Interview: Sudhir Mishra

After Bimal Roy and Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Sudhir Mishra and Anurag Kashyap are making their versions of Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay’s classic Devdas. While both the new takes will be set in modern times, Anurag’s version titled Dev D (with Abhay Deol in the title role) will be more like Baz Luhrmann’s approach to Romeo and Juliet and Mishra will use Devdas (with his favourite Shiney Ahuja in the lead) as a take-off point for a modern political fable. Pratim D. Gupta talks to the Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi maker about Aur Devdas.

Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Devdas was barely six years back. Why make another one so soon?
Devdas is Indian mythology. It is part of our heritage, like Mahabharata. But I am not making Devdas, per se. I am making a political film based on the current Indian political scenario which has got shades of Devdas. It’s also got shades of Hamlet. So it can’t be seen as another version like those made by Bimal Roy and Sanjay Leela Bhansali. I am not stepping into that area.

But you are planning to call it Aur Devdas and you are even having characters named Paro and Chandramukhi...
That’s the point. The title comes from the ethos of Ebong Srikanta. I am admitting an influence from Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay’s novel Devdas and not the films that have been made on it. That’s the starting point. I am placing Devdas and Paro somewhere else and exploring the presence of Chandramukhi in that area. The essence of the relationships is very much there. It’s quite interesting... So while the characters will be there, the events will be very different and even the ending will be somewhere else.

But don’t you expect the audiences to come in with a preconceived notion?
They may also come in to watch a film made by the guy who made Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi. In fact, Aur Devdas is more hard-nosed a political saga than Hazaaron. See, Devdas is very much in the public domain. The character of Devdas itself has so many facets, which have different appeal to different readers and audiences. In the novel, he was a man caught in his lineage, a victim of his heritage. In my film, Devdas is a victim of his political lineage.

But since you are adapting Devdas on celluloid, what is your take on the two most popular screen adaptations, those by Bimal Roy and Bhansali?
Whenever I see a Sanjay Leela Bhansali film, I see him trying to find a language. I am genuinely impressed by the way he shoots his films. He is the true inheritor of the V. Shantaram school of film-making. I found his Devdas interesting in parts but as a whole film I didn’t like it. It’s too excessive for my taste. I can’t enter such films. There is space for melodrama in all films but when everything from the camera to the art direction to music becomes melodramatic, it goes over the top.
Bimal Roy’s Devdas is the truest adaptation of the novel as far as mainstream adaptations are concerned. Although I prefer his Sujata and Bandini, Devdas is definitely one of his good films. It has a structure of its own and a great performance by Dilip Kumar.

Did you plan making Devdas keeping Shiney in mind?
No, I started writing the script first. Shiney being so close to me, he just told me that whatever you are making I am in it. Yes, he will be playing Devdas but he will be very different from Dilip Kumar or Shah Rukh Khan. The actresses I am yet to cast... I have just finished the script.

You must be aware that even Anurag Kashyap is making his version of Devdas...
Fantastic, no? I love Anurag Kashyap. I think he is the best thing to have happened to Indian cinema. He is a great talent. I will be waiting for anything he makes. I am sure his take on Devdas will be unique.

Khoya Khoya Chand was slated to premiere at the IIFA Awards. What is the status with that film and what is its essence?
They wanted an HD (high-definition) version at the last moment but we couldn’t get it ready in time. The film is now ready and we are releasing it on October 26. Through Khoya Khoya Chand, I have tried to understand 1950s’ India. Hope people get it. I have not been governed by the technique or the moralities of that time. I have only dealt with characters of that period. They were wild, romantic... Also, I have used music (Shantanu Moitra) like I have never used music before.

Khoya Khoya Chand is a love story between a film-maker and his heroine. Isn’t it based on Guru Dutt’s life?
My take on life is partially influenced by Guru Dutt. Besides Satyajit Ray and Martin Scorsese, Guru Dutt has been a major influence in my life. Pyaasa and Saheb Biwi Aur Ghulam are great cinema. Kaagaz Ke Phool was also about the romance between a director and an actress. So you can say Khoya Khoya Chand is inspired from Kaagaz Ke Phool. But there is not a single scene from there. Yes, there are oblique tributes, references through style and structure. And so if anyone says that my film is inspired by Guru Dutt or any of his work, I will be most delighted.