Madhur Bhandarkar completed 25 years as a film director on August 6. This was the day when his debut flick Trishakti (1999) was released in cinemas. A lot has changed in the industry since the time he started and in an exclusive interview with Bollywood Hungama, he spoke about it and a lot more.
EXCLUSIVE: Madhur Bhandarkar reveals: “Mithun Chakraborty recently told me, ‘At times, I used to just listen to the narration from the director on phone’”; opens up on entourage debate: “For an actor to think that ‘Picture chale na chale, mera paisa toh aa gaya’ is not fair”
A common complaint nowadays of filmmakers is that it’s difficult to meet actors. One has to go through their managers or agencies to meet them and even then, there’s no guarantee that they’ll get access to the star. On this, Madhur Bhandarkar said that this trend “has its pluses as well as minuses”.
He further said, “A few days back, I met Mithun da (Mithun Chakraborty) in Kolkata. He told me, ‘I have done so many films. At times, I used to just listen to the story narration from the director on the phone. I used to trust the director and go on the set directly. We used to not even check if he was making a multi-starrer or a solo film. That was the conviction we had. Some films worked and some didn’t’. He also remarked, ‘This is how I became a superstar’! He also said that he has, at times, heard the script directly on the sets. The contract will be handed over to them much later. There are also instances when he used to be told that some director’s assistant would be making the film. He stated, ‘At times, it used to be their debuts. We didn’t even know if they knew their job but we used to take the plunge’.
We then discussed how things have changed now. Actors want to read the script and do homework. And still, there’s no guarantee that the film would work at the box office. If you ask me, I worked harder on Trishakti than Page 3 (2005). But it is Page 3 that became a cult film (laughs)! You never know what works and what doesn’t.”
A hot debate at present is how the actors move with their entourages and it adds to the film’s costs. Madhur Bhandarkar said, “I make mid-sized films. My budgets are always controlled and I always tell my actors, ‘Please don’t put the load on the film (by charging excessive fees)’. There’s always financial pressure on the filmmakers. The industry, moreover, is not going through a great phase. Thankfully, I am lucky to keep the budget in check. I made India Lockdown (2022) in 25 days while Babli Bouncer (2022) in 41 days. I believe that a film should work. If the film works, the actors will also benefit. To think that ‘Picture chale na chale, mera paisa toh aa gaya’ is not fair. If the producer doesn’t survive, how will he make his next film?”
Also Read: EXCLUSIVE: Madhur Bhandarkar ADMITS that he’s making Fashion 2: “In the last few years, can you recall the name of any supermodel? Bollywood celebs have taken over and have become showstoppers”
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