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BIOPICS DIDN’T EXIST 10 YEARS BACK: ANUPAM
Kher, who starred in cricketer MS Dhoni’s biopic, says the audience is interested in content-driven films Samarth Goyal
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ctor Anupam Kher (right) who played the role of cricketer MS Dhoni’s father in the biopic on the former Indian cricket captain, feels Indian audiences weren’t ready for content-driven films a decade back. “Cinema has changed over the past 8-10 years. Pehle aap biopics ya biographies ka naam nahi sunte the (You never heard the concept of biopics or biographies 8-10 years ago). If they had made a
Kirti prepping for the role of a stammering poet
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ctor Kirti Kulhari (above), who shot to fame with Pink (2016), is now playing the protagonist in National Film Award-winning filmmaker Madhur Bhandarkar’s next venture. She says as a performer, building a character is an interesting process. She plays a poet who stammers in the film, which is set in the 1980s. Kirti says, “The process of building a character is so magical that I cannot explain in words. In this film, while going through the understanding of my character, I realised how stammering is going to be an important part.” She adds “So, I started analysing how stammering can create a difference in her personality, her confidence level, social acceptance and emotional expression, among other things” So, the 31-year-old actor met a speech therapist and observed many patients
suffering from speech impediment. It gave her insights that she imbibed in her performance. Interestingly, she believes that the appearance of the character also made it easier to portray. “In this film, we have taken care of the character’s look from clothes to the shades of lipstick keeping the 1980s era in mind,” she says. On playing the central character after being part of ensemble cast in films such as Shaitan (2011) and Pink, Kirti says, “It is a huge responsibility. Earlier, in a film like Pink, it was a shared responsibility. So, the box office success will matter to me more...as we all know that it creates a lot of difference.” On Bhandarkar’s last films’ failure at box office, she adds: “He is a good filmmaker, but at times people go through different phases in life. I think it will change with this film.” IANS
‘Multi-tasking never gives me stress’
PHOTO: SHIVAM SAXENA/HT
Yashika Mathur
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ippy Grewal (right) dons many hats — he is an actor, director and producer. He says he finds it easy to strike a balance between these roles and taking up so many tasks has never given him sleepless nights. “I don’t get stressed so easily. The only time I worry a little bit is when I produce a film, because you have to take care of very intricate details and of course, money is also involved. Once you know how that works, you can complete your work within time, then no matter what you do, nothing can really bother you,” says Gippy, who has acted in films such as Jinhe Mera Dil Luteya (2011) and Bollywood film Second Hand Husband (2015). Recently, Gippy turned scriptwriter when he wrote his latest release, Manjhe Bistre. He says he had to write the script because it was an idea he wanted to work on for a long time. “Earlier I used to give away my ideas to other writers. I had directed Ardaas in 2016 and it was during that time I got an idea to write a film on marriages. When I told other writers to prepare a script, no one liked the idea, so I had to write the script on my own and this established me as a writer as well,” he says. n
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yashika.mathur@htlive.com
The only time I worry a little bit is when I produce a film, because you have to take care of very intricate details GIPPY GREWAL, ACTOR
film like MS Dhoni: The Untold Story (2016) back then, I don’t think it would have worked because people weren’t ready for that kind of story,” he says. According to the 62-year-old actor, the film’s success at the box office is testimony to the fact that the audience is now more interested in contentdriven films than just masala films. “About a decade back, cinema was the only source of entertainment. Now it has become one of the many sources of entertainment —
there are web series, short films, TV series, content on social media and much more. Cinema can’t rise above its audience. So now they [audience] judge the film on its content,” he says. On whether the trend of biopics will fade soon, the actor says, “I don’t think so. Ultimately, it depends on the filmmaker and how they decide to tell a story. Just because a formula is working, doesn’t mean that every film will work with the same formula.” n
samarth.goyal@htlive.com PHOTO: AMAL KS/HT
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Just because a formula is working, doesn’t mean that every film will work with the same formula ANUMPAM KHER, ACTOR