid of the ability to betray. The advantage of working with Chitrangada is that she never fears treading these grounds and brings dignity to such characters.”

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