Anurag Basu up close and personal

Post a lot of unrealistic endings and impractical story line, the industry slowly saw a reformed change. The scripts started getting real, dialogues were colloquial and the direction was more edgy and well thought about.

The new breed of directors kind of brought in a new wave in film-making in Bollywood, where reality was rehearsed, captured on camera and showcased blatantly on the big screen. These new set of directors did not compromise on their story telling even if that meant to bear an A certificate from the Censor Board. The certificate might have reduced the audience in numbers, but their movies have been well received and known for the edgy feel to it.

One of the few directors who kind of broke in with this new wave of direction is Anurag Basu. Basu started his career with television and then made a big name in Bollywood with the movie Murder. The movie was not only received well for its unconventional storyline but also won accolades for its music. Since then Basu has delivered some good creative work and proved his mettle in the industry.

Adgully caught the director amidst the festive celebrations of Durga Pooja and chatted up with him.

Talking about his career, Basu says, “My career started early as a director for the serial Tara, I was just 21 then. It was a mega serial then. My second high point was when I was given my first film Saaya. Third high point would be when my first film flopped, because I learnt a lot from it and I carried those learnings to make movies like Murder and Gangster.”

Although Basu saw gradual success, his initial few years in the industry were marked by a flop release and him suffering from acute leukemia. However he feels that as his wife was seven months pregnant when he was diagnosed with the illness, what really kept him going is that he wanted to see the child they were expecting. “I just wanted to keep going for three to four months more and see my child. But God was very kind to me and my wife gave birth to a baby girl on the day of Shashti,” he adds.

With his beloved daughter being born on the auspicious day and things taking a positive turn in his life after that, Basu is grateful to Goddess Durga for her kind blessings. He has been a believer of Maa Durga ever since he can think of. “I remember coming to the pandal at Santacruz back in 1994 and I used to perform on stage here. Rani Mukherjee and her brother Raja, also used to perform with us and ever since then I have been visiting the pandal every year. Time has changed, we all have changed, we all have done well in our own careers. But I think Durga Pooja has been very well embedded in our thinking and belief, so wherever we are, in whichever part of the world, we don’t miss the pooja,” he contends.

When asked if he feels that the essence of the pooja is being lost to commercialization, Basu disagrees to it. He further adds that, “I don’t think so. People see a lot of hoardings and infer that the festival has got commercialized. Frankly, but to have a pandal with everything working efficiently and a pandal which is self-sufficient, one requires funds. Besides we all are professional people hence it becomes very difficult for us to go from door to door asking for money. It is not about commercialization; we are just taking out funds from different companies and adding to our own funds.”

“I used to always look forward to Durga Poojas, because it was the only time where we could see and meet a lot of girls,” Basu jokes.

He had also recently taken on the opportunity to play a host for a Bengali show called “Ke Hobe Biggest Fan” for the channel Zee Bangla. “I enjoyed hosting the show, it has just finished and no more anchoring plans too soon,” he adds.

Besides Basu also has an upcoming movie project starring Ranbir Kapoor and Priyanka Chopra and it is titled as Silence.

From being a director of a mega serial, to facing initial failure in Bollywood and from being diagnosed with severe illness to finding his winning streak in Bollywood and recovering from the illness. Basu has seen it all and learnt a good deal learnings for many years to come. Is it his belief, strong will or just hard- work, whatever the reason maybe the sun has shone on Basu and its pleasant golden glow has just created a pleasing aura around the modest film-maker. So while he hits back with another path-breaking film: Silence everyone! | By Prabha Hegde [prabha(at)adgully.com]