Scripting their thoughts

He says,“Silence itself is a big part of a melodramatic scene. For instance,in Aakrosh,the scene depicting the protagonist walking around the funeral pyre of his wife did not have any sound save that of water falling from the pot. However,in the next scene itself,the man runs towards his sister,kills her with a sickle and screams like an animal. This showcased the angst that had been building up within him. While these two might be interpreted as two extremities of human emotions,they are,according to me,very melodramatic scenes.”

Another important point that he raises is that while being subjective,it cannot be denied that melodramatic scenes have changed the way in which filmmakers utilise human emotions. “For instance,as I have mentioned before,silence is also an aspect of making a scene melodramatic. It changed the perspective with which cinema-going audiences viewed the hero of the film.”

Abhishek Sharma
His film Tere Bin Laden (TBL) was liked by some and criticised by others,but filmmaker Abhishek Sharma still believes that tongue-in-cheek humour is an important part of film-making these days. “With TBL,we were sure of what we wanted to show the audience. And,since humour is ingrained in me,I cannot be serious when I have to tell a story. That was why I wasn’t worried about how the film would fare despite the mounting pressure,as I was a first-time director working with a new star cast! We were certain that TBL would strike a chord with the audiences as the humour had a hint of reality in it,” he says.

Sharma does admit that he still gets insulting comments on the clips of his film on YouTube. He says,“Even when the film got banned in Pakistan,instead of getting annoyed and worked-up,we wrote ‘Officially banned in Pakistan’ on our website with a wreath of olive leaves beneath it,which made it look as though the film had been screened at one of the many international film festivals! See,it’s not about getting angry,but about changing the way one looks at these issues,thereby portraying them in an entirely new dimension.”

Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra
For filmmaker Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra,films are a medium of sharing a personal experience with people. “Making films is more about telling people stories that I have either lived or experienced. That is a different high for me. So be it Rang De Basanti (RDB) or Delhi-6,they were both stories that were close to my heart. While Delhi-6 dealt with my perception of the people around me during my growing-up years in Delhi,RDB showcased the questions that we were faced with during our college days,” he says.

Mehra feels that the concept of portraying anger on screen has undergone a subtle but very visible change since the angry young man days of the 70s.

He says,“There has been a change in the outlook of people that is reflected in the way anger is portrayed on screen.”

With filmmakers making more films on unique and offbeat subjects,Mehra feels that both Hindi and regional cinema is set to grow further. “The most important aspect of cinema is that it tends to reflect the socio-cultural divide amongst the various classes of people. In the future,I would love to make an English film that will deal with offbeat themes,” he says,adding,“It’s a very sub-conscious effort on my part to make my films commercially viable but with an underlying message. I feel that they help bridge the gap between mainstream films and the so-called parallel art films.”

As far as his own future projects are concerned,he is currently working on his film Bhaag Milkha Bhaag and Paanch Kaurav. “Paanch Kaurav is a period film set in the year 1890 in British India. I am also looking forward to my other film Bhairavi. It’s a musical but will take a while to make as the idea is still being worked upon. For me,it is important to ensure that when I tell a story,the audience should belong to it. And unless and until that happens,I don’t go ahead with my projects,” he says.