Ankoosh Bhatt (Ankush Bhatt) CineEye, May 9, 2018September 26, 2019 “One thing which I’ve realized is that getting your first break in the industry is not the only thing, but sustaining yourself is even more difficult, as even if you feel you need the money, you have to say ‘no’ to some projects to sustain the quality of work that you want to give.” Ankoosh Bhatt (Ankush Bhatt) is an Indian film director who debuted with the critically acclaimed Marathi film, ‘Man Pakharu Pakharu’. Today he is known for his films Bhindi Bazaar and Mumbai Mirror. His next film ‘3 Dev’ is about to release and stars Kay kay Menon, Kunaal Roy Kapur, Ravi Dubey, Tisca Chopra, Raima Sen, Priya Banerjee and Karan Singh Grover. Q. Can you share your journey with us, up until your first film? A. I was very young, about 13 when I started working. I started off doing backstage in plays, assisting in plays, and doing music in plays. From there I started directing TV for the next 7-8 years. Then came a stagnant period in television where the content was not in the directors hands anymore. Directors basically turned into time managers for that period, where actors worked on about 3 projects at a time and you just had to manage them. It got a bit frustrating from me. From there I ventured out and I started working with Sachin Pilgaonkar on his television show. This is where a brilliant idea came and one of the actors on the show, Ali Azgar, supported me and ended up producing the film. That is how my first Marathi film got made, ‘Man Pakharu Pakharu’, which got lots of awards everywhere. Then of course the next step was to make a Hindi film. Unfortunately or fortunately the next script I wrote still hasn’t been made. I guess you can call that destiny. Then something just came up my way and that’s how Bhindi Bazaar happen. Then one after another, things kept going on and on. Q.”Bhindi Bazaar” and “Mumbai Mirror” deal with gangs and goons. What attracts you to this world? A. I was always fascinated with the world of pickpockets, because it’s a very spontaneous and impromptu thing to do, where in the middle of 500 people you have to identify your target, and just flick the person. You’re not prepared for that. It’s not like you are prepared for a murder, or a killing, or the likes of that. So that world fascinated me. So I got down to creating a story revolving around that world and that is how ‘Bhindi Bazaar’ happened. Then came ‘Mumbai Mirror’ which had a beautiful nexus between politicians, and the cops and the dance bars. It delved into why the dance bars closed down and who was behind that. The story revolved around that and yes that world interested me. Q. Your upcoming film “3 Dev” is very different from your previous films. Where did this come from? A. I wanted to experiment with different subjects. So what happens with films like ‘Bhindi Bazaar’ and ‘Mumbai Mirror’ is that you get a lot of critical acclaim, but that still doesn’t translate to people coming to watch your film. Such films only have a niche audience, so the numbers weren’t there for me. Seriously, as a maker, I feel that if I want to tell my stories, something called box office success if very necessary for directors like me who are still coming up. When you get down to approaching producers with scripts, you understand that even the producers are tied down with what the censor and what the audience may think of your film. So with the script of ‘3 Dev’ I saw that it is equally as hardcore as ‘Bhindi Bazaar’ and ‘Mumbai Mirror’, but told in a different manner. I feel it is told in a more entertaining way. So that’s how I got down to working on ‘3 Dev’, and making it into a film that anyone can watch, right from the age of 5 to 18. Everyone can watch it. Q. How do you work with actors? A. There is a saying that actors will tell you. ‘I’m a directors actor’. Well, I’m the opposite. I’m an actors director. I like to initially experiment with the actors. For example in ‘Bhindi Bazaar’ I gave Deepti Naval a completely negative role which she has never done till then. When I approached her, she question “I have a very innocent face, how will I be a villain”. I told her that if she does it, it would look more challenging and more dreadful for an innocent looking person to kill someone. She agreed to it! Even with Kay Kay Menon in “3 Dev” he is doing a completely fun-filled role in the film. So initially I choose my actors, but then it is up to them as to what they want to feed into the characters. When I worked with Prashant Narayan in ‘Bhindi Bazaar’ he said how he doesn’t want to do rehearsals and will do everything spontaneously. So he gave two takes for what he calls spontaneity, but when things are not coming out as I’ve visualized, I have them adjust here and there, slightly. Then ultimately what comes out is something very fresh from within them, which gives a very different meaning to the script and what was thought earlier. Q. What are your sources of Inspiration? A. I’ve recently developed a script where I’ve seen boys sitting down, watching ‘hotstar’ and trying to gamble on the other side, just to make a small buck out of it. So there is a story in everything. Yes, there are directors who inspire you. Like Rajkumar Hirani, Luv Ranjan, and many more. There are so many directors around us who tell us a story in every frame of what they are trying to shoot. At times you feel jealous, at times you feel minuscule, at times you feel equivalent. So everyone inspires you to do good work, to be there, and to deliver the best. Q. Any major incident or roadblock that made you question your path? A. It’s been 27 years in the industry now, and there are many roadblocks, especially when you are not from the industry and are trying to make your mark. One thing which I’ve realized is that getting your first break in the industry is not the only thing, but sustaining yourself is even more difficult. This is because you’ve created some curiosity about your name, and have delivered something that is up to par, so then you can’t say ‘yes’ to something that is very much below par. Even if you feel you need the money at that time, you have to say ‘no’ to sustain the quality of work that you want to give. Also, I’ve never indulged into ‘chamchagiri’ or ‘chaapusi’. You know, there are a lot of people who are just awestruck by the industry and enter for vested interests, so I don’t entertain these kinds of people. Basically when you walk on the path of honesty, it will take time to reach where you want to reach, but once you reach there is no looking back. Q. Since you have been in the industry for 27 years, how have you seen things change for the better? A. The film industry, even today, is largely actor driven. I think that will still take time to change. Today, however, I feel we are much more willing to experiment on subjects, and the making of the films have become more realistic these days. Even if you look at the bigger platforms that have given us a ‘October’ or a ‘Talaash’, it becomes clear that even the stars are willing to take up different subjects. So I feel those are the changes. Q. Any words of inspiration for upcoming filmmakers? A. There is one thing Sachin ji told me when I was making my first film. I was very ambitious in regards to my budget. I had a jimmy jib, a trolley, and all the quirks of making it a larger than life film. This is when Sachin Ji told me that this is my first film, and that the subject is experimental, and therefore the producer should not lose money. He said that I have to cut all this out, and I was obviously very disappointed. But what he told me afterwards was very important. He said to focus on the content of the film, and if the content is strong, the audience will accept you as the director. They will accept what you want to say. So my only suggestion to all the upcoming directors and writers is that you shouldn’t get disappointed with what you don’t have. Just make the best out of your script, out of your content, and out of your actor. Exclusive Feature 3 devankoosh bhattBollywoodexclusivefilmin conversation withinterviewmovie