Conversations with Shubh Mukherjee: An IANS Exclusive

IANS INDIA

Shubh Mukherjee, a National Award-winning filmmaker, is well known for his contributions to the Indian film industry, including launching singer Honey Singh in his debut project. His most recent film, Kahwa, based on true events from the post-militancy period in Kashmir, received a standing ovation at Cannes 2024 and is now preparing for its release in India. On the topic of his experience directing S.S. Rajamouli for an advertisement, Shubh described it as a blessing. "Rajamouli is incredibly humble. He would frequently ask me if the shot was okay or if there was room for improvement. He even provided suggestions from a director's perspective, which was a learning experience for me." The conversation then shifted to the trend of re-releasing films, with Shubh being asked about his views on whether this reflects a scarcity of original stories. "There’s no lack of stories or writers in our industry," Shubh remarked. "What we need are producers who believe in the power of good storytelling. Re-releases aren’t inherently bad—films that weren’t appreciated in their time are now finding new audiences and earning revenue."   #ShubhMukherjee #Trending #2024 #BollywoodCountry #BollywoodNews #BollywoodGossips #BollywoodUpdates #BollywoodNews #Bollywood #Bollywoodcelebrity #BollywoodHindiNews #ians

Transcript

00:00Actually, because it's an independent film and it had to go to festivals, I didn't face

00:08any problem. And like I said, my film does not really get too much into, oh, you know,

00:13this political party is great, that political party is not great. It does not get into that

00:17space at all. It just talks about what is right and what is wrong. And that also not

00:23from a larger perspective, ki yaar you know what, patake nahi phodne chahiye because animals

00:28ko harm hota hai yaar pollution hota hai. That also is a very large spectrum. You know,

00:34when we talk about climate change, it's a large spectrum. But when I'm talking about

00:37the fact that, yaar, bachchon ke liye school khulla hona chahiye, dukaane allowed honi

00:43chahiye ki khulle rahe hain aur log chal phir sake, festivities sab ke liye equal hone chahiye,

00:48internet connection for the right reasons khulle hone chahiye. Obviously, agar koi kuch

00:52galat kar raha hai aur terrorism spread kar raha hai toh wo galat hai. Lekin kisi se as

00:57a community, woh devoid kar dena galat hai. Phir, you know, even thinking from the point

01:03of view ki army jab wahan deploy hoti thi, toh unki lives bhi bahut lonely ho jate the

01:09obviously and it's everywhere in the world. When army goes out at, you know, the borders

01:14or in the line of force, their lives also become very, very lonely and very, you know,

01:23So I feel that I was touching into that topic that uske liye ek outlet hai ki achha wo ek

01:28Kashmiri chai wale se baat kar raha hai aur usse roz mar raha ki khaaniya discuss kar raha

01:33hai. So that was the issue I was touching, honestly. So I didn't have anything against

01:37any political party or even the film, it does not mention like that.

01:45I was, I think it's one of the biggest highlights of my professional career so far. And for

01:51us at Ipix Movies, which is my production house, I feel that, you know, to work with

01:57a legend like him, it won't happen to everybody. So I'm blessed to be amongst a few people

02:04who've got that opportunity. I feel that he is such a magnanimous person when it comes

02:09to film. So as a director, you would always think that, oh, no matter what you do, he

02:14will know it better, because he's had so much experience, right? So that can make you a

02:19little inferior in terms of what you're doing on set. But somebody with his stature and

02:25with his respect and with his command and character and charisma, he would be so special

02:33to make you feel that you know what you're doing. And how does one do that? He would

02:38always come and ask me, okay, so what next? What do you want me to do? Do you want me

02:43to just sit? Do you want me to smile? Can I do this better? Can I do this one more time

02:47as an actor? On that day on set, he was just an actor. And after that, I've met him on

02:51a couple of occasions, because I went to dub with him and I went at the launch of the film.

02:56He's always been that true gentleman. So I feel that it was such an honour to be able

03:01to direct him and do something with him of that scale. I think that was fascinating and

03:06I'll always be humbled with that experience.

03:08I think one of the main things that we would always like, I mean, I inculcate this even

03:18in my team that we as filmmakers are storytellers. So we are always watching to tell good stories.

03:28And if any of you like the work I do or the work we do, and if you're an aspiring filmmaker

03:34or a storyteller, because today content is such a powerful game and a powerful tool for

03:39people to express what they feel. And films and content are now almost working in parallel.

03:44I think the content industry is today very slowly and seemingly overtaking the film industry.

03:52I feel that be true to your story, be true to your story as the most important thing,

03:59and then everything else will follow. So I think, yeah, that's my only message. And hopefully

04:03keep liking and appreciating the work we do. You can find all of our work on social media channels.

04:09So watch it there and if you like it, share it with the rest of your world.

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