I love to explore different segments of people. Inside my heart, I am a hard core Manmohan Desai fan

Known for his realistic movies and extracting the best performance from his artistes, Madhur Bhandarkar is back with other hard-hitting, realistic movie ‘Jail’ which promises to be a gritty one about prison life.
The movie, which Neil has even gone nude for, also stars Mugdha Godse & Manoj Bajpai

The award winning helmer who was hailed as the mew age Hrishikesh Mukherjee by none other then Big B shares with Jyothi Venkatesh about Jail, his cinema & its journey so far…..

Q: What is your approach as a director?
A: Some people say that I make films with topical issues. Some say that I do moral policing. I love to explore different segments of people. Inside my heart, I am a hard core Manmohan Desai fan. I am happy all my films right from Chandni Bar have done well at the box office too besides eliciting critical encomiums. The National awards that my films have fetched are like the icing on the cake.

Q: How would you describe the subject of Jail?
A: The subject of my film jail is very intriguing. It is all about how a common man has a brush with the law and gets into jail. The film is all about how Neil Nitin Mukesh gets caught up with the law. Though the film is real, gritty and dark, there are characters in the film which have humour.

Q: What message do you set out to drive home through Jail?
A: It is difficult for me as a film maker to say what message I am trying to drive home through the film. All that I can say is that it is narration of society. However let me clarify that Jail is not preachy or judgmental. The audiences will see Jail as an entirely new concept not seen hitherto on the Indian screen ever before, because till date, Hindi Cinema has always shown a jail as a larger than life commercial item. In real life, the jail is in no way similar to the one you are used to see on the big screen.

Q: Does the tag of the realistic director restrict you as a filmmaker?
A: I know for a fact that I have been given the tag of a realistic film maker. I think the tag is a big compliment to me as a film maker. Media always gives tags to filmmakers. Some, like Yashji are known as the makers of romantic films while some, like Karan Johar are known for their ability to make candy floss films. There are filmmakers like Ashutosh Gowarikar who are known to be experts in making historical films effortlessly.

Q: What is your motto as a filmmaker?
A: As a film maker, I have always believed that films should entertain the audiences besides having a message which is subtle and underplayed, because all said and done, a film is a medium of entertainment.

Q: What did you learn from your mentor Ramgopal Varma after assisting him?
A: I think every director learns from some filmmaker or the other. I am glad that till date, the media has  not compared me with my mentor Ramgopal Varma, because both Ramu and I have entirely different styles of our own and I have created a brand of my own with myself with the  kind of sensitive and issue based films, which I have always believed in making. Ramu has technical brilliance and craftsmanship, which I have learnt from him. My assistants too will learn from me when they leave me and branch out on their own.

Q: The hero in your films is not larger than life. Why?
A: I would describe myself as a passionate film maker and hence treat every film the way it is, depending upon how the story of the film has to be told. In all my films, if you have observed my career closely, the underdogs have always been my protagonists, for the simple reason that I cannot forget the fact that I myself hail from a middle class family. Perhaps that is the main reason why it is difficult for my hero to be larger than life. Do you know that 80% of people in India belong to the middle class and hence are able to relate to the characters that I present in my films?

Q: How would you evaluate your career from Trishakti to Jail?
A: I think I entered the film industry at the right time. In 2001, the multiplex culture had just begun. Thanks to the proliferation of the multiplexes, it is a challenge for me to make different cinema. I have been inspired by several filmmakers like Guru Dutt, Steven Spielberg, Mani Ratnam, Raju Hirani etc. I want to work with Kamal Haasan and Amitabh Bachchan. I was thrilled when Amitabh Bachchan complimented me and hailed me as the new age Hrishikesh Mukherjee when I received the national award.
 
Q: Is there any plan to make a sequel to Chandni Bar?
A: Chandni Bar has become such a major landmark film in my career. People ask me whether I am planning to make a sequel to Chandni Bar. All that I can say is that I want Chandni Bar to have a lingering effect. I do not think I can make a similar film. I am not at all keen on making Chandni Bar Part 2. So what if Chandni Bar had ended with an open end? All my films have an open ending