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Chitraarth
is one of the first directors to have patronized television
in India way back in 1985.
His Wah Janab, which launched Shekhar Suman and Kiran
Joneja, was a roaring success back in the days when Doordarshan
ruled the airwaves. Over the years, Chitraarth has carved
out several successful family dramas and sitcoms-like Daane
Anaar Ke, Badalte Rishtey and Tanhaiyaan.
Two of his movies, Chand Pardesi (Punjabi) and Shaheed
Udham Singh (Punjabi, dubbed in Hindi) won National Awards.
Chitraarth strikes one as an intelligent, thinking director,
who nonetheless feels that his intelligence has not been cashed
fully by his producers. The veteran director is currently
scripting a movie based on the Indian freedom struggle in
the latter part of the nineteenth century.
Chitraarth feels this movie will finally allow him to come
to terms with the kind of work he has always wanted to do.
Excerpts of an interview with indiantelevision.com's correspondent,
Amar.
How did you get into film direction?
I have been fascinated by the art right from my childhood.
I come from a family that would critically analyse movies
and plays among us quite often. Even at the age of six, I
had the basic understanding that it's the director who creates
good cinema and was aware of personalities like Bimal Roy
and Guru Dutt. I guess I always wanted to be a director.
How did you get initiated into the profession - did
you train under somebody?
I learnt direction at FTII Pune, from where I graduated
in 1975. I assisted Lekh Tandonji on several movies, including
the super-hit Dulhan Wahi Jo Piya Man Bhaye.
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I
have young executive producers telling me to squeeze
an episode in a day, saying one master and eight-nine
close-up shots is all you need to can one episode.
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Which elements did you imbibe from Lekh Tandon?
I feel his handling of actors is the single most admirable
quality in Lekhji. I have always admired the way he explains
to an actor what is required of him or her in a scene. His
reasoning is so comprehensive yet lucid that I feel there
is no way an actor can get a scene wrong after that. I have
imbibed this quality from him.
What are the essential pre-requisites of a successful director?
A director needs to have very keen observation and an
analytical mind. He needs to have a good understanding of
human behaviour and emotions. Then, of course, he needs to
get along well with people, should be able to coax and cajole
people into getting quality work from them. I feel a good
understanding of literature/ theatre/cinema is very useful
for a person aspiring to get into direction.
Which subjects hold the most appeal for you?
I have enjoyed doing both family dramas and sitcoms. Actually
it's difficult to select a subject and say that I find it
more appealing than others. What really is important is the
gut feel that one is going to thoroughly enjoy directing a
given project and that is what really matters for me.
How is directing a serial different today compared to the
Wah Janab days?
Actually everything has changed since then. In those days,
TV was a new medium and there was a lot of excitement and
freshness involved. I would say it was a new idiom that we
were in the process of discovering. We were always probing
things, learning new methods and applying the trial and error
method. In the end, a good episode gave enormous satisfaction
that one cannot have today.
In those days, I would shoot an episode in three-four days.
Today, if a director cannot can an episode in one and half
shifts, he is out of the job. The thrust is so much on cost-reduction
that creativity has gone for a toss. That explains why nobody
today wants to take up a novel concept like Buniyaad
or Tamas. I have young executive producers telling
me to squeeze an episode in a day, saying one master and eight-nine
close-up shots is all you need to can one episode. But I find
it very difficult to reconcile myself to this style of shooting
because that undoes what I have learnt and understood of cinema
both at FTII and in my early years of directing.
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I am planning to concentrate on my movies and am avoiding
taking up new TV assignments. But there are times when
you have to do things for your daal-roti.
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Mir Muneer has said in an interview that story telling
is virtually non-existent today and that serials are just
a conglomeration of scenes? Do you agree?
Absolutely. Today what matters is how exciting you can
make the 20 odd minutes of the current episode. It hardly
matters how and whether what you see today relates with the
central idea of the story.
Who is to blame for the dearth of effective scriptwriters?
I would blame it on the audience. See, this situation
can be equated with a child being addicted to chocolates.
Even though it can be harmful for him, he is least bothered.
If the audiences didn't like these inane soaps, they would
not be churned out the way they're today.
Who are your favourite writers?
I have particularly enjoyed working with Sharad Joshi,
who wrote Wah Janab and Daane Anaar Ke, Subhash
Sharma who wrote Badalte Rishtey and Brij Katyal, who
wrote Tanhaiyaan.
How do you instruct actors - do you personally enact the scenes?
I do it only if it is needed- if the actor is inexperienced
and needs to be shown the way. I can do it because I have
acted in college plays. I did it in the case of Madhavan and
believe me, the performance he gave after that exceeded all
my expectations.
Many directors complain that TV is a very limiting medium.
Your comments?
I totally agree. The whole attitude of people on TV today
is to get things over with as quickly as possible and to reduce
costs as much as one can. This approach was not there ten
years ago and is very damaging. I am myself planning to concentrate
on my movies and am avoiding taking up new TV assignments.
But there are times when you have to do things for your daily
daal-roti. So you never know, I might just do serials.
Chitraarth
receiving the National award from president K R Narayanan
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If
the audiences didn't like these inane soaps, they would
not be churned out the way they're today.
_________
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How much of a writer does a director have to be?
It is very important for the director to have a good script
sense. I have written the screenplay of two movies - Apradhi
and Sangeet, so I know basically what scriptwriting
is all about and how a written scene would translate on screen.
I have mainly worked with veteran writers who I respect a
lot and whose judgement I trust. But at the same time, I feel
it is well within the directors' rights to make changes in
the script at the time of the shoot if he feels these changes
would better a scene.
How important is the producer's involvement in your projects
to you?
It is very important for the producer to fully understand
the nuances of actually shooting a serial and to ensure that
all hurdles are taken care of. Creative freedom, however,
should only be the prerogative of the director. Luckily, I
have worked with producers like Manish Goswami and Amit Khanna,
who have shown complete faith in me.
On hindsight, do you feel the FTII course has been helpful
to you?
Yes. Whatever I learnt at FTII may not have practical
applications everywhere but has helped me learn my own self
as a director. See, somewhere in my subconscious mind, the
theories that I've learnt do come into play in varied situations,
even though I may not quite be aware of it.
Are you satisfied with your innings as director?
There have been achievements that have given me immense
satisfaction but at the same time, I do feel sometimes that
my intelligence has not been cashed upon to its potential
by people who I have worked with. So, now I am more determined
than ever to do what I really want to - at present, it's this
movie that I'm scripting.
Which has been the happiest moment of your career?
The two national awards have, no doubt been very euphoric
moments. But more than that I feel that an actor exceeding
all your expectations and giving an absolutely incredible
performance is something I really cherish. It's happened so
often- with Madhavan, Mohan Bhandari, Gauri Kaarnik. These
moments have personally been very gladdening.
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