October 11, 2017
"I don't cast stars, I cast actors," says "Airlift" fame
director Raja Krishna Menon, who has worked with big names like Naseeruddin
Shah, Akshay Kumar and Saif Ali Khan. He feels a director and an actor need to
have a "naked relationship" to give life to a character on screen.
"An actor and director's relationship is something where you
really have to become naked as two people. You have to go through a process
where you have to shed whatever you are and allow somebody to mould you into
something else. You can be deeply insecure and it can be a difficult process,"
Menon told IANS here.
"I have worked with big names like Naseeruddin
Shah, Akshay and Saif. What I have seen is that in the beginning, you both are
judging each other - 'Should I trust you or not?'. With all these actors, I have
come through a point where they deeply trusted me and I felt responsible. Actors
and directors must agree with each other's imaginations," he added.
Menon, whose latest film to release is "Chef", says being a filmmaker, he only
likes to put light on subjects which he personally agrees on.
"I don't
think anybody would've watched ‘Bareilly Ki Barfi' or ‘Shubh Mangal Saavdhan'
five years ago. Now people are not getting dependent on the market because of
word of mouth. Filmmakers today have freedom to explore. We no longer have an
excuse. We just have to make good films," said Menon.
Looking at the
current state of Indian box office, where off-beat films are becoming sleeper
hits, Menon feels the meaning of the word commercial is changing.
"Now
storytellers are getting their due. Today, how you make the film and the way you
tell it is considered more important than who is featuring in it or what songs
will be there. The audiences are saying that if we are spending Rs 300 to Rs
400, then show me a story which is worth watching," he said.
While most
people in the industry blame the audiences for the debacle of commercial films
at the box office, Menon says the problem is with the people who put money in
films.
"The audience has always been ready for all types of content. The
problem has been the gatekeepers. What happens is that there is a filmmaker who
wants to make films, then there is an audience that wants to watch that type of
films. But between them, there are people who are scared as they have put money.
"If I will put huge money in a project, I will ask others to make
something that is working. Production is a very scary job. But what's happening
now is that producers are putting money only on good scripts. So, it's a good
time to be a storyteller," he said.
"Chef", which features Saif and
actress Padmapriya Janakiraman, is an official remake of 2014 Hollywood film of
the same name by Jon Favreau.
"‘Chef' is a realistic film. It deals with
issues that we tackle with in our day-to-day lives. The success of ‘Airlift' has
allowed me to be able to do films that I want to make. ‘Chef' has been made with
the same dedication," Menon said.