'As A Director It's Important To Choose Contemporary Issues'

He called his first movie Ankur, an experiment with parallel cinema, a labelwhich remains stuck with Shyam Benegal and his works till date. A director who successfuly bridged the gap between art and commercial films,Benegal's latest venture Zubeida (which experimented with the lives and times ofthe Indian royalty) did not actually set the box office on fire but the veteran filmmakeris not down. Neither is he out. Benegal recently finished a documentary for the state-ownedNational Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) and now wants to stay for more than a month inthe sylvan surroundings of Mussourie working on a script with Ruskin Bond and VictorBanerjee. Benegal refuses to talk about his forthcoming venture but admitted it would bedifficult for him to move away from his stereotype blend of star cast and the trademarktinge of art. During a visit to the Indian Capital, Benegal admitted Bollywood needs to move away from the masala typecast and make films which arecloser to the masses' hearts. "It's time for the dream merchants to touch base withreality," Benegal told Outlook in an interview. Excerpts:

Why do you think Zubeida did not exactly make it to the boxoffice?
Ask the critics. Honestly, you should ideally ask them. So far as I am concerned, Ifeel the theme was rightly in place. And it was because I had a wonderful script to workwith. And if people are expecting me to distort history and make movies like DharamVeer, it's their problem. I will tell you more about why such reactions are floodingthe market. Many still feel that the Indian royalty is a lot of pomp and glamour and donot realise that glamour was reduced considerably after the privy purses were tightened.If at all there was a problem, it was there. Nothing else.

What about Manoj Bajpai? Many felt Manoj Bajpai was also a misfit ...
Has anyone said that? Who's blaming Manoj Bajpai? I think he did a wonderful role. Whenwill people in India move out of their habit of stereocasting actors? Remember what happened with Sholay? It madethings great for the director, Ramesh Sippy, and caused tensions for the villian, AmjadKhan, because expectations from Gabbar Singh rose sky-high. And this is preciselywhat's happening with Manoj. Once a don does not mean he has to specialise in such roles only. Hewas a police officer in Shool and that was a nice role, don't you agree? Andbesides, why can't he be romantic? There were shades of such romance in Satya and Shoolas well. And if I want him to be in the role of a maharaja, does that mean he mustwear traditional clothes? This is really stretching it too far.

Why do you think too many flops are rattling Bollywood?
Well, frankly, I see this as a natural phenomenon. It's like the tides of the sea. Withhighs and lows. And this trend will be over. After all, the economy is also not on a high.It's reflecting everywhere. And please do not look at the actors and actresses. And it'snot just about acting and directing. Or for that matter, producing. There are many thingsthat make a film. Where is the good music a film looks for? Where are the goodscriptwriters? Remember Kundan Shah? And his Jane Bhi Do Yaro? He had the world insplits. But look at his latest venture which has not been able to make any mark. Not evenin the metros. And why do you know this has happened? This is because Kundan -- otherwisea classy scriptwriter -- has himself admitted that he has found very little time to workon the script.

You were the first one to blend commercial cinema with art. Do you find many following yourfootsteps?
There have been directors who have been making films on similar lines. But if you askme about my trademark passion, I work primarily on two issues -- there is the creativityaspect on one side and commercial on the other. And I always look for a perfect blend.This is because people must not appreciate the film for its artistic value but must alsoappreciate the commercial aspects of the same. I mean the songs, action and dances. Itmust be exciting to watch. Imagine making a boring Kalyug with some popular stageperformers (who normally make art films)? Do you know I got employees of Premier Padminiand NDDB to act in my films for a grassroot feeling? And at the same time, I nevercompromised on the star value of my product. As a result, my comfort level has been finewith one and all -- Shashi Kapoor, Victor Banerjee, Rekha and Supriya Pathak on one handand Smita Patil and Shabana Azmi on the other.

Sorry for this digression but why this continuing identity crisis and tension between art, commercial and parallel cinema, especially during the annual National Film Awards?
Please keep me out of this. Please.

You appear confident in such experiments with art and commercial aspects of a movie, yet you played it relatively safe in the beginning and opted for movies which were financed by state-owned organisations. Why?
May be I was afraid that not many will buy such films. Perhaps I wanted to play safe.Perhaps yes. I started initially with ad films. Then I made Ankur in the early 70safter I resurrected a decade-old script. And it was at that time I felt state-funding wasa good way to handle a new theme like parallel cinema, primarily because such movies aremore of an experiment and need to be handled carefully. One cannot bungle with finances.So I got the National Dairy Development Board to fund Manthan. Then came the publicity wing of the Left Front government in West Bengal which funded Aarohanand the Handloom Co-operatives which sponsored Susman. I got the Indian Railways tofund Yatra and Doordarshan to fund the 53-episode serial Bharat Ek Khoj. Andnow this documentary (Tamaso Ma Sadgamaya) for National Thermal Power Corporation.

What works as asole motivatingfactorinyourfilms?
I work on very strong issues and peoples' rights, especially human rights. Basically,there are two underlying themes one will always find in my films. I love to talk aboutrights which people love to express while facing a variety of problems, both at officesand homes. If you have seen some of my recent movies like Sardari Begum, you willunderstand what I mean. I have always dealt strongly with issues like women's rights. Andas a director, I feel it's important to choose contemporary issues which revolve morearound reality. So the audience appreciates it much more easily. And frankly, I am not forthose dream sequences. For example, if you had followed Bharat Ek Khoj, you wouldhave been zapped on seeing the costumes in Ramayana. I love reality. And my mainconcern is to uphold the rights of individuals, both men and women. It's basically abouttackling oppression.

But I think that's an irony. Isn't it? Your movies are not targetted at the lowerclass but still has strong tones about them. Why?
Can I tell you a home truth? And it's a reality. Believe me. Today, a large section ofthe mainstream commercial cinema has been -- for quite sometime -- routinely using socialissues as their central themes. And people are watching such movies in the cities. Andalso in the villages. My films appeal to everybody. They do not make any distinctions.

Why is it that one finds you shying away from comedy?
On the contrary, I have always loved comedies. I love watching such movies. But inBollywood, who will work on a script like that? Can someone give me such a script? On thelines of what I expect out of a Woody Allen, perhaps? Does Bollywood have comedians? Wehave a handful doing comic roles. They are buffoons. I cannot make them do something whichthe audience will love to watch.

Television has grown stupendously in the last decade, especially to an extent that manyfeel it's encroaching on Bollywood. Is that a deterrent?
Certainly not. On the contrary, it makes me feel happy. There are many who can explorethe medium. And today, they have a choice. They need not depend on the fancies ofDoordarshan. They can work on a good script and fresh star cast and make serials whichwill eventually fetch good TRPs. Indian cinema need not worry the idiot box. In fact,television -- on the contrary -- has continued to aid the silver screen with a steadystream of actors and actresses.

What next?
Off to Mussourie with my wife and work on a script.

Tell usabout it, please ...
I cannot disclose that now.