What’s special about Dekh Tamasha Dekh?
The director of the critically acclaimed <i >Gandhi: My Father</i> talks about his upcoming socio-political satire, <i >Dekh Tamasha Dekh</i>
What’s special about Dekh Tamasha Dekh?
It’s a socio-political satire set in the ’90s and it follows the bizarre consequences a common man has to suffer after an innocuous accident.
The release coinciding with the elections was obviously a planned move?
Well, the film was ready some time ago but I was busy with a TV project, hence the delay. The timing is a happy coincidence.
It was conceived before Gandhi My Father. Why the delay?
I don’t think the film would have been received well earlier and I got caught up with Gandhi My Father; so I gave this up for some time.
How does your theatre background influence your work?
They’re different media grammatically, but compelling storylines that can hold the audience with an aesthetic treatment are common to both.
What are your influences from overseas?
I’ve absorbed a lot from Kurosawa and Kiarostami, but you're inspired by where you’re from.
Directors closer home you’ve admired?
Satyajit Ray, Ritwik Ghatak, Raj Kapoor and Guru Dutt’s works have inspired me.
Why is there an absence of background score?
The truth in it was so powerful and the environment so rich in sound that I felt a background score was not needed.
How was it like working with Satish Kaushik?
I think Satish as an actor has done his best work on Salesman Ramlal and it was an honour to work with him again.
Which contemporary actors do you think have the maximum range?
Ranbir Kapoor has a lot of skills. I like Hrithik Roshan. He has a lot to offer, too.
Would you like to make a film with ‘stars’ in it?
It would be presumptuous to think stars would want to work with me, but if I have a subject and a story, I might.