He has composed music, directed films, written dialogues and lyrics too. But with Kaminey, filmmaker Vishal Bhardwaj does much more

They say to get a sense of what a filmmaker is like, just watch his films. In the seven years of his baton-wielding fame, Vishal Bhardwaj, one of our generation’s avant-garde filmmakers has given us plenty of reasons to be fond of him. A glance through Bhardwaj’s filmography and this is what we gather—(a) He loves Ruskin Bond as much as Shakespeare; (b) He gives two hoots for market diktats and is equally at ease at making children’s film as dark dramas; (c) He loves the heartland; (d) He is partial to strong antagonists and oh yes, (e) He has great taste in music.

Then of course, there are some things that movies don’t tell you. Like the fact that Bhardwaj is a stickler for punctuality. He wants to meet us at an ungodly 9 a.m. on a weekday Mumbai morning for which he is on the dot. He is also courteous and offers us a lift from suburban Lokhandwala to town, hoping to wrap up the interview en route. And this is no surprise since the director is known for his multi-tasking skills. And while the car moves through rush-hour traffic, Bhardwaj sings out loud Dhan Te Nan, the signature song of his latest, Kaminey as we make ourselves comfortable in his Qualis. There’s no mistaking that he revels in being the man of the moment. “I never knew I would be able to make good films,” he starts off, only to add with a chuckle, “I know that sounds a bit much, doesn’t it? Ok, let me say, I never thought I’ll be able to make better than usual films. I’m happy it has turned out the way it has because I’m having a good time doing what I do.”

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