Awesome piece by Sudhir Mishra…

PFC

Sudhir Mishra is very angry and… very sad. Met him at Colaba’s Mukesh Mills where he is currently shooting for his new film Ab Tera Kya Hoga Johnny. So… here it is all… Sudhir Mishra on Oscars, India, Eklavya, Bhavna Talwar, Hazaron Khwashein Aisi, Paheli, Vidhu Vinod Chopra, Is Raat ki Subah Nahi, Screen awards, Swades and why he will never be part of any jury…. all uncensored and uncut…. and no bullshitting as the name of his diary goes… enjoy…..

Over to Sudhir -

I think there is hardly any criteria. Let me say one thing… the FFI needs to do lot more homework… there are lot of films. India is a large country. You make 800 films. That needs to be lot more films that needs to be represented. Where is the Kerala film? where is the Bengal film? It’s a question and it’s a mood point. You should me more pro-active in its search, find out which are the best films from all segments/section from intellegesia and groups alike. For example from Bengal, from independent filmmakers… which are the deserving films and invite them. So finally u have representative Indian films from amongst which you select… that’s number one. The second point… the jury needs to see much more bigger variety of films. The jury needs to be also representative of lot of other kind of film making areas. All that i have no quarrels with.

I would like to ask where was Black Friday ? Why was Black Friday not submitted ? Where was Traffic Signal ? where was the Kerala film? Where are Bengal films? People say that there are no releases.There can be a notional release. All over the world people release notionally for the Oscars in one theatre. so a Buddhadeb Dasgupta film could release like that in one theater, one show and it wouldve applicable for the Oscars… Brought to the Oscars and then it could have been sent for the Oscars. i think that needs to be altered very seriously by FFI.

number two… India is a large country. There are atleast four filmmaking centres here. there needs to atleast 4 films representing India. Then they can choose among them… the Oscar Committe. one is too little for India. 800 films… Tamil, Telugu, Oriya, Bhojpuri, Hindi, Assamese, Rajasthani… tomorrow who knows there might be great Bhojpuri film. After that, once you’ve sent.. either every independent filmmakers assoc should represent it (the sent film).

Like i sent HKA, but, Paheli went. Did i say that jury that year was corrupt? Did i accused people /producers of buying of members of the jury ? HKA was not even considered by the national award jury for national awards headed by Basu Chatterjee. People like Madhu Jain, Rashmi Uday Singh, cameraman Viren Saini.. pretty good jury it was then, there. Did i ever say that there were corrupt cause they didn’t even considered Hazaron… for the National awards. Where was Bhavan Talwar? Was she talking for me at that time? i never heard a statement from anyone.

We are people with a certain amount of integrity. Here i am making a film Tera kya hoga Johnny after making a film with Anil Kapoor and making a film with Kareena Kapoor and after making Khoya Khoya Chand which is supposed to have a good buzz. Here I am making a film with street kids, with newcomers. So some of us have proved our integrity. So people should find out who we are. The two bit… these 5000 crore or how many crores is this industry… it’s not worth coming to if you want to be corrupt… u want to be corrupt… so please find out my background. If i wanted to be corrupt, i could have been corrupt. At 22, i gave up the opportunity of becoming the CM (chief minister) of MP (Indian state of Madhya Pradesh) when I walked away. I was B. P. Mishra’s grandson. So i came here, working like a coolie, lifting people’s suitcases and I paid for it by the sweat of my blood. So anybody calling us corrupt, it really gets my blood going. It’s really ridiculous. You have a point of view on how films should have been chosen, i totally agree with u. I totally agree that Black Friday should also have been there amongst the films that been considered to go for this year.

I think you should say who the jury is. And if you don’t like the jury you say I will not send my film. You cant say that Shwaas won the best film so jury was not good, but if HKA was selected then jury was great. I cant say that. By the way, i think it was better film that Paheli. i think so. Personally I don’t think that I’m a better filmmaker than Martin Scorsese and I know when to be humble. But I think I had made a better movie than many films that year. Yet I was not cursing and screaming. i was not accusing people of corruption.

I think it’s more about the right film to go. Though I think the right film is a good film and a good film is an original film. Film that is creatively yours in some senses. There is the jury - it was not just one person. There were 11-12 people there and they thought Eklavya was the right film. I don’t know what the fuss is about. Some people a few years back thought that Jeans was the right film. At one point someone thought Nayakan was the rite film. Last year someone thought Rang De Basanti was the right point. So we had with Munnabhai and Rang De Basanti. It was same last year. Sometimes in Spain, a Pedro Almodovar film doesn’t go. Pedro is beyond the Oscars. His films go, don’t go. How does it matter? Scorsese won the Oscar now! But who cared who won the Oscar when Raging Bull was made? Raging Bull was far greater film. Great films always stand the test of time. Great filmmakers always find their place. i think HKA was still be better film than all the films that went for Oscars that year.

I saw the film separately. I didn’t know most of the people in jury. I barely met them 3-4 times in my life. Whoever was there. I was not friends with anybody else except one or two whom ui know professionally. I didn’t know who was on the jury. They voted and went. There was majority decision.

Which Indian filmmaker can question my credentials? I would like to ask… Who? This is very unfair. Is Raat Ki Subah Nahi was nominated for 7-8 screen awards. That year all the awards went to Raja Hindustani. Binod Pradhan and people like that were in the jury. Did i say that Binod Pradhan was corrupt. DID I? So you accept a jury, you don’t accept their decisions. That’s fine. But to start accusing people of corruption its very loose way of talking. i am not making a film for VVC (Vidhu Vinod Chopra). i am making a film for Prakash Jha and PNC and this (Tera kya hoga Johnny) is my own production and making it for Pixion. and i don’t think that i will ever make a film for VVC.

How do u say that i am good freind of VVC? How do you know that? They don’t even know. Actually we have a very complicated relationship. Actually i could be very biased. Who says… where have i made a film for him? I used to be his assistant. And thats a fact. I was Saeed’s assistant too. That’s a fact. Anurag was my assistant. How do you arrive at such conclusions? People don’t do enough research. For the past seven years i don’t think i have been to Vinod Chopra’s house personally. So how can one say I am his friend?

We have always intentionally avoided regional cinema.

Ray was never sent, I didn’t hear the Bombay industry protesting. If ray was sent we would have collected 4-5 Oscars. All of Ray’s film should have been sent. Apu’s trilogy should have been sent, Charulata should have been been sent, Jalshaghar should have been sent, Teen Kanya, even Paras Pathar should have been sent. I didn’t hear this great Bombay film industry protesting at that time… and it still hasn’t changed which is wrong and which is why I will never accept to be part of any jury again.

Infact not any jury in my life. This is the last time I’m ever gonna get my hands dirty… because there are thankless people… anyone can take potshot at you. And the media, I am sorry… the media doesn’t question their credentials. You have a right to say anything about me. First tell em who you are. First tell me what have you done. First prove an allegation. Get concrete proof of an allegation. If somebdy says… in the past… say 100-200 days, 2years-4 years, every 3rd day Sudhir was at Vinod Chopra’s house or was making a film for him then you can say there is corruption. No. we are friends of everyone in the industy. . who is enemy then? Luckily Prakash Jha’s film was not there (for selection). I am making a film for Jha. Luckily a PNC film’s not there. i am making a film for them.

i didn’t expect this kind of a response… every year pops some kind of question. But you know that personal allegations are very upsetting. You can question the film. Everybody has a right to question. I saw list of people who have questioned in some newspaper today. They have never made a good film in their life. I am sorry to say this but they have made bloody shit all their lives. First look at yourself, look at your films. So don’t make allegations.

The purpose is it ha to be questioned… it has to be questioned now… for next year. So all those people who care about regional cinema… let the Bombay directors get together and find a way to see how to make the process fair and I am there to give my support. Find a way on how to make it fair. Write to scars/academy and ask them if u can send 4 films. Lobby, canvas, do something in your association. NOW. Don’t wait for next year and then say if your film goes then ok ok if it doesn’t then its terrible.

i took once a decision to be part of national award committee. i was questioned on personal matters. i don’t get anything out of chairman of National Awards jury. i spent 15 days… You don’t get any money. i don’t want any serial from the Government of India. i don’t want to be close to IB ministry. i have got enough work. On my own. Why the hell should i sit and listen to any guy making ridiculous statements?… a guy who has not done anything making accusatory statements on me. Me having to explain myself. why?

Next year it will be my film at the jury and somebody will say i was corrupt. Its better to take the safe way, and just be quiet… and to make your own film. And dissent take place in Indian politics or some worthwhile place where they understand democracy… rather than in this industry which at times is like a fascist where some ten people beating every one people down and bludgeoning them. i don’t agree to this attitude.

When i was the chairperson of the National awards jury, i didn’t agree with all the decisions taken. We were like 16 and there was me. The 15 didn’t agree with many things. i didn’t come out and openly talk about it. Because i had to agree. Because 16 people that year were biased against Swades. They hated Swades. i was the only one who liked Swades.

Not because I was on jury but because I said so in print before becoming the Chairperson. 16 people didn’t like swades. What do do ? It’s unfair on my part at that stage to come out and be cozy up with SRK. Either I could resign as member of jury that i don’t agree with. Then there is other way that every people resign every year… or otherwise a Kannada girl gets the best actor award… a man called Haradhan Bannerjee who will never get any award…. who is 84 year old… who is Satyajeet’s actor… he gets a best supporting actor award. Buddhudeb gets best director award. Kerala film gets best social issues. There are many things you can contribute to. You cannot win everything. There are some talents that are hidden, these should be honored. So you can contribute in many ways.

You should participate rather than be abdicating. It’s frustrating. It’s depressing., i don’t need to say who I voted for. I don’t need to. There are many films I wish… they had been there. I wish there had been a much bigger choice. But whatever was the decision, either i resign or i accept what the majority wants…