‘no such thing as a multiplex film’

But yes, because single screen theatres cater to major stars and there is a compelling price factor, the multiplex provides an opportunity to filmmakers like me. My film would probably not have got the kind of success that it did if the PVR chain had not supported it. Now there is a commercial model that I can exploit as a filmmaker who wants to combine artistic pursuit with monetary return. Yet, when I made my film, I only kept in mind the Hindi-speaking audience, not a ‘multiplex audience’.

We have always had small films, or the so-called alternative cinema — Basu Chatterjee, Sai Paranjape, Hrishikesh Mukerjee and so many others. When I made Bheja Fry, I was addressing the need for an intelligent comedy that was already present in the collective unconscious. Bheja Fry merely refreshed it; but it had been sparked off much earlier by films like Sai Paranjape’s Chashme Baddur.

Is there a ‘New Wave’ in Indian cinema today? Quite frankly, no. We can call it a new wave only when there are at least 4-5 filmmakers who are noticed by the world, not just within the country. Our mainstream commercial film still does not address the world. We lack good directors, good producers and most of all, good scripts.

For Bheja Fry, I did pick unconventional new actors, but at the end of the day, I still served up a popular dish. I stuck to safe choices. I took non-stars because I could only afford them. What would I have done if I had more money at my disposal? I would have picked better costumes, put up better sets. I would probably still have resisted taking on the bigger stars but that is because big stars bring their own pressures and constraints. And as a filmmaker today, I do have the advantage of doing without stars because the focus has shifted to content. Content rules and this is a lovely development.

... contd.