No more acting for me: Mahesh Manjrekar
Mee Shivaji Raje Bhosle Boltoy inspired by Lage Raho Munnabhai?
I love the Munnabhai series… But no inspiration has been drawn from there. I’ve wanted to make a film on the ‘common man’ since years. Initially,
I had plans to make it a silent film because a common man’s voice is never heard. If Shivaji was inspired by another film, I would’ve gladly admitted it. I wonder: Was Rajkumar Hirani ever asked if he was inspired by Bruce Almighty or Shobha Yatra or then Chamatkar? If not, then why me?
The film is doing well because not many movies are being released due to the strike. Comment.
If my film was doing well only because of the strike, Tasveer 8×10 should’ve been a hit, too!
You’re more of an actor than a director these days.
No more acting for me. I’ve given it up. I’ll be seen in a fun film 99, after that nothing! I’m writing a few scripts now. Maathi Jasuli and Satra Saati are two Marathi movies I’m working on.
So is it going to be only Marathi films for you?
Marathi films are the safest bet today. Budgets aren’t too high; subsidies are in place; ideas are immense. So it’s a ‘minimum risk, maximum satisfaction’ formula. However, there are a couple of Hindi movies, I’m planning, one of which is called FU.
You were a part of Slumdog… Why did you stay away from the BAFTAs, Oscars, Golden Globes?
Slumdog Millionaire was an amusing phenomenon! Everybody came out of the woodwork all of a sudden. It was humorous. It was like a team had won a match and the extras in the stand were dancing more than the actual Team XI. But Slumdog did some good things for us. It was more Hindi than any of our Hindi films. If any Indian filmmaker would’ve made it, the critics would’ve termed it a ‘convenient film’. I’m sad that Aamir’s Taare Zameen Par didn’t make it to the final round of the Oscars. I thought it to be way better than Slumdog, without taking away anything from Boyle and the kids. But Indian movies are underestimated there. Now thanks to Slumdog we may just be looked at a little more seriously. The Indian entry to the Oscars is a sensitive topic for me. I’d made a film called Astitva, which wasn’t sent to the Academy Awards. The movie sent instead was Jeans. Can you believe that? Every time I think of it, I cringe.
source: indiatimes.com