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Not many know that filmmaker Vikramaditya Motwane started his career as Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s assistant. He has worked on films such as Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam and Devdas with the legendary filmmaker. In a recent interview, the Jubilee director called working with Bhansali nothing short of attending a ‘film school’ where he mastered the art of prepping, which in turn helps him be spontaneous on the set.
In conversation with Anupama Chopra at the Himalayan Film Festival, Vikramaditya Motwane shared how he worked for 16 hours for two and a half years on Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam. He shared how the biggest fundamental learning he received was to go prepared on set. “What I’ve learned from him is planning, in terms of whether writing it or shot breakdowns. Also, music sittings, how to work background score, and choreography. Even how to talk to choreographers, cinematographers on what you want… If you are well prepared, you can be spontaneous and take last-minute decisions better” he said.
He also recalled being thrown into the deep end by Bhansali, when he would demand specific things from him. “He would say, ‘I want a rough mix of my film with birds for day and crickets for night’… You are a little like a deer caught in the headlights in the beginning, and then you’re like, ‘I am going to figure this out’. All that learning was fun. It’s like going to a film school,” Motwane recalled, adding that Bhansali taught him the importance of always being next to the camera while filming, “It’s priceless advice”.
The Bhavesh Joshi director shared that while working with Bhansali, he also learned how a director never stops thinking about their film. “You wake up every morning thinking about how you can change something that is bothering you. How do you execute a scene? It’s an obsession. It can become a bit unhealthy after a point, but you have to know when to stop and switch off,” he said, adding that to not get consumed by the process, he now chooses to work on multiple projects at the same time. “What I like to do now is not just work on one thing at the same time but a couple of things. It helps you switch away from what you’re doing at that moment, whether it’s writing something else or editing.”
Anupama Chopra recalled how Priyanka Chopra would go all prepped on the Bajirao Mastani set, only to be told that Sanjay Leela Bhansali is changing everything, which would leave her in tears. When asked if he, too, has the tendency to throw out the script before shooting, Vikramaditya Motwane said no, but reasoned why filmmakers might feel the need to change things.
“There is a reason that you locked that script, and I believe in sticking to that belief. With filmmakers, they become so subjective, and having lived with it for long, they get bored of that material. However, I believe in trusting that version of me that agreed to that particular scene on that certain date, unless it’s really bothering. I feel every change that you make today has a consequence tomorrow. When you are at the edit table, you regret that you should have shot that certain part. You have to trust your writer,” Motwane said.
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