12 April,2009 08:37 AM IST | | Amita Amin-Shinde
Mahesh Manjrekar talks about why his Marathi film is making news and how he survived a rough patch in his career
WHEN we tell Mahesh Manjrekar that we saw Me Shivajiraje Bhonsale Boltoy in a suburban multiplex, he says, "You should have seen it at Plaza." We head to Plaza for a photo shoot and to prove a point, he takes us to the balcony where the film is already on. The cinema hall is houseful. Shivaji Maharaj's entry that's the character he plays in the film is greeted with whistles, cheers and claps. It's heartening for Mahesh; he co-produced the film and the director is his cousin Santosh Manjrekar. We come out and Mahesh smiles, "It feels great to get such a good response." To this, we ask...
It is. This is the kind of recovery one would get when the film does its full run. But Shivaji managed it in just three days.u00a0
Do you think the standoff between the Hindi producers/distributors and the exhibitors helped?
No. With the amount of money we spent on Shivaji's publicity, I knew the audience would come. Besides, if the standoff had helped, it would have also benefited 8x10 Tasveer. It didn't (smirks).
That means Marathi cinema is emerging from the black hole?
Marathi cinema is here to stay, but let's not jump the gun. Content wise, we were always better than Hindi films. But once we make a film, we don't know what to do with it. What I did was go all out and publicise the film.u00a0
So you will continue doing Marathi films?
I will. It's better to play safe in Marathi films than getting heartburn in Hindi. Though, I have a few scripts ready in Hindi and have told Sanju (Sanjay Dutt), 'Let's do a film together'.u00a0
Look what happened to the actors. Vinay Pathak was brilliant in Bheja Fry, so was Ranvir Shorey. They then got catapulted into hero roles. But that's not working. That's exactly what happened to Manoj Bajpai, a brilliant actor. See Irrfan Khan not even Shah Rukh Khan could save him in Billu.
But some films work and some don't.
I agree. You have to give the audience something different every time. I had a brilliant script, a biopic that is set 40 years back. I took it to a producer, whom I will not name. She said it's nice, but let's put four-five songs in it! I got scared. The audience today is far more brilliant then those 20 years ago. In Marathi cinema, there are fewer risks. But personally, if Shivaji had bombed, I would have been in a deep financial crisis.
Its success could also be attributed to the fact that there are no pirated DVDs in the market.
There isn't? A friend in Dubai saw the film there. Idhar nahi hai. I just hope that those indulging in piracy business are scared that they will get butchered here. It needs to be done. (Emphasises) In the south, DVDs don't come out. Those who indulge in piracy, they break their bones.
Literally?
Yes, actually hit them. It scares the sh't out of them. That should be done here too. Break their bones because they are breaking the industry's back. (shrugs)
The film's music launch had Raj Thackeray in attendance, and your film advocates that those in Maharashtra are all Maharashtrians.
See, Raj and I have been friends since ages. His political ideologies and mine are different. Somewhere, the way he has interpreted his ideology may be wrong. What he opposes is not the people staying here. He opposed what happened in the railway recruitment process... but what he did came across very wrong. I feel sad for him sometimes.
Have you told him that?
Ya... ya... ya... he is a friend. See, when he came for the music launch, he never tried to impose anything on my film. Babasaheb Purandare was there as well because he is an expert on Shivaji, and I didn't need any controversy. I had invited Chief Minister Ashok Chavan as well, but he said he was in Delhi that day. His wife came. Nowhere, did I want to give my film a political colour.
Tell us more about your political friendships.
See Uddhav (Thackeray) is not a friend friend. But Raj and I go back a long time, even before he entered politics. Ashok Chavan and I went to the same college. Even today, I wonder how he came into politics. I always felt he was not meant for politics because he was too much of a gentleman.
Guess you need to be a little crooked...
Haaa... not little (laughs). All politicians, when they die, should be drilled into the ground with screws. They are that crooked. But Ashok is educated and he is an MBA. He has no vices. He has never smoked. He has never had a drink in his life.
Tell us more...
Ashok stayed in Elphinston. I used to stay with him for studies. His father was the CM then. I still remember other students calling up Ashok and asking, 'Exam paper milega kya...' and we used to laugh. Ashok had ATKT... uska maths ka paper tha. I am happy he is my friend. And I am happy that I don't take favours from him. I'm happy he knows that. The only thing I will ask him is that I want to start this acting academy and I need the government's help.
What's this academy you are planning?
I am thinking of starting an academy in a few months that will teach everything acting, singing and dancing. And make a film with the students who enroll. Dance will be a big thing but I won't be teaching it. (Laughs). By the way, I am releasing my film Struggler, which is a tribute for all those who come to Bombay with a dream. (Pause) I am releasing it on my own in Maharashtra.
You said you wouldn't teach dance. You were the finalist on Jhalak Dhikla Jaa...
Someone called and asked me if I was interested. I quoted some astronomical sum, and they said 'yes'. So I agreed because at time I was going through the most difficult period of my life, emotionally and financially.u00a0
What happened to Astitva's English remake with Sushmita Sen?
I don't know if It Was Raining That Night will ever be made. We finished shooting about 80 per cent of the film. We had to shoot the Bombay scenes. Sushmita had an accident. Her hair got caught in the fan and she got a whiplash. Then the film just delayed and delayed. Today, I don't know if I would want to revive the film.u00a0
You also let go of the chance to encash on Slumdog Millionaire?
I didn't do the film for free. They paid me. By choice, I didn't talk. People started asking me 'jhagda hua kya', but the crew was really good.u00a0
Everybody wanted their pound of flesh. I thought, 'Sirf skeleton baccha hai', and I won't have been able to extract my pound of flesh from that.
But you could have been on the Oscar platform.
Perhaps. (Smile)
Who are you friends in the industry now?
My friends are from the theatre world. We don't talk business. We also have a cricket team, and meet up in the mornings for practice. We are called the 'Upstagers'.
There was a patch in your life when things were not right.
Yes, there was, and that disturbed me a lot. Whatever I am today, I credit it to my first wife. I used to do theatre and I was losing a lot of money. But she was my biggest support, along with my mother-in-law. Imagine a mother thinking, 'Isska husband karta kya hai?' They stood by me. The children are absolutely fine now. I am a little whacked out person. When things were down, the first thing I did was I stopped drinking (laughs).
Really?
Yes, I mean I was not a regular drinker. I stopped drinking. That is how I survived. That is why I say there are no friends in this industry. They are the first ones to desert you when the chips are down.u00a0u00a0
And you are very dedicated to your children.
Yes. Satya, my son who is in eighth standard is on a camping holiday. Ashwami, mind you she is not Ashwini... she gets very angry when people mispronounce her name (laughs)... is shooting a documentary in Kalyan. She is 21 years old and doing her Mass Communication course. Her name has no meaning, but it means a lot to us. My ex-wife's father was called Ashwin and my father was Waman. So we had always decided that if we get a boy, we will call him Ashwam and if it's a girl, we would call her Ashwami.
So will Ashwami follow her father's footsteps?
She is too talented. Mujhe darr lagta hai kabhi kabhi. She has already assisted me in Viruddh. I have told her already that if she wants to become a director, she just has to tell me. She says, 'On one condition'. That I will never ever come near her sets (laughs).
