As Bombay Talkies celebrates 12 years since its release, director Dibakar Banerjee speaking with Subhash K Jha, talks about and his part of the incredible anthology, Star, which starred Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Sadashiv Amrapurkaras.
Your segment entitled Star of the omnibus Bombay Talkies is recalled with much fondness.
I absolutely loved working with Nawazuddin, Shubhangi Bhujbal, and all the other amazing Marathi stage and screen actors on this. That little girl must have grown up now! Also, Samreen Farooqi and Shabani Hassanwalia, my co-creators, were the research and ideological force behind the story! I remember the amazing time I had with flautist Rakesh Chaurasia on the music.
What prompted you to tackle this quirky story?
It was based on a Satyajit Ray story. It all started with my hero, Satyajit Ray. It paved the way for two or three more such short films, all lots of fun.
I believe this was Sadashiv Amrapurkar’s last film.
Working with him was beyond great. The chats we had , they had me in splits. He’d regale us with one funny story after another. The insights into the world of acting, Mumbai’s urban history, and the role of theatre in it informed the actual confrontation he and Nawaz had in the pre-climax. It was so elevating.
What attracted you the most to the story?
The fascination of the quiet everyday man for the world of films and acting and Bollywood. And it’s a connection to the repressed emotions that we all want to exhibit in front of the camera. Or use it to tell a story to our kid at bed time. We are the stories we tell.
Why don’t segmented stories work?
I think segmented films are exceptions and will stay that way. The mainstream is one continuous narrative. Both are needed.
I think Star was your best work after Love Sex Dokha 1?
No, my best work after LSD 1 is LSD2. Then TEES. Then, both my segments in LUST stories and Ghost stories portray a new style of storytelling and concerns. I think I’ve moved ahead from STAR, thankfully!
Your next?
I can’t reveal. NDAs signed
