Interview with Sai Paranjpai: ‘Going to theater has lost its appeal’
Sai Paranjape was one of the few women filmmakers and screenwriters who broke Bollywood’s glass ceiling in the 1970s and 80s. He didn’t just script and direct his own projects; Success and recognition chased her for entertaining dramas and comedies, which were assumed to be the domain of men.
His critically-acclaimed touch, His first feature film produced in 1980 which won three National Awards; 1981 movie Buddur in the glasses that became a cult classic: and speech, A 1983 romantic comedy that won the National Award for Best Feature Film – These works refuse to fade from the conversation of contemporary cinema decades later.
Sai Paranjape is donating his original manuscript to Ashoka University Archives Photo credit: Special Arrangements
Paranjapi is no stranger to fame but he wears his achievements lightly. Now at 86, he is unable to watch many films. “Going to the theater has lost its appeal, travel and traffic wears me down and watching movies on the small screen holds no fascination for me,” she says.
The 2006 Padma Bhushan awardee admits that the current toast of Bollywood are Zoya Akhtar and Kiran Rao whose Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara And Lapata Ladies respectively he liked to see.
“There are few women directors who are proving their directing talent. Their movies are reflections of the world while maintaining their own touch,” said Paranjpye who was in Delhi to donate his collection of original, handwritten drafts and scripts, teleplays and stage plays in Marathi, English and Hindi to Ashoka University archives. Contemporary India.
Excerpt from an interview:
You’ve done it all: dramas, movies, TV shows, documentaries and autobiographies. What keeps you busy now?
writing My latest venture is a Marathi drama, Evelese Rop (Little Seedlings) which I wrote and directed. It had its 60th run in Pune this month. It is a black comedy of sorts, a love story of a couple in the eighties, starring heavyweight actors Mangesh Kadam and Leena Bhagwat. I hope to do it in Hindi soon. I have a fantastic cast in mind. But it’s still a pipedream…
Why did you submit your original manuscript to Ashoka University?
What better honor than to have the opportunity to be represented in the archives of a prestigious university? It is a privilege to catalog the work of someone like Girish Karnad, Suresh Kohli, Dilip Padgaonkar so beautifully. Nice to join the list.
The idea is not to promote or win over anyone, but to present something that can appeal to the youth and that they would love to emulate. i hope This is how a real work of art inspires.
How different was your understanding of cinema from today?
I think people are not so interested in movies now. They just want to be entertained by something ethnic and Chatpata To reduce stressI don’t find the passion for cinema that I had in my childhood.
Do you think there is a lack of female directors making fun and light-hearted movies like yours?
I feel like I have to be born again (laughs). There are some beautiful female directors in the younger generation who have a sense of fun. They know their medium and know their movies. It’s nice to see people like Zoya Akhtar and Kiran Rao making good entertaining content I wonder why we rarely have women regional directors, for example from a progressive state like Kerala.
Why do women directors now choose women-centric themes?
Women directors don’t go for blood all over the screen. The majority will focus on more sensitive issues, such as interpersonal relationships, family connections, and love in every sense of the word. I can alienate half the population by saying this, but women are a superior sex and take higher, better things to treat in their art.
What is the best movie in your opinion?
I am hard pressed to entertain. It is a wonderful tonic for society. Nice, clean entertainment eg put on And Chak de India I’m not against a little violence and sex if the story needs it forever. A film should grab your attention and believably carry you along with it. I believe entertainment societies are happy societies but unfortunately there is not much for the average viewer in our country.
When I made the direction In 1990, it spoke of the needs of migrant mill workers of the time. They lived a hard life of hardship and toil and yet had the joie de vivre in their community life, which I have depicted. I was sure they would flock to the film but they didn’t. It upsets me. I learned that they don’t want to go to the cinema to see their own lives unfold again on screen.
Is OTT dominance killing meaningful entertainment?
I stay away from OTT. They try to outdo each other and I get annoyed. We need not plagiarize Hollywood but draw ideas from the common phenomena of our own vibrant, multi-cultural and multi-lingual society. where the blood was shed Buddur in the glasses? Common people interacted and the audience accepted.
Things go in circles. I think we’ll make funnier movies sooner than I cut your throat, you cut mine.
What is lacking in the film industry today?
Good script. People don’t realize that you need something substantial to make a good film. You can’t spin a film out of thin air just for money. Unfortunately, we are now shooting an episode of a TV serial somewhere and the next scene is being written sitting in the corner of the same set.
Before that, we spent years researching and painstakingly working on the script because we wanted everything to be perfect. Where is the dedication today?
How difficult was it for you to become a director in the male-dominated world of cinema?
I can’t think of an instance where I felt like an underachiever because of my gender. I feel privileged to shoot in villages where I have always been welcomed with respect. It was easy to get hired in the power arena. I don’t mean this in a derogatory way. But it is a reality; Maybe because there were few of us in our field, we were considered a novelty.
Every woman has the right to her own dignity. I f a woman doesn’t try to pretend to be something other than herself, she earns everyone’s respect. For example, I am not a technical person so I never dictate to my cameraman but explain exactly what I want and leave it to his skill and knowledge to deliver the best. He respects me for not trying to tell him his job.
has been published – October 23, 2024 12:51 pm IST