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PHOTO: MURALI KUMAR K.

HARD HITTING Madhur Bhandarkar likes to show it as it is

“I have had to face some criticism,” the filmmaker comments, of his dwelling on the grime behind the glitter. “But bouquets and brickbats are part of any creative person’s life. Now I have this image. Like the other day, I had gone to the hospital to visit my friend’s father. The doctors were all hovering around me asking if everything was alright because they thought I was making a film on hospitals!”

Madhur says he researches his movies thoroughly. “Journalists loved Konkana’s character in ‘Page 3’.” And when you demand why he went in for the stereotyping of crime reporting as the serious kind of reporting, Madhur dives under the “it is not a documentary” cover.

“Fashion” is the director’s most ambitious project yet, in terms of scale. “While my palate usually favours the greys and blacks, if the movie is going to be about fashion, it needs to be opulent. The budget is about Rs. 18 crore. There are 11 ramp sequences. I have experts in field as consultants from Rita Dhondi to Lubna Adams and Wendell Rodricks. But though the sets are high on glitz and glamour, the characters, dialogues and situations are within the parameters of reality.”

Talking of the inspiration for the film, which stars Priyanka Chopra and Kangana Ranaut among others, Madhur says: “I made ‘Traffic Signal’ as I wanted to break from the high life of ‘Page 3’ and ‘Corporate’. After ‘Traffic Signal’ I wanted to move away from that world. I saw the kind of coverage fashion gets in media and thought this is something the common man would like to know more about.”

A director trademark, apart from strong women characters, is the single word English titles. “I like to use single words for my titles. It gives a distinct air to the film.”

Madhur describes himself as an actor’s director. “I like to believe that. All my actors have given strong performances. Be it Konkona in ‘Page 3’, Raveena in ‘Satta’, Tabu in ‘Chandini Bar’ or Bipasha Basu in ‘Corporate’.

Content is most definitely king for Madhur. “I am a good storyteller. That is my strength. I would use technique to enhance the story.”

Madhur, who prefers to convert his own stories to film, is all sympathy for the writer’s strike that is crippling Hollywood. “I hope an understanding is reached soon. Writers are very important in the industry. In Bollywood, the industry is more like family, with writers working closely with the makers.”

Madhur grants that while writers earlier were a neglected breed, now times have changed. “Thanks to media, the behind-the-scenes technicians, including directors, are all getting their due.”

In town to inaugurate celebrity fitness trainer Leena Mogre’s specialised gym on CMH Road, Madhur’s reaction to the fitness obsession is “Why not? There is media scrutiny 24x7 and we lead such erratic lives. The discipline a regular fitness regime instils is a good thing.”

While Madhur has gone on record saying he is taking a break from women-dominated films, will he ever turn his investigate eye to the world of film, effectively biting the hand that fed him? “If I get a good enough story, then I will definitely do so,” he signs off with diplomatic flourish.

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