I’d be worried if my films made Rs 100 crores: Dibakar Banerjee

His films may be unique in their own way but they have left quite an impact on the audience and fared moderately well at the Box Office. But filmmaker Dibakar Bannerjee is honest enough to admit that his films will never be blockbusters.

Shomini Sen

His films may be unique in their own way but they have left quite an impact on the audience and fared moderately well at the Box Office. But filmmaker Dibakar Banerjee is honest enough to admit that his films will never be blockbusters. In a no-holds barred candid conversation at the Osian’sCinefan festival, Dibakar said that he, in fact would be worried if his films made Rs 100 crores. “They should not. I’d be worried if my films made it to the mythical Rs 100 crores club. People follow certain actors blindly, without thinking. I would never want my audience to not think. I prefer making films for people who can judge on their won whether they like the film or not. They shouldn’t be swayed by one big star. I like making films for those who stand and feel for certain things regardless of what the majority says.” Having included a commercially viable star like Emraan Hashmi in his film ‘Shangahi’, wasn’t he trying to make his film acceptable to a wider audience? “I want my films to work within the indefinite constraint of that film itself. I will narrate a story that I like, then take an actor like Abhay Deol or an Anupam Kher so that certain number of audience is ensured for the film. But I will still present them the way I have envisioned their characters to be.” “Yes I will take an actor like Emraan Hashmi but he will be in a never seen before character. ‘Shanghai’ did have Emraan Hashmi, but in a whole new character- something that the audience had never seen him doing. And ‘Shanghai’ was not promoted as a Emraan Hashmi film. “ The filmmaker who has made films like ‘Khosla Ka Ghosla’, ‘OyeLucky ! Lucky Oye’ and ‘LSD’ in the past, says that there is no parallel cinema anymore. Every film is made keeping in mind the commercial aspect of it. “With Studios coming in India, they are only investing in filmmakers having certain faith in their craft that yes, he will make his kind of movie and it will work,” said Banerjee. Dibakar was also unabashedly honest and took responsibility for the kind of films he makes. “I am responsible for my failure and my success. I make films which may not get the Box Office ringing, so I also do a lot advertisements which help me buy a bigger car to go to work in and also help me tell the kind of stories that I want to.” Delhi boy, Dibakar, who has shot many of his films extensively in the capital and brought to light the typical ‘Delhi culture’ , said that since he belonged to the city, it came naturally to him to base characters here. The filmmaker said he is working on certain scripts at present and his next will be a thriller based in Calcutta in the 1940s era. Follow @shominisen