By Arundhuti Banerjee
Mumbai, Jan 11 (IANS) Celebrated filmmaker Anurag Kashyap, who counts himself as a social commentator and attempts to capture the complex reality of the Indian society in his films, says he wants thought-provoking films to help the audience start a conversation on issues.
His forthcoming sports film "Mukkabaaz" deals with the struggle of a boxer and with social issues like caste system, youth politics and the power play of people.
Known for his socio-political dramas like "Black Friday", "Ugly" and "Gangs Of Wasseypur", what made him make a film on boxing?
"I intend to start a dialogue through my films. I am a social commentator as a filmmaker and (believe in) capturing the complexity of the society as it is. The idea is that after watching the film 'Mukkabaaz', if people start talking about the affected area of a sportsman's life and who is responsible for that, I will be happy," Kashyap told IANS in an interview.
"The fact is, in our country, people join sports to get a government job and once they get that, they do not want to do that and rather want to play the sport. As a result, neither do they become a good officer, nor a sportsman. Ultimately, the result shows on our achievement of medals in international tournaments," he explained.
Kashyap, who is keen on exploring the old storytelling tradition that infuses music and poetry, believes in adding entertainment value to any serious topic.
"This is the first time that I have thought about the story as in 'How would Rajkumar Hirani do it' because as a filmmaker, he understands the pulse of a common man very well. He took on the education system in '3 Idiots', religion in 'PK' and a subject like Mahatma Gandhi in 'Munna Bhai'.
"Raju proved the fact that if you can add a value of entertainment, you can reach out to the largest audience with the most serious subject of the country. I think I have tried everything in this one -- whether adding humour, use of music and poetry... I have tried them all," added Kashyap.
He believes in the existing fine line between a lyricist and a poet, and so, has used poetry penned by Hussain Haidry for "Mukkabaaz".
Being vocal on issues pertaining to the entertainment business, the filmmaker said that he prefers to stay as an independent individual. However, he hopes better times prevail for the industry.
"I think the larger issue in the business of cinema is different. Things like censorship, forced rule of the interval by exhibitors, difficult distribution of a film in different states are some of them. I think we are living in a country where people want everything free, without responsibility. And they are certainly not ready to pay for entertainment."
"Mukkabaaz" is releasing on Friday.
(Arundhuti Banerjee can be contacted at arundhuti.b@ians.in)
