I never follow the beaten track: Dibakar Banerjee

Best known for National Award winning films like 'Khosla Ka Ghosla' and 'Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye!', as well as the controversial 'Love Sex aur Dhoka', director Dibakar Banerjee has earned respectability that most filmmakers aspire for. "I don't believe that you have to compromise on good cinema to entertain," he explains. Looking forward to his upcoming political thriller 'Shanghai', the director talks about his filmmaking fundas:

Q. Your films seem to follow the mid-path between mainstream entertainers and parallel cinema...

Both the terms are treated as two extreme ends, but I feel that there can be films that bridge the gap. I strongly believe that a film has to entertain. But I don't think that as a filmmaker I have to compromise on the audience's sensibilities in the name of providing entertainment. So, in a way, more than treading the middle path, my films are bridging that gap.

Q. Your casting of actors Emraan Hashmi and Abhay Deol -- who come from two of these extremes -- in 'Shanghai' raised many eyebrows. How was it directing them together?

Both Abhay and Emraan may have been known for their particular kind of cinema, but their sensibilities are on the same wavelength as actors. Both are intelligent and sensitive in their approach to their roles and that's a blessing for any director. I have worked with Abhay earlier, but working with Emraan was a revelation. He is an actor ready to be moulded in the director's vision and he completely surrendered into becoming the film's character.

Q. You seem to have a knack for making hatke films?

Hatke or not, all I know is that I don't follow the beaten track and I'm not afraid to find new ones.

Q. Why the two-year gap between all your films?

That's how long it makes me to work on a film right from conceptualisation to the execution. And I won't settle for mediocrity, in a rush to make more films. So, I don't see myself jump onto one project from another right away, getting into the rut of churning out one film after another.

Q. How has the struggle been from making your first film to now?

I think we are all in a good phase, where filmmakers are getting to make films without pandering to the need of it falling in the mainstream masala or doing art cinema and our kind of films are getting takers too. It's still as difficult to get the money in when you are making my kind of films, but it's easier today than what it was when I had started. It's a safer bet now.

Q. What's the next project in line?

I am working on a script for my next one, but right now, all my energies are channelised into 'Shanghai'. It's a project that people across will be able to relate to. It's darker, and intense, but not without a strong connect.

Source: Aakanksha Naval-Shetye, DNA-Daily News & Analysis

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