May 31, 2017
From "Bhaag Milkha Bhaag", "MS Dhoni:
The Untold Story" to "Dangal" -- biopics seem to be the flavour of the
season in Bollywood. But filmmaker Sujoy Ghosh says he is not fond of
biopics as he is not interested in peeping into the personal lives of
iconic personalities.
"I am not particularly fond of biopics. It is a very subjective thing.
I like people and their work. I mean, for example, R.D. Burman or
Kishore Kumar, I love their songs and music. But I am not interested in
their personal life," Ghosh told IANS over phone from Mumbai.
He added: "I want to stick to the work. I could be wrong (in thinking
like this). I am sure there will be other people who want to know, but
I prefer the work... That is what attracts me. Maybe I will change my
mind."
Ghosh re-interpreted a legendary episode from the Indian epics
Mahabharata and Ramayana with actors Radhika Apte and actor Soumitra
Chatterjee with "Ahalya". Set in a contemporary time in Kolkata, the
14-minute film narrated how fate of an apsara, a mahirishi and God of
rain Indra is sealed by a curse -- all weaved together with the emotion
of desire, seduction and infidelity.
At the moment he is working on another short film. This time, he has
picked up a story by legendary filmmaker Satyajit Ray.
He says he might be ready with the film based on Ray's "Anukul", which
explores the relationship between a robotic housekeeper and his owner,
in the second half of the year.
The director, who hails from Kolkata, is excited about the new project.
As a director, Ghosh is known for films like "Jhankaar Beats", "Home
Delivery: Aapko... Ghar Tak" and "Aladin". But he got everyone's
attention with "Kahaani" franchise. He has also acted in projects like
"My Brother... Nikhil", "Bluffmaster!", "Ta Ra Rum Pum" and "Badman".
The director is happy with the newfound interest in short film format
in the country. But he feels "many people still don't know how to
monetise the short film".
"As of now, short films are being made with people who can just give us
some money to make the film. It was hard initially... People are
willing to invest in short films with full knowledge fact that they
might not get their money back."
Talking about the challenges of making short films, Ghosh said: "It
(writing with limited time in hand) is a huge challenge. Just the
shooting time of short film is less but the rest of it is same as any
other feature film."
There were reports that he might work with Jacqueline Fernandez or Alia
Bhatt in his next. But Ghosh laughs off all such claims.
"The problem is that (if I talk to) anybody, assumption starts... There
might be an article saying I am making a film with you... It is very
hard to talk to people," he said.
On a concluding note, Ghosh said that he wants to master the art of
storytelling, not directing.
"The aim and goal of all the famous directors across the world is to be
able to tell any story."