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Chalte Chalte... Manoranjan beyond Nukkad
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Aziz Mirza is not your everyday film director making grand, pompous films. He is also not the usual art director making films that would put you to sleep. He makes beautiful films, adds a dash of comedy, a shade of reality. And then takes a break till another idea comes into his mind. ZIYA US SALAM speaks to the director of Chalte Chalte", now yearning to take a little break from films... .
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THREE IS COMPANY: Aziz Mirza with Shah Rukh Khan and Rani Mukherjee on the sets of "Chalte Chalte".
HE MAKES films the way people live life. Or the way he has lived life with all its bitter-sweet experiences. He makes comedies with a tinge of sadness. He talks of strugglers who come through in the end. He focuses on middle-class people struggling to maintain a semblance of dignity, still toiling, still persevering. His hero travels by bus, hates his boss, yearns to buy a car, impress a girl. He makes films with a `real' feel. And when he is tired of doing all this, he goes, takes a break, plays bridge until the mood overcomes him again. Then it is back to the studios, back to the place he belongs, back to Bollywood. Incidentally, he takes umbrage at the use of the word, `Bollywood' for the Hindi film industry.
"I feel affronted with the term, `Bollywood'. My middle-class upbringing, my morality, my ego comes in the way of accepting this term. We are no appendage to Hollywood. It is a complete industry. Call it Indian film industry or Hindi film industry but never Bollywood," he states.
Welcome to the world of Aziz Mirza. Welcome to the world of "Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron", "Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman", "Yes Boss" and "Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani". Not to forget his foray to the small screen with "Manoranjan", Nukkad" and "Circus".
"Not everything is hunky-dory about life. It has its ups and downs. Life is like that. I have been kicked in my pants too. So, I know how it feels to struggle in life. It is particularly difficult for the middle-class man to maintain his dignity. He has to maintain a certain standard also, so he loses both ways. I have come through those times myself. That is why my films have a feeling of being real. Every character is someone I have experienced in my life. I might have experienced it myself, or interacted with similar people. Sometimes my family members and friends find a bit of me in my heroes. But then films derive from real life. Life itself is stranger than fiction."
His days of struggle saw him start and close down a transport business and sundry other jobs before he came back to films. And then he made films with which the masses could identify. "I used to travel by bus. I met my wife at the bus stop. So in my films too, the hero does not land by a helicopter or drives down in a Mercedes. That is the way I view life. Every film shows the personality of the director. It reflects his thoughts, his views."
Having said that, he feels there are times when one has to change the approach somewhat to meet the entertainment criterion dictated by the market. "My latest `Chalte Chalte' which should be released in June is another fun film. No high funda statements have been issued. It is a film about relationships, with their strengths and weaknesses. It is about human beings, the ethos is practical. For a commercial film you can go to Switzerland or Iceland, shoot a song but you have certain criterion. You put in so much money but within that canvas you try to make as human a film as you can. There is no point making a film and seeing it alone at home or sending it for film festivals alone. Films are for wider viewership. That is the basic criterion. They should be audience-friendly. You have to make a film with certain sensibility. You can't make too realistic a film because the crowd it is meant for won't come to the cinema halls at all and the crowd that does come to halls, won't understand it."
So he makes compromises, yet stays on his path. Makes commercial films with a touch of reality. A middle-class man, you would say! "Yes, every director practically makes only one kind of films because his experience teaches him. My films can be light, straight but have an emotional feel. The comedy will have a tinge of sadness. My hero cannot be a rich man far removed from the everyday life. It would be irresponsible to my audience."
This is the same responsibility he has apparently shown in "Chalte Chalte" whose promos on satellite channels are getting rave reviews these days. "It is clearly a love story but the hero is again not larger than life. He is very human, normal guy with his share of mistakes and weaknesses."
Initially it was reported that Aishwarya Rai was to star opposite Shah Rukh in the film. Aziz Mirza does not deny it. "Aishwarya Rai is an actress of great calibre, great charm. She would have done justice to her role here. But as a matter of fact, Rani Mukherjee has done tremendously well in the film. I am happy with her performance. She has given it her best shot and looks good."
"Chalte Chalte" is ready, yet Aziz Mirza is not with plans for his next film. "Why should I plan for it now? I will play bridge, laze around, take a holiday till I feel like making a film again. Films are not the end of life. Life is beyond films. It is transcendental. For the moment I need to rest."
Who's to grudge that to the man who believes that film might depict life but they are not life?
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