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Anand hi Anand

Sharmila Taliculam

Vijay Anand. Click for bigger pic!

Isn't the first time it's happening, you know. A director struggles his way up the hard way, then gets out of the rat race because its getting pretty seamy.

While it sounds the right thing to do, Vijay Anand aka Goldie had other reasons to quit -- he was too lazy to hang on.

There again, it wasn't only sloth that kept him away. Films were getting more expensive and he had less and less control over his films. And tension being anathema, Goldie, who directed films like Taxi Driver, Tere Ghar Ke Samne, Jewel Thief, Teesri Manzil, Guide and Tere Mere Sapne, decided he'd manage without the mandatory coronary.

And when elder brother Dev Anand suggested they make one last film together, he didn't have the energy to refuse it. But since they did make always made a good pair together -- it being rumoured that Goldie created the Dev aura. But this time Goldie wanted to play producer too, since he didn't want anybody telling him what to do.

So, 15 years later, and 25 years after his last film with his brother, Goldie is back with Jaana Na Dil Se Door, which also stars newcomer Indrani Banerjee. The last film the brothers worked together was Chuppa Rustom, in 1973. In an interview with Sharmila Taliculam, Goldie discusses his current film, his past films and why he stopped working.

Why did you suddenly think of making a film again, after 15 years?

Yeah, it's been 15 years. But I've been busy. I thought of making a film again because my eldest brother Chetan Anand passed away. I've been looked after him and his wife, and they were like parents to me. One day, Devsaab came to me and told me that this could happen to any one of us too anytime. So before that, we should do something together. And I wrote this story.

So what is this story about?

The story is about a father and his daughter. They're estranged because his wife decides to walk out on the man, and takes the child with her. The man is very involved in his work and neglects his wife. But he always thinks about his daughter and vice versa. So one day the girl decides to visit her father.

Opening the door, the father finds his young wife there again. Rather, the daughter looks exactly like his wife. And then he relives his life through his daughter. It's a very introspective kind of a film, very emotional too. The father regrets a lot of things he's done and wants to correct them. Obviously, he can't. So he tries and changes a little for his daughter.

The heroine has a double role. Why did you take a newcomer and not a experienced actress for the film? The role has a lot of scope.

Yes, the role does have a lot of scope -- it spans years, from mother to daughter. I did try to get a few experienced actress and I asked two of them specifically.

Manisha Koirala was very sweet about the whole thing. She came and listened to the story and expressed her wish to do the film. But after some time, she called and told me that her brother is acting in a film where she would have to do something similar. And since he is her brother, her priorities lie with him. I had no reason not to believe her.

Who was the second heroine?

Click for bigger pic!

Madhuri Dixit. I told her the story and she listened. She didn't yes or no initially, just told me she would prefer the mother's role enacted by somebody else. I told her the story is incomplete if the mother is someone else. The essence is that the daughter looks like her mother. She didn't say anything. But I knew that she wasn't interested. So I decided to take a newcomer.

You think a newcomer will be able to manage such a role?

I'm not sure. But what I have seen so far of Indrani Banerjee, she's good. I agree that with experienced actresses, you don't have to tell them what you want them to do. But newcomers can be moulded and I think she's done a good job so far. I have faith in her.

You are also doing a film with Devsaab after a long time. How come?

It's been 25 years. I was busy not doing anything and he was busy making his films. We both were happy. If I had to make a film with my brother again, it had to be something I was comfortable with. I had to create a character, which suited him, his age. He couldn't run around trees and convince people that what he's doing is right.

Is it true that you were responsible in giving Devsaab his image in his heyday?

I would ideally like not to comment on this. It'll sound arrogant. But yes, I was. I could imagine him in certain characters because I was a writer. I knew which roles he would be best at and I consciously worked towards that. I knew his shortcomings. He was not a Dilip Kumar or Ashok Kumar. But he had a very pleasant personality and he was star material.

People naturally got attracted to him as a person, not only as a performer. So what was this charm about this person? How to bring it out without giving him scenes which might not work, which he might perform to the best of his ability. Just to bring him to that level which would be good for him as an actor, I did what I had to.

I'd have done this any other actor too. My understanding of his capacity, his plus points and his minus points helped me reconcile and balance the two.

Were you consciously doing this?

Yes, I was consciously doing this. But nobody asked me to do this or write accordingly, I did it myself. I wrote, and they made my film. They didn't want me to be in the films with my brother. But they found that I wrote well, so I came into films.

Then how come you are in the films? You wanted to be here? What did they want you to be?

No, I wanted to study. I was doing my MA when this happened. I don't know what they wanted me to do. I just fit into a slot that was empty and that's it. I didn't want to come into films. I was basically a student. I was doing my MA -- some serious subjects like philosophy, painting, culture, art. I was very keen on studying cartoon film-making the way Walt Disney did it. But writing scripts came naturally to me. For a person like me, once I start on something, I like to do it well, not leave it half done. I can't take anything lightly. I know my shortcomings.

And what are they?

I'm very critical about myself. I can be very objective about my work and that is what keeps me young as a creative artiste. I always want to do something that is correct. And here is a medium where you can do that. Before the film hits the screens and the audience can see it, you can achieve the right note for your films.

From conception of the story to promoting it, the director has to know everything. He has to decide everything. He has to know the whole industry and what the industry is doing. For two years I was the chairman of the Screen Videocon Awards. They asked me to see 20 films they thought were the best.

I refused, saying that I wanted to see everything. There were 98 films and I felt that though all of them were not be the best, who knows, there must be some character in a particular film which might be good. So I watched every one of the films. My committee was tired. We saw four or five films a day. I came to know the whole talent of the industry within a matter of three months.

Click for bigger pic!

And how has that helped you as a director?

I know how much talent there is in the industry, and that has helped me in my casting too. A director has to have a supportive team. Or he should be the one giving orders. He can't or should not be dominating. Some might say that scripts are very important. But some of the greatest literature cannot be made into films. We have such beautiful Indian stories. Unfortunately, they can't be made into films. You need a director who know the techniques of making such a film.

Why did you stop making films suddenly?

I didn't stop suddenly. I was making or rather trying to make some film. Only they didn't work out. The financiers backed out. Then I acted in a television serial, Tehkikaat. I tried making a serial too. I did all the groundwork of writing a story, getting the cast and the approval of the channel and then I realised that the financiers didn't have the money. So I gave it up.

I can't see myself going to a channel and asking them to produce my serial. If a channel approached me, then I'd have made it. I'm not that kind of a person to stand in a line. I decided that if I make something then I would produce it. I am the producer if this film too.

So it is necessary for directors to turn producers now if they want to have control over their films?

Because directors don't get the opportunity to make the kind of films they want to make. When directors want to make a film, they have to turn to producers. Or the producer will have some say in the film, and won't be on the same level as the director. My way, you risk your money, your life, for what you want to do. You are not risking the other man's pocket for your whims and fancies. It's a gamble. You have to be a good businessman, along with being a good artiste.

Which are you?

It's a rare combination. Unfortunately, I am a bad businessman. But when I direct a film, I like to do it. Given a choice, I'd rather be directing.

I can manage my finances if I am not directing anything. I'm good at it, but not really interested. If I'm directing and my accountant comes up, I tell him not to bother me. And then when I pull him up because the accounts are not kept properly, the poor chap doesn't know what to say. The fact is that money is the most important thing in the industry today. Without money, you can write a poem, not make a film. It's a commercial art, and commerce plays an important part. Unfortunately, here we have not compartmentalise our entertainment like the West has.

How do you mean?

In the West, there are many forms of entertainment. There is the opera, a play, or a choice of films in different theatres. Here, you see a film and another that was released recently. Our entertainment is only cinema.

They go to see a film and they want everything at one go. That's why you have this tragedy of south Indian films. You have a little of everything. A little serious, a little comic, and it goes on. Every film here has to have dances, comedy, drama, songs.

'Our hearts are different and that's why we have different kind of films'