"Paan Singh Tomar" director Tigmanshu Dhulia says he has always been fascinated by stories of people who defy authority and his films reflect that world.
Dhulia, who is known for films such as "Haasil”, “Saheb Biwi Aur Gangster” franchise, “Bullett Raja” and “Yaara”, is revisiting the world of student politics 20 years after his debut film in web series "Garmi".
“Crime, gangsters, and characters who defy authority... this is something that I have always liked. Even as a child, I used to watch only action films, I used to hate drama. I would tag along with my parents, once they were going to watch a social film, like ‘Anurag’. I used to hate it,” the filmmaker told PTI in an interview.
“I don't like authority myself, I want to defy authority. So characters that defy the establishment or authority, like, gangsters like to stay in free space, even if they are violent, I find those interesting since childhood. I can’t change this and I like those things even today,” he added.
Dhulia remembers watching Ramesh Sippy's 1975 classic “Sholay” at the age of eight, which left a huge impact on him. He also loved watching Westerns such as George Roy Hill’s “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” and ‘The Cowboys’, among others.
"I was amazed with the visuals ‘Sholay’ had, I had not seen something like this before, even the characters, the shot taking... I had no knowledge about shot taking but it was all making an impact on me. I would like Westerns, war films, so (all) these films I have loved watching, they have had an influence on me,” Dhulia added.
"Garmi” revolves around a young man who moves out of his hometown with aspirations of becoming a civil servant but stumbles into the world of college politics, powerplay and crime.
“I started digging into it long back, my first film (‘Haasil’) was on student politics. I wanted to revisit this part of society. It’s been 20 years and it was interesting to explore the world after 20 years, like what has happened in society.
"The world is volatile, exciting. It is about a boy and they are all young, 22 or 23-year-old and how politics affects them. I wanted to revisit that area again, how society has changed. It (subject) is very close to me, my first movie,” Dhulia said.
The director said the world of student politics has changed a lot in the last two decades "because society has changed drastically".
"The sense of morality, the good and bad, the value system, has changed drastically. Even people who consume our content, their level, their aesthetic level have gone, so the society has degenerated in the past 20 years or more than that. It started happening after globalization.”
“Garmi” will stream on Sony LIV from April 21.
