No-frills filmwallahs

The big banners had mega bucks and star power. They had wafer-thin budgets and one weapon—the smart, well-told story. And they won. Eye spoke to the successful filmmakers who have changed the idiom of Bollywood and asked them: what makes small big?

The big banners had mega bucks and star power. They had wafer-thin budgets and one weapon—the smart, well-told story. And they won. Eye spoke to the successful filmmakers who have changed the idiom of Bollywood and asked them: what makes small big?

SAGAR BELLARY
Hit: Bheja Fry
Journey so far: “It all happened so fast that I am still shocked,” says Bellary, who started out as an assistant with Rajat Kapoor’s Raghu Romeo (2003) and Mixed Doubles (2006), before he directed Bheja Fry (2007). When the 32-year-old passed out from Kolkata’s Satyajit Ray Film Institute in 2002, he told his parents that they would have to support him for at least a decade. Success, however, didn’t take that long.
Coming soon: I am doing two big budget films, one of which is a love story and the other a children’s story. The mantra to break a formula: A film that respects the grammar of filmmaking, is well made and draws from our social circumstances.
Your dream cast: I would rather look for the dream screenplay. That decides the dream cast.
Small is big because: David won over Goliath and it’s always the underdog who has the angst to win. You don’t need pyrotechniques and action to woo the audience; a simple juggling of emotions is enough. The space for small films was always there.

HOME ADAJANIA
Hit: Being Cyrus
Journey so far: In a word, unpredictable. From popular model to assistant director (Bhopal Express, 1999) and a cameo in Everybody Says I’m Fine! (2001), Adajania’s journey has been “one of chance”. “I have lived my life instinctively and that’s how my first film also happened. I never planned anything in my life though I don’t discount the existence of any master planner up there who has been charting my life’s moves so far.”
Coming soon: I just locked my script with a producer for a film titled Resurrection. The production is in place, and the film’s casting is about to begin. It’s a bizarre film and will be in Hindi.
The best mantra to break a formula: Take the time-tested story and just flip it on its head. Just do opposite things. For instance, I often write out a scene but end up canning the exact opposite of what I set out to do.
Your dream cast: It depends on the characters.
Small is big because: The time is right. There is an audience that wants to exercise its gray matter while watching a film.

ANURAG BASU
Hits: Gangster, Murder,
Life in a Metro
Misses: Kucch To Hai, Saaya, Tumsa Nahin Dekha
Journey so far: His is the classic script of the underdog who beats all odds. And it is fitting that Anurag Basu started out from the small screen.His first big hit Murder (2004) was followed by last year’s chart-topping love story Gangster. Now Life in a… Metro is wooing audiences and critics alike with its take on the fragmented world of urban relationships. His films have scored for their content, making stars of many a newcomer (Mallika Sherawat, Kangana Ranaut). “I have moved project by project and film by film since I landed in Mumbai from Bhilai over a decade ago. I look back at my achievements as calculated risks that worked out.”Coming soon: Nothing really. I am on holiday. Moreover, my wife is expecting in June and I intend to be with her.
The mantra to break a formula: An honest portrayal of human emotions works, irrespective of the genre or scale of a film.
Dream cast:
Uttam Kumar, Waheeda Rehman, Kajol, Hrithik Roshan and Govinda.
Small is big because:
It is always safe, less risky. And even when these films don’t work well, they still end up making money for everyone involved in the project.

SANJAY KHANDURI
Hit: Ek Chalis Ki Last Local
Journey so far: When Khanduri came to Mumbai eight years ago from Delhi, he had a bag and a shelter—his friend’s home where he spent the night. “Mumbai has shown me all its colours, many of which have found their way into Ek Chalis…” he says. From assisting Subhash Ghai in Taal and Kundan Shah in Dil Hai Tumhara, he finally turned director with the Abhay Deol-starrer. “I wanted to make parallel commercial cinema within a particular budget, a film which has something for both the multiplex audience as well as the front-benchers.”
Coming soon: Talks are on for a full-fledged commercial film with an edge
The best mantra to break a formula: One should be aware of what’s in and what’s out in both the local and global film scene to break a formula.
Your dream cast: My scripts dictate my dream actors. But I would like to work with Amitabh Bachchan on a rocking script that challenges contemporary story-telling.
Small is big because: The audience has matured . They want to see entertaining films with small stars rather than empty films with big stars.

REEMA KAGTI
Hit: Honeymoon
Travels Pvt. Ltd.
Journey so far: Kagti calls herself “the fortunate one” for being able to make her directorial debut with a film “she wanted to make and got away with.” Her Honeymoon Travels Pvt. Ltd. was one of the first films in recent times to work successfully with a multi-story format. Kagti is no stranger to filmmaking, starting as an assistant director with Rajat Kapoor’s Private Detective: Two Plus Two Plus One in 1996 followed by Bombay Boys, Lagaan, Dil Chahta Ha and Lakshya.
Coming soon: I am currently co-writing a thriller with Zoya Akhtar for Excel Entertainment.
The mantra to break a formula: Issue-based cinema that entertains; most of the films being made today can be categorised either as issue-based or pure entertainment. I did a bit of both with Honeymoon. The winning formula perhaps lies in making good cinema that also tackles some issues without getting heavy.
Your dream cast: I don’t really have one. The characters come first and then the actors follow.
Small is big because: Size doesn’t matter; you have either good films or bad films.

DIBAKAR BANNERJEE
Hit: Khosla Ka Ghosla
Journey so far: The 36-year-old director calls his journey from making ad films to his debut Khosla Ka Ghosla a “joyride”.
Coming soon: I am working on two full-length feature films, the scripting of which is already over. We will make the announcements once the cast is signed.
The mantra to break a formula: Do exactly what you think is right. On the way you might get some liberal advice, take those that you agree with, otherwise just go ahead and do your own thing. The best way to break a formula is to make your own. Even the best of formula films are actually original films. For instance, what we call the Manmohan Desai formula films today were unique when they were first made.
Your dream cast: It would depend on the subject or the film. However, I wish I could do a film with Madhuri Dixit. She is not only one of India’s biggest stars but also a great actress. This is the right time for her to do roles outside the Bollywood formula.
Small is big because: It’s good and it connects. I would rather take it as a statement of hope and not as a gospel. A film has to connect. Quality sells, not size.