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“They think I am too old to make films,” auteur maestro Shyam Benegal is back

The prolific and brilliant auteur director Shyam Benegal is back with a new film after 12 years. His last film Well Done Abba featured Boman Irani and Sammir Dattani in lead roles .

Where were you for 12 years, Sir?

(Laughs) Where was I? I was right here. But our film industry was ignoring me. They probably felt I am too old to make films anymore.

Not true. You may be 87, but you seem to be in good health?

By God’s grace, I am in good health. I am as alert as I was ten or twenty years ago. But how do I convince the producers that nothing has changed?

Well, Paul Verhoeven who is 83 directed Benedetta last year? Woody Allen continues to be super-prolific at 86?

That’s the West for you. In India, the rules are somewhat different. Since I directed Well Done Abba in 2010 no one came forward to offer me a film until now.

You are very excited about your new film?

I am! I have had a deep fascination for the life and politics of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. When this opportunity to make a film on his life came my way from Bangladesh I was all for it.

How was the experience of working with Bangladeshi actors?

Oh, it was an absolute pleasure! Those actors are so dedicated and so underused. Arifin Shuvoo who plays Mujibur Rahman is phenomenal. So are the Bangladeshi actors in my film it’s titled Mujib: The Making Of A Nation.

I think the last major Bangladeshi actor to work in India was Babita in Mrinal Sen’s Ashani Sanket?

Is it? I can’t remember. But I do know that there is a lot of underused talent in Bangladesh. My actors in the Mujibur biopic are simply brilliant. There is Dibya Joyti who plays the younger portions of Mujibur’s life, Nusrat Imrose Tisha as Mujibur’s wife and Nusrat Faria as Sheikh Hasina and many more. I am hoping this film will bring them the recognition they deserve.

This is not the first biopic you have directed on a controversial political figure?

I had directed a biopic on Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose in 2005 with Sachin Khedekar. I wish more people had seen it.

Do you see any censor trouble for this film?

None at all. Mujib's life is something we all need to celebrate. History has neglected him for too long.

Have you ever had any censor trouble?

Yes, Nishant was cut. There was a scene of Anant Nag and a girl making love behind a tree. They wanted it cut, so we cut it. My Bhumika was snipped. In Manthan, there were two cuts. Otherwise, they would have given me an ‘A’ certificate. One cut was where Girish Karnad was explaining artificial insemination in cattle. These cuts never made any sense to me.

Subhash K Jha is a Patna-based film critic who has been writing about Bollywood for long enough to know the industry inside out. He tweets at @SubhashK_Jha.

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by Subhash K Jha
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