A day after the release of the acclaimed show IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack, director Anubhav Sinha spoke exclusively with Bollywood Hungama about the show, its unique aspects and a lot more.
EXCLUSIVE: Anubhav Sinha says he “switched off the anxiety button” on the day of IC 814’s release after Vijay Varma’s message; shares his views on BOGO: “It must be making sense to the producer. Or he must be stupid and if that’s the case, let him be”
Are you enjoying the feedback that you have got for IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack?
I am inundated with positive messages on WhatsApp, Twitter, Instagram etc. I haven’t read a single unkind review. So that means that the job is well done. I also woke up to many heart-warming messages. One message I must quote is, ‘Sir, it’s 5 am. I am on the fifth episode. I am so sleepy, but I am going to finish it’. This was a sweet message sent by a friend who’s in public life.
This is your web series and when a film is about to be released, one worries about whether the film will open well at the box office. You were free of those pressures this time…
I look at the success of anything we do in three parts. One is the art that you are engaged in; did you deliver? That’s between me and the work. Then the reception of the art; it is about the audience and reviewers and how they liked it. It translates into returns and revenues. My third concern is the age of the art. That is the most important part of the success of any work you do – how long does it live? But you don’t get to know about it until 10 years. The effect of the first two parts shows up by Monday.
The OTT world is new to me. I am told here you get to know about the trends in 4 to 6 weeks. But the way people are liking it, it seems to be headed in the right direction. There was anxiety about whether I performed well.
Also, this time, I decided that I’ll not hunt for the reviews. I’ll read them as they come to me. By 1-1:30 pm yesterday, there was a sense of acceptance. At 4:00 pm, Vijay Varma called and informed me, ‘Sir, reviews toh saare bahut acche hai’. Only after that, I switched off the anxiety button!
Every actor has done well but for me and many viewers, Manoj Pahwa is the scene stealer…
After a point, I had lost all view on which role is more exciting. They are all my babies and are all good parts. Nevertheless, I knew Manoj’s part had a larger popular appeal.
Did you speak to the passengers who were trapped in that ill-fated flight?
The first part of the research happened before I came on board as a director. Trishant Srivastava and the writing team had done various sessions with various people they could get hold of. I had some of them on tape too. Hence, I didn’t physically meet them all. But I met some of the bureaucrats of the time and also the captain along with his wife. I also spoke to a lot of international journalists informally.
The then Prime Minister of India, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, wasn’t a character in the show. What was the reason?
If you notice, I am not trying to recreate the bureaucrats. My actors don’t look like any of those people. I didn’t even rhyme the character names with real names. Though the actors don’t look like bureaucrats, the latter will find their essence in these characters.
As for Mr Vajpayee, there was not much left for him to do in that situation. Moreover, the idea was not even to be judgmental about anything or anybody. In that situation, they managed to negotiate and attempted to bring back passengers. While doing so, there were some faux pas and oversight.
The beauty of the show is that you start thinking about what you would have done if you were in that situation of decision-making…
True. Somebody might say ‘Main toh plane ke andar commando bhej deta’, somebody would say, ‘Sending commandos could have led to gun fight in the plane, resulting in the death of some passengers’. People would have different views on it. Hence, I decided not to let my views seep in.
The track of Dia Mirza had less screen time and also, some felt that it had an abrupt ending…
Zindagi mein har cheez kahan close hoti hai? Also, I have closed the track in a way when the younger journalist returns. And anyway, that was not the story I was telling. I wanted to see some tenderness in the show. So, these two characters were tender, and they represented the times when the media was transitioning from print to electronic.
You are also a film director and producer and nowadays, a lot of producers opt for BOGO, that is, Buy One Get One Ticket free scheme. Some are against it but some feel that the scheme is justified. What’s your take?
I don’t have a strong opinion for or against it. The tragedy of our business is that the cost of production is still going higher and higher while it’s a struggle to get footfalls in cinemas. Hence, there’s a massive disparity. Those who have put in money try to find ways to lure people. I suspect that the idea is that if two people come to see the film, that’s two mouths that’ll spread the word about the film. The producer, I guess, decides to let go of his profit at the cost of letting the word out. It’s his prerogative. I am not against it.
The only thing I am against is that we are talking too much of the box office and Rs. 100 crores and Rs. 200 crores club. Sometimes, a movie that has collected Rs. 200 crore makes less profit than a film that has collected Rs. 50 crores. Hence, the audience should leave this discussion to the producer. They should only care about whether they liked the film or not. Nowadays, even people standing at pan shops in small towns are discussing, ‘Uss film ka Rs. 200 crores ka dhanda hua’. They don’t even know how much of that Rs. 200 crores come to the producers and how much of it is shared by the distributor or exhibitor. The producer knows it better as he’s signing the cheque. And if he’s giving one ticket free on every ticket, it must be making sense to him. If he’s making a film for Rs. 200 crores, it must be making sense to him. Or must be stupid and if that’s the case, let him be! Do people ever ask Parle-G about their cost of production? They don’t as it’s the company’s lookout. You simply say that you like Parle-G and that you like to dip it in your cup of tea!
Also Read: Manoj Muntashir DEFENDS Kangana Ranaut’s Emergency: “Can’t believe Sikhs got scared of facts”
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