Journalism of Courage
Screenplay writer Upendra Sidhaye on Pune,his future projects,Mumbai Meri Jaan and much more
He carved a niche for himself and embraced success with Mumbai Meri Jaan,a film that spoke about the spirit of Mumbai and Mumbaikars,touched everyones heart in many ways. And a lot of credit for its success goes to the screenplay writer and assistant director Upendra Sidhaye. Having gained much of popularity post this film,for Sidhaye,its the city Pune which is closer to his heart,where he is born and brought up. And he feels that this cultural capital of Maharashtra has contributed a lot in shaping up his career. Pune has got a variety of quality theatre,literature and music. And the city gives good exposure to the world of cinema, says he.
However,the big break in the film industry came to this 26-year-old in a strange way. I was pursuing CA after completing my school. Somewhere during the foundation course,I started finding it boring and realised that it is not my cup of tea, says Sidhaye. Later on he took admission for the mass communication course at the University of Pune. He also did theatre simultaneously. He adds,What boosted my morale was the award I won for the best actor and best director at the inter-college festival,Purushottam Karandak. After getting his degree in video production,Sidhaye joined UTV motion pictures as the in-house scriptwriter,where he met Nishikant Kamat,the director of Mumbai Meri Jaan. And the rest is history.
Recalling the challenges and memorable moments during the making of film,he says,To make the scenes look believable; we shot them at the real locations. Recreating the blast and the aftermath,with gory scenes,victims and blood was emotionally very taxing. It was like reliving the whole experience. Also the bomb hoax scene at the shopping mall was very tough to shoot,as we had to deal with a big crowd.
Currently he just finished writing the screenplay for the film Payback,to be directed by Sachin Karande. The film will star mostly newcomers and the shooting is already begun. On his future plans for getting into direction,he says,In the long run,I do intend to get into direction but right now I want to concentrate on writing.
On the current trend of movies and a good number of newcomers joining and making big in the industry,he feels that it is the best time to do any kind of experiment in films,be it acting,direction,writing or music. He says,These days,people are breaking all the formulas and are coming up with their own ways of expressing and telling the story,which is great for the audience as well.
