I had a 120-run partnership with Sachin Tendulkar,I will never forget it
Filmmaker,actor and writer Mahesh Manjrekar talks on experimentation,his diverse roles and the need to change our education system.
11 min read
In many interviews you have mentioned that you are an actor by chance. How did that happen?
I started off as an actor,but at that time opportunities were limited. In 1985,I did my first professional play. Then Marathi cinema was at an all-time low and television had just one channel. By the time we progressed a little there came another channel,DD Metro. Opportunities were hardly there even for theatre. Even today you will not find any plays written for the youth. Most of the plays in Marathi theatre are for the middle aged or are family dramas. I was disillusioned as an actor. So I shifted to direction. One fine day while I was directing I met Sanjay Gupta,he had come on my sets to meet Sanju (Sanjay Dutt). I had this habit of colouring my hair. When Gupta saw me,he said that this is the look he wanted for his film. I thought he would give me a small role,but he gave me one of the lead roles in Kaante. Post Kaante everyone loved my performance but no one wanted to act with me. That was the first and last time I got noticed. Since then,I did a lot of small roles. But those are not enthusiastic acting. I act because I get money. Half the time I quote an exorbitant amount because I dont want to act. And sometimes it works. I am a little disillusioned with Hindi cinema direction. I can experiment with Marathi. But Marathi doesnt give you a lot of money. Half the time I end up losing money.
So basically your heart lies in Marathi cinema?
No,my heart lies in giving good cinema. Hindi cinema is taking a turn for the better with the success of movies like Kahani,Paan Singh Tomar or Vicky Donor. Otherwise,people used to wait for an Eid or Diwali release. No one was interested in different subjects. Half the time they were interested in making remakes of South Indian films. I was offered that job too but I rejected. As it is,they defied my sensibility. Again why do a copy. Marathi cinema was the best bet.
Did this ideology of making meaningful cinema always exist,even during initial years?
Not really. I did try some trash too. You need to have that kind of psyche to make that kind of cinema. It takes a lot of intelligence to do idiotic films successfully. As a writer writing nonsense is more difficult than writing sense. I also tried and failed miserably. I did a film two years back Shikshanacya Aaicha Gho on the education system. The truth is education system sucks and I wanted to do something to change it. Shikshanachya Aiycha Gho was inspired by a women in Vashi who had stabbed her daughter. Imagine the stress students are in. We harass our children to learn tables when they will be using calculators anyway. I feel there should be four subjects for SSC rather than seven. And no one should be failed. Nobody has the right to decide whether I am a success or a failure. I am not going to call myself a success or a failure just because you think so or the government thinks so. And all this came into Shikshanachya Aicha Gho. I want to remake this film in Hindi. I hope Salman puts it on the floors sooner or later. Salman met me a few days back saying he wants to do a Hindi remake under the Being Human banner.
You have acted in movies,done direction,you even sang a song in Kaante and have also done a dance show. Is there anything else that you want to do?
As a person I like to experiment with new things. I dont have the fear of failure. I have sung the title track in City of Gold. One thing that I would love to do is learn music but I need to give it fixed time.
People say that Salman Khan has replaced Sanjay Dutt in films as far as you are concerned. Is that the case?
Salman has always been a dear friend. Sanju is also a friend. One cannot replace the other. I dont meet either of them. Salman called me recently and said that Dabbangg 2 mein tu nahi hain kyunki tu part one mein mar gaya tha I said okay. But then he says,Tera photo lagaya hain. He also said that I am there in the next film. I have never depended on anyone for any of my films. But one thing is for sure,if there is one person in the industry who will be there for me it is Salman Khan. If I am in a problem and if I call him,he will immediately be there. As far as Sanju is concerned,the kind of films I am doing right now has no role for him. But you never know. Something might crop up. And I know that time I will call him. I think one of the few people I can talk to or meet easily is Amitabh Bachchan.
Tell us more about Amitabh Bachchan.
He has already heard the narration. Now he wants the script that I will give in the next two-three days. At the end I want him to be satisfied with the script and then I will make the announcement.
Any particular fascination with the underworld theme of some of your films?
I have done only two films on the underworld. There are movies like Vaastav,and I also did something like Astitva which did not even have a U in it. I did Tera Mera Saath Rahe,which was about two brothers. I did Ehsaas,which was on father-son relationship and I did Pitaah,which was again with Sanjay Dutt in it. Then I did Viruddh,which has no connection to the underworld. I did a film called Nidaan in 1995- the first film that was made on AIDS and also my first Hindi film. Sanjay Dutt played a small cameo in that film. The film was complete and for almost six months I was chasing him for the dubbing. The day he came for the dub,I told him I have a subject. On the day of the appointment at around 1 pm he asked me how much time I needed. I replied 15 minutes. I said if it doesnt work for you in 15 minutes then it doesnt work at all and you can throw me out. I narrated the script for about one and a half hours and thats how Vaastav happened. It was a path breaking film that time. Then I did a Lalbaug Parel,City of Gold in Hindi,which I feel is my best film. It is about mill strike and what happened to the mill after that. I have made all socially relevant films.
Not much is spoken about your personal life. Do you discuss your films at home?
Yes. My wife is very much a part of every movie that I work on. I always like to talk about my stories. I know she goes through hell. My house sleeps around 3am. We have at least 25 people eating at my house everyday. I do my designing,posters,editing everything at home. Sometimes you get bored to go to work. So I do it at home.
Do you want to bring up your daughter in the same manner?
Yes. We keep on having arguments regarding this. My eldest daughter is 24,son is 18 and the youngest is 10. I just tell them to pass in their exams. Sachin Tendulkar is the biggest example. Is there anyone who doesnt want to be like Sachin. Imagine if Sachins father had told him to pass BA,what would have happened?
Do you see a Marathi film getting an Oscar someday?
My film was shortlisted for the Oscars,even Jeans. I think we need to keep on trying. Aamir worked very hard for Lagaan to come into the last five. They are not used to anything beyond 100-120 minutes. Maybe someday it will happen.
Marathi films are winning so many awards because they are experimenting.
How is success and failure viewed in the film industry?
Relations and friendships here last from Friday to Friday. When a movie sinks there are people who will not even pick up your phone and when it does well you have people throwing themselves on you. But we live through it. I think everyone lives through success and failure. It is a ruthless industry.
Marathi films have lower budgets than Hindi. Why?
In Marathi films you dont know how to recover your money. Hindi is widely spoken in Maharashtra. Even in UP they speak Bhojpuri and not Hindi. It is a bad thing for Marathi cinema. If a person is shelling out Rs 150 for a movie,than he will rather watch a Rs 40 crore movie than a Rs 1.5 crore film. That is where Marathi cinema suffers. We should create an atmosphere where people come and watch these films. Even if five per cent of the audience comes,we will recover thrice the amount of money. That is why I do something called the Marathi International Film and Theatre Award. What we are lacking is that one film to impact world cinema. And we will get there.
What have been your highest and lowest points?
I never feel sad at a failure because I never thought I would get here. I have not struggled much to be where I am. I dont depend on anyone. I make things happen. I did theatre. I realised after my first play that no one was going to offer me roles for theatre. So I started my own theatre company even though I was in deep debt in 1988. I wanted to get into films. I knew no one was going to produce,so I did a play which gave me a lot of money. I never thought it would work. The most depressing moment was when Viruddh released. It was received well. It released on the 22nd and then on the 26th the Mumbai floods happened. I couldnt get out of the house for the next three days. It recovered all the money but I wanted it to be a bigger film. Even Amitabh Bachchan believes it is his best film till date.
Did you always want to be a filmmaker?
No. I wanted to be a cricketer. In fact,I was a decent cricketer. Ramakant Achrekar,Sachin Tendulkars coach was also my coach and he had said that I would play for Mumbai if not India. But I was too impatient. My dad had a business. I went to this place called Jamkhed in Nagar district and dug about 67 bore wells. I did it sincerely. Everyone else did 30 and 35 when I had done 67. Then I worked for Bank of Maharashtra for five months. The only thing I was doing was stamping papers. I got frustrated and left it. I entered theatre when I was 25 in 1985 and worked till 1993. I produced my last play All the Best then. It has till date done 4,500 shows. I did a serial called Ek Shunya Shunya and Kshitij. This was my schooling in making films. Now I want to retire and have a farm with lots of horses. I had a horse in Matheran and it died. I love playing cricket more than following it. We played a celebrity game where I had a 120-run partnership with Sachin Tendulkar,I still treasure the moment. It was at the Wankhede Stadium. I will never forget it. (Transcribed by Rohan Swamy)
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