Mahesh Manjrekar

Coming up: Amitabh as Godfather!
How many films is he shooting at the same time? Mahesh Manjrekar is by far the busiest director in Mumbai. He refuses to be cowed down by the complexities of commercial cinema. Passionate, uncompromising and thoroughly attuned to the vagaries of showbiz, Mahesh has put his monumental Vaastav and the none-too-warmly received film on AIDS, Nidaan behind him. His Astitva has just been released. The one-time dedicated stage actor and director desires to cling to his creative principles even if fly-by-night producers are queuing up with obscene amounts of money to get his directorial consent. While shooting for Time Movies’ Ahsaas in Goa, Mahesh takes time off to answer our queries on a variety of subjects:

What’s Ahsaas all about?
It’s an emotional father-son story with Sunil Shetty playing the father. Actually I felt Nana Patekar suited the role. But I was scared Nana would start interfering in the film. I did narrate Ahsaas to him when I was doing it for Boney Kapoor. But the next day he called Boney to speak about changes in the script that would make it a hit. Then I wanted Anil Kapoor to do it. In fact I wanted to make Ahsaas as a father-daughter film. When Hema Malini called me to ask if I’d make a film with her daughter, I suggested this script.

And she didn’t like it?
No, she loved the script. But she wanted a romantic angle for her daughter, which isn’t in the script. I told her it’s the story of a 15-year old teenager, so I couldn’t incorporate romance into Ahsaas. She was unsure, and didn’t reply for a while. Just when I was leaving for Goa to shoot Ahsaas she called to say she’d like her daughter to do this film. I would have liked to work with Esha Deol. When I saw her, I was impressed by her innocence. I’d have loved to make Ahsaas as a father-daughter film with Esha. But I’m very happy with the way the film has shaped up. The boy who plays the son, Mayank Tandon, is very good. Sunil Shetty has done a wonderful job. Everyone will feel for the character. He’s too sincere. He comes on the sets prepared and he listens to me.

The stars had better listen to you now. You’re a hotshot, remember?
Well, I don’t know about that. One flop and I’ll be kicked out of the industry. Right now, I’m still banking on Astitva to do well. It’s the best film of my career. I prefer to do films that haven’t been made before. I’m so happy it’s being released all over the world. I’m not nervous about any of my releases. But I want Astitva to run. If it does well, I can continue to do my type of cinema.

But Jis Desh Mein Ganga Rahta Hai and Kurukshetra look like big-time masala films.
Well, not masala, but yes, Ganga is a commercial film. Kurukshetra, I don’t know. I can say that both films are a little calculated to please the box-office. Jis Desh Mein Ganga Rahta Hai is inspired by one of Dada Kondke’s early films, Songadya, which ranks among his decent films. But Kurukshetra is written by me. And I’m certainly not ashamed of it.

Tell us about some of the other projects you have in mind.
Rajkumar Santoshi made his version of Seven Samurai with Naseeruddin Shah. I want to make The Godfather with Amitabh Bachchan. I can’t see anyone but him doing it. I’ve narrated the script to him. I would have made him a character from Bihar or UP who comes to Mumbai in 1961 and becomes sucked into the underworld. Though I’ve Indianized The Godfather, I haven’t tampered with the original. Another person I’d like to work with is Madhuri Dixit. She has such tremendous untapped talent. I offered her Astitva, but she turned it down. When she hangs up her boots, what does she have to show for herself? Then, I have another romantic subject for Abhishek and Kareena Kapoor, a very performance-oriented film.

Where do you have the time to make all these films?
I have the time, but the stars don’t. I’ve told my financier Jhamu Sughand to take a new boy and girl for Muskaan. We can train the girl in sign language and even make her look natural. At the same time I want to work with Shah Rukh Khan. But I can’t get through to him. He’s such a brilliant actor. I went with Ramesh Taurani and narrated Ahsaas to Shah Rukh. But nothing came of it. He turned it down.

You’re playing a role in Sanjay Gupta’s Kaante, we hear.
That’s right. It will give me a month to relax in the US. I’m playing one of the six protagonists. I’ve already worked out my character of the drug addict and petty thief. I wasn’t forced into doing the role or anything. I just needed to do something for a change where I didn’t have to think beyond pack-up. I’ll just say my lines and keep to myself. That should be a welcome relaxation.

Subhash K Jha