Past Tense, Will Flick No 2 Click?

When asked whether life had changed for him in the aftermath of Rang De Basanti, the two-film-old Rakeysh Mehra had this to say: 8220;I now have the respect and appreciation of my seniors in the industry, and these are people whose films I grew up on.8221; That is exactly what Meghna Gulzar is looking for. Filhaal8230; her career is poised at the crossroads. As she launches her second feature, Honey-moon, starring Fardeen Khan and Esha Deol, the challenge before her is to makeahigh-qualityfilm that also ends up appealing to movie goersat large.

Directors like Suparn Verma Ek Khiladi Ek Hasina, Shoojit Sirkar Ya-haan, Leena Yadav Shabd and Bap-paditya Roy Sau Jhooth Ek Sachare also up against the same kind of challenge. Their first films came un-stuck at the box office; so their future hinges on their second essays.

For these directors, striking a balance between commercial viability and the nuance soft he irownvisionisn8217;t going to be a cake walk. Nobodyknowsthat betterthantheythemselves.8220;I8217;mnotin-terested in making safe films,8221; says Meghna, who debuted four years ago with the critically acclaimed but com-merciallytepidFilhaal. Suparn Verma, too, has no inten-tion of changing tack. He had un-leashed the quirky, low-budget con flick Ek Khiladi Ek Hasina last year. It did not make the sort of waves it was expected to. 8220;Indian audiences do not have a taste for black humour,8221; says the director. 8220;All my characters were either gray or completely black.8221;

Verma8217;s next film will be cast in much the same mould, although he promises that it will be stylistically differ-ent from Ek Khiladi. 8220;It will have 20- odd characters, all of them with deep shades of grey. I love people with twisted minds,8221; he says.

Shoojit Sircar, who debuted with Yahaan, is now working on a period love story that is being co-scripted by Gulzar. 8220;I had no reason to be un-happy with the response to Yahaan, but the film certainly could have done better commercially. The Mumbai floods of 2005 washed away our chances,8221; says Sircar.

Leena Yadav8217;s maiden film, Shabd, had everything going for it8212;Sanjay Dutt and Aishwarya Rai as leads, a production company like Pritish Nandy Communications and strong pre-release word-of-mouth publicity. Yet, it sank without a trace. 8220;Shabd suffered because of industry politics,8221; says Yadav, adding, 8220;The media killed the film.8221; Yadav is now readying her-self for another shot at glory with a film to be produced by Ambika Hin-duja8217;s Serendipity Films, the banner behind Homi Adajania8217;s Being Cyrus.

Bappaditya Roy, whose first release was the barely-seen, off-mainstream Sau Jhooth Ek Sach, a film based on the 1946 JB Priestley play, An Inspector Calls, is currently firming up a more saleable script for one of Bollywood8217;s biggest banners.

8220;I8217;ve come to the conclusion,8221; says Roy, 8220;that it is always better to work with an established production outfit if you want your film to be packaged and promoted well.8221;

Getting it right the second time aroundis crucialfor herandall theoth-ers like her. These young filmmakers have their work cut out8212;they have to deliverahit tostayafloat. If thereis any-thingworsefor a Bollywood filmmaker than high expectations, it is scepticism.

Meghna Gulzar and others like her have a point to prove8212;to themselves, the audience and the industry.