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| Interview with director
Anil V Kumar |
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"In
a serial, you are only as good as your last episode" |
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| Posted
on 16 April 2003 |
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| Call
Anil V Kumar a 'self-made man' or 'Ekta Kapoor's man of crisis'. Actually,
he is a mixture of both. He's here for fortune rather than for fame,
and he makes no bones about it. He's got work on the rebound, and
he has shown no ego but has in fact, done a better job than his predecessors.
Graduating from television, he has set foot in the uncertain world
of Bollywood. Despite a setback, he is busy dusting his pants and
getting ready for another go at a feature film. |
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| Vickey Lalwani caught up with
the director at Thakur College, Kandivli, where he was busy directing
Ekta's new serial Kashish. |
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Why did the arc lights fascinate you? And why did you take to
direction as a profession?
I joined this line because there is lots of money in it. I am here
to earn the most. Else, I would never have left my parents back
home in Patna. I want to make sufficient money, so they can lead
a luxurious life in their old age. I came to Mumbai in 1992, a little
before the communal riots.
I still remember that horrendous day when I was running for my life;
a mob was running to attack me for no rhyme or reason. I was in
Goregaon (a suburb in Mumbai). I kept running and reached Film City.
Even that day, there were film shoots going on. I was fascinated.
I kept going there after everything had settled down, and decided
that I wanted to try my hand at direction.
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Then?
I joined Raman Kumar. His company Tracinema was into making serials.
He made me the assistant director of one of his main serials Tara.
Later, I became the chief assistant for three serials- Shatranj,
Umeed and V3Plus. Somehow, Raman's company ran into losses
and I had to branch out on my own. I joined Kushan Nandy (son of
Pritish Nandy) and assisted him for some episodes of Thriller
at 10 that he was making at that time. And then my life changed.
Ekta Kapoor spotted me directing Thriller at 10 in Shirdi.
Through Kushan whom she knows, she got in touch with me and offered
me the chance to direct her serial Kaun followed by Kahaanii
Ghar Ghar Kii and then Kkusum. I was enjoying my popularity
as a TV director when suddenly, one day she suggested that I take
charge of her film Kucch To Hai. Anurag Basu was directing
it, but there were some creative differences between the two of
them. I was stunned. I realised that I had indeed come a long way
(smiles).
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"If you fail to sustain
a viewer's interest in a particular episode, he/she may not
view the next one"
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How did 'Kashish' happen?
Actually, two guys, Deepak and Santosh, had co-directed 14 episodes
of this serial. Ekta was disappointed with their work. She called
and asked me to resurrect the whole thing. I was reminded of the days
when she had asked me to take over the reins of Kkusum. Rajesh
Bhatia had directed about 10 episodes of Kkusum, but Ekta was
not happy with his work. I am going to direct this serial until June,
then someone else will take over. I have told Ekta about it. Producer
Ramoji Rao has asked me to direct his next film, starring Manoj Bajpai
and Mahima Chaudhary. It's a triangle. Either R Madhavan or Rakesh
Bapat will make up the third vertex. |
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What is 'Kashish' about?
This is Ekta's new baby. It's going to be a daily soap on Star Plus,
June onwards. The entire star cast comprises of newcomers. It's the
story of a young girl who is very supportive of her four sisters,
but suddenly finds that two men have fallen in love with her. She
loves one but gets married to the other. After a few days, her husband
is murdered... |
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What are the differences you have felt
while directing serials and a feature film?
Films are forever, TV serials have a short shelf life. You see
a serial just once. But the movies are constantly played and replayed
on the channels right from the stage of their promos. If a film director
makes one hit in his lifetime, he is always remembered for that film.
In a serial, however, you are only as good as your last episode. If
you fail to sustain a viewer's interest in a particular episode, he/she
may not view the next one.
Somehow, film artistes also stretch that extra bit compared to TV
artistes. They feel the canvas is larger, they'll attain more fame.
But I wish every artiste could realize that both films and television
give equal fame. In fact, we have reached that stage in our entertainment
world where TV is about to overtake cinema. Today, TV artistes are
becoming more popular than the film ones. In a year or two, every
artiste will have to shed his/her blinkers and dispel the myth that
cinema is a more grand spectacle than television. |
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How different are you compared to other
TV directors?
At the risk of sounding boastful, I think that I can pick up a scene
after reading it, much faster than others do. Importantly, I don't
dwelve into too many ifs and buts, but prefer to go ahead with whatever
comes to my mind first. If you think too much, you end up getting
confused. |
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Your
Tv-director role-model?
Rakesh Sarang. |
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Any adjustments you had to make when you switched over to film
direction?
See, in a serial, if the location is not good, 'chalta hai', you
can compensate by bringing out the emotions a little more strongly;
the viewer identifies with the character and does not bother about
the set. If the artistes are unable to deliver the emotions, 'chalta
hai', you can shift the set to an exquisite backdrop; the viewer,
surprised by the locales, fails to observe the weak emotions.
In a film, however, you cannot compromise on either. You need
both, good sets and emotions. The person who has paid Rs 100 per
ticket expects, rather demands, 200 per cent of his money's worth.
So I had to take all this into account when I took to film direction.
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"Channels
do interfere a lot, these days. But they are not irrationally
adamant with her (Ekta), at least"
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Still, the film flopped. And weren't
you peeved when Ekta gave Anurag's name too in the credit titles?
(interrupts) It was not a disastrous flop. But yes, it did not
do too well. Kucch to Hai was Ekta's baby. Midway through the
film, she changed the director from Anurag Basu to me, simply because
the baby was not growing as per her expectations. So there were portions
where Ekta had her say. However, I had no ego problems when she gave
credit to Anurag. After all, he did shot a substantial part
of the film when the fall-out between Ekta and him happened. |
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As a director, how do you deal with
the interference by the channels?
Channels do interfere a lot, these days. But of late, since I have
been with Balaji Telefilms, I have not encountered this problem in
person. Ekta can manage to have her way. The channels are not irrationally
adamant with her, at least. Ekta deals with this problem very easily.
Ekta and I have regular meetings discussing the tracks which have
been dished out. At times, I realise that certain artistes will not
be able to deliver to the demands. I explain this to her, and we sort
it out by deleting/changing a scene or two. |
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Do you agree that a TV director's job
is becoming increasingly difficult in the wake of every Tom, Dick
and Harry trying to make a fast buck by acting in TV serials?
Definitely. Ever since daily soaps became the order of the day, there
has been a demand for new faces, primarily because they can devote
bulk dates. But on the flip side, acting is not everyone's cup of
tea. At times, we have to take six to seven re-takes with these new
guys and girls for a shot which does not require more than one! Also,
we have to spend extra time in explaining things to them. Besides,
the new crop comes in at a more economical price comparatively; so
I guess, that's another reason why they are preferred. |
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Are there times when you have to sacrifice
the retake since you have deadlines to meet?
Many times. But whether it's a TV serial or a film, the editing plays
the most important role. If the editing is good, the product does
not look patchy. |
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Do you agree that a director's opinion is not taken into account
while doing the casting for a serial?
I agree. At least in daily soaps, that's definitely happening. That
could be due to the lack of time. The ball is continuously rolling
fast.
But it's happening in weekly soaps too.
Then, it's bad. At least in weekly soaps, a director should
be involved during the casting process. I think that's because,
nowadays, too many new departments have sprung up. Like there is
this EP (Executive Producer) Department which wasn't there earlier.
EPs are involved in casting, schedule, location, etc, almost everything.
Often, they make a mess of many things. Moreover, they are close
to the producer and not the director. So, their work is always done
from the producer's angle. The director is again sidelined.
Don't you think that we are hardly getting to see anything innovative
on the tube? I mean, everything is a mish-mash of something that
has already appeared.
(interrupts) Still, quite a few serials are still doing well.
I don't think that there's originality in any sphere. We all are
inspired by each other, aren't we? What matters is how the product
is packaged, presented and portrayed. The treatment of the subject
is often more important than the subject itself.
You said that you'll leave 'Kashish' in June because of your
movie assignment. Production houses too tend to change directors
midway. Doesn't this inconvenience the artistes and the crew?
Of course, it does. Every director has a different perspective
and style. The director who comes in towards the latter half of
the serial has the toughest job. He has to trace back too much,
do a lot of homework on practically every frame and character. Else
the entire good work can come to nought. But what can one do? That's
the name of the game, these days.
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