"Am I a philosopher?"
Imtiaz Ali mulls over the question when you tell him the quality reflects in his work as well as personality.
"I guess I manage to fox people most of the time being the way I am," he laughs.
Perhaps there is a layered insinuation in his confession.
Such a trait after all has been obvious in almost all his recent works, especially his last release Tamasha.
The film, despite its carefree rom-com vibes has a darker subtext that would seem far removed from earlier works such as Socha Na Tha and Jab We Met.
"Life changes you over the years, with the experiences it brings in its wake. A creative artist's work will also change accordingly. Somewhere, my evolving mindset is bound to reflect in every new film I make," he reasons.
Ali wants to give the edgy undertone a break after Tamasha.
"Right now, I want to make a fun film " something wild, irresponsible, brimming with sunshine. Too many people have told me my films are getting dark. I want to go the other way now."
He loves the idea of larger-than-life cinema but he will not do anything beyond his comfort zone.
"I would love to make a larger-than-life film but it's just that I have not been able to strike the right idea for it. I want to make different kinds of films but they should be within the sensibility that appeals to me," he says.
Ali belongs to the new generation of Hindi mainstream filmmakers who are reinventing the genre at a time when larger-than-life cinema continues to spell larger-than-expectation box-office returns. He seems aware his brand of realistic entertainers is not meant for recordbusting yet.
"The box-office is a great indicator of how many people went to see your film. In terms of appreciating quality, the box-office is not as myopic as filmmakers often tend to think," he says, underlining the importance of commercial success.
"But a great film is one that lasts forever. Think Sholay. The film is still earning and influencing filmmakers and audiences alike. A great film cannot be judged by three days' earning," adds Ali.
His Rs 65-crore latest release Tamasha has taken in a global gross of nearly Rs 107 crore despite being labelled different', so Ali is happy.
"The film has reached where it is supposed to reach and that matters to me," he says.
Ali's two biggest mainstream successes have starred the same hero.
Rockstar and Tamasha have been efforts that have helped him strike the balance between critical and commercial acclaim as few films do. The films' hero Ranbir Kapoor, he says, has become a "fast friend".
"I share a cinematic chemistry with Ranbir (Kapoor) that cannot be defined. We are united emotionally in cinema. We share a certain understanding and like similar things. Both us like to take a deeper look at life. At a personal level, that makes us fast friends," he says.
Observing people, for instance, is a trait Ranbir and Ali share. For Ali, the process of filmmaking starts at the basic level of interacting with people he meets.
"My biggest influences are the people I meet. Observing people gives me my bread and butter. To be a good storyteller one needs to be a keen observer of life. I need to feel involved with the people I write about. I make films from all that I see around me. So, whatever I show in my films may not necessarily have happened to me but it comes from a space that exists everywhere," he explains.
Realism, though, can never be wholly portrayed in cinema unlike literature or poetry, Ali argues. "In cinema, the space to show realism is restricted. You have only those few hours. How much of life's nuances can you pack in?" he reasons.
Literature, he tells you, is something that immensely impacts him.
"My mind and personality have been tremendously influenced by literature, English and Urdu poetry in particular."
For Ali, an aspect of projecting realism also involves how much one is allowed to show. The subject of censorship comes up. He is happy with the idea of certification replacing censorship. "As a filmmaker I will always quarrel against censorship," he laughs.
"But then, I am not the one who is making these policies, and I respect the restraints under which they (censor board members) work. One thing should be kept in mind. When you are in charge of censoring cinema that caters to 1.3 billion people, you should be fair. Only those who understand that should qualify. Censorship should be about understanding a scene or a script. When the issue is all about how many seconds a scene should be cut or retained, something is not right."
On the flipside, filmmakers too should be careful about what they show, Ali points out.
He cites the depiction of women and sexuality.
"Filmmakers should keep in mind how we project women should depend on the script context. It is not just be about sexuality.
So many films in the West show, say, violence against women, but they do it without titillating or demeaning women. If something is relevant to the story it will not look vulgar," he says.
For Ali, arguments over serious issues do not always provide solutions. Still, he is happy to make films in a country that leaves scope for debate. He feels it is important for people to engage in talk and counter-talk.
"If someone talks, chances are others will react. That is a human tendency. I feel we all have much to be thankful in this country. Problems exist everywhere in the world, so it would be wrong to talk only of intolerance in India. I feel we as a nation should avoid the tendency to get affected only by rage," he sums up.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/indiahome/indianews/article-3391049/Larger-life-pop-philosopher-Tamasha-director-Imtiaz-Ali-says-wants-make-films-brim-sunshine.html
comment:
p_commentcount