Young turks bollywood

Aamir Khan who plays a struggling musician in Akele Hum Akele Tum makes a pertinent point after bagging his first big contract in the film. He says, “Industry mein kuch aise bhi log hotein hain jo kaam ko dekhte hain, naam ko nahin.” This dialogue is still significant. Bollywood, once considered a closed door industry, is now welcoming talented technicians.

Ram Mirchandani, COO, UTV Rampage, attributes this trend to the multiplex culture. “While previously the single theatre culture made it vital for commercially viable films to be released, that is not the case now. There are multiplexes in every nook and corner of the country with five to six screens. If owners are playing commercial films on three screens, they still have two screens to showcase films like A Wednesday, Aamir, Bheja Fry. Audiences who have lapped up these movies have proved that there is a requirement for such films. So producers are willing to invest in newcomers like Neeraj Pandey, the director of A Wednesday or Rajkumar Jha, the director of Aamir,” he says.

So now you don’t need to be an industry kid to stake a claim at the box-office.

Ayananka Bose,
Dostana’s cinematographer

He’s the man with the Midas touch. Priyanka Chopra can’t stop raving about how gorgeous he made her look in Dostana. But Ayananka is as low profile as you can find. Trained under the guru of cinematography, Ravi K. Chandran, whom even SRK swears by, Bose began by assisting Chandran in Bollywood blockbusters like Dil Chahta Hai, Koi Mil Gaya and Black. He branched out on his own with the Ajay Devan starrer Main Aisa Hi Hoon followed by Umrao Jaan, Jhoom Barabar Jhoom and Tashan. The latter movies may not have created magic at the box-office but Bose’s romance with the camera was appreciated.

“I remember when my initial movies didn’t do well, my mentor Chandran had commented that I needed to be careful since a hit film mattered. I have heard that if a film doesn’t work in totality, it can affect one’s career. But I’ve never really bothered about these things,” says the soft-spoken Bose who is currently working on the Hrithik Roshan-starrer Kites.

This Chennai Film Institute graduate believes in working on one film at a time. “When I work on a film, I do so with all my passion and commitment. I’m totally involved with the product. The script is of utmost importance to me,” he says.

Can he sustain himself financially? “My needs are simple. I drive a small car and don’t yearn to live in a penthouse,” he quips.

Clearly this cinematographer is not concerned about competition even as he admits that it is the demands of a highly competitive market that has led to the influx of talented newcomers. His confidence stems from the fact that he could recreate Miami in Mumbai after a 40-day shoot for Dostana in that city and nobody would have guessed the difference. So is direction on the anvil? “No, I’m happier being the eyes of the director and believe that filmmaking is a collaborative effort,” he says.

And no, he is not affected by all the adulation that surrounds him. “Where is it? I don’t see it and still have my feet firmly planted on the ground.”

Mithoon Sharma,
Music director of Maula mere, maula mere fame

You can’t miss the song, Maula mere, maula mere, which topped the charts. While the movie, Anwar, did not cast a spell at the box-office, one man walked away with the accolades. That was music director Mithoon, who had won the Stardust award for best music director for his melodies in Bas Ek Pal. Mithoon has another reason to feel proud. His protégé Shilpa Rao won the best playback singer female for Khuda Jaane from Bachna Ai Haseeno, at the recent Screen awards.

“I like working with newcomers. I don’t really follow a pattern while selecting a singer. The voice has to suit the genre and that’s the only thing that works for me,” says Mithoon who is not too hung up on working with big banners. He also believes in the mantra that the script is king. “I do not have a bank of songs with me. I compose music depending on the demands of the script. It is also important that my vision matches that of the director,” he adds.

Mithoon, who is currently working on his private album, is looking forward to Rahul Dholakia’s Lamhe, “This is an interesting script and has a beautiful narrative. I also have Bas Ek Pal director Onir’s next film and also a Tips production,” he says.

And like Bose, he is not perturbed by the commercial factor. “The music of Anwar did very well and it would have been great had the film worked at the box-office too. It would be nice to be associated with a successful product. But a film’s success is beyond my control.”

Shiraz Ahmad,
Screenplay writer for Race

Thrillers are his forte, the racier the better, so it comes as no surprise that the screenplay writer of Race won an award at the recent Screen awards. “I had been nominated for Humraaz and Aitraaz but did not win. It was still a great feeling to be nominated.”

Tell him that many felt Race was too racy, and pat comes the reply, “The many twists and turns in the film were deliberately planned. I wanted to experiment with the concept of multiple twists,” he says.

Ask him whether it’s tough writing a script that involves several stars and he says, “If you have churned out hit scripts in the past, then the stars show confidence in your work. At any rate, it’s the producer who decides on the star. In fact, we are working on Race 2 and Saif has already approved the script.”

Shiraz is rather disappointed by the failure of his latest release Karzz. “I accepted the film because of my friendship with Himmesh. He expressed his desire to work with me and I couldn’t say no. There was a lot of pressure while working on the script. There were demands to retain five scenes along with the same dialogues from the old Rishi Kapoor starrer, so there was little I could do,” he says.

So will he be more selective in choosing his director the next time? He says, “I’m a writer and an emotional person. I can’t say no to friends. Also, in this industry you need to work on two to three projects a year to survive. One has to work hard and passionately to make a mark in this industry as there is a lot of competition.”

Shiraz is now working on Boney Kapoor’s Wanted and an untitled Tips film. “Things have changed a lot. Producers are looking for good content, that’s why they are willing to experiment with new names,” he says.

Shilpa Rao,
Playback singer of Tose naina lage re fame

This Jamshedpur-bred lady is already making waves in the five years that she’s been in Mumbai. There is a fresh raw appeal in Shilpa Rao’s voice, evident in the song Tose naina lage re from Anwar. She also won the best playback singer award at the recent Screen awards. “I had never been nominated before so this came as a surprise. An award by the jury comprising talented people from the industry is a good feeling,” says the lady with husky voice.

Shilpa is a trained classical singer but was nervous about singing Khuda jane and almost threw up at the audition.

“I had never sung a romantic song before and I was quite scared. But Sidharth Anand, the director and Vishal-Shekhar, the music directors were very supportive,” she says.

Shilpa modestly attributes her success to Karmic energy that worked for her. She began her career by singing jingles and gradually moved her way to the top.

Few are aware that Shilpa also sang Raghupati Raghava in Gandhi My Father. Shilpa has a slew of projects lined up. Dev D, Onir’s Kill Chabra, UTV’s Agge Se Right, Piyush Jha’s Sikander and Lahore. Quite an impressive line up this…

Anvita Dutt Guptan
Lyricist of Khuda jaane , screenplay and dialogue writer

She loves words, whether written, spoken or sung. So it comes as no surprise that Anvita Dutt Guptan won the Screen award for best lyrics for Khuda jaane in Bachna Ae Haseeno. “Khuda jaane was so loved and appreciated that winning an award for it just made it even more wonderful for me. I am new to the industry and had no contacts, yet I have got good work and earned accolades,” she says.

Tell her that many old-timers and youngsters feel that lyrics which once had a timeless quality have now become very commercial. She concedes, “Lyrics, like dialogues, are a reflection of the language and attitude prevalent at any given point in time. As long as the emotion remains true, people will continue to enjoy the songs.”

Anvita has written songs for Bachna, Heyy Babyy, Neil and Nikki and Dostana. But when it comes to selecting her favourite, she says it’s a close call between Dostana and Bachna.

Anvita wrote the screenplay for Dostana. Tell her that the gay portions were more of a spoof and she responds, “Dostana has been loved by the audiences. I don’t think the film was meant to be a serious commentary on being gay, neither was it meant to caricaturise the same. The film was about two guys wanting to live with one girl… at any cost.”

Anvita, who spent 14 years in advertising, is enjoying every moment of her foray into Bollywood. “I want to be writing songs and scripts for the rest of my life,” she adds.

Amrita Mahal Nakai,
production designer for Dostana

Priyanka’s fabulous Miami penthouse apartment in Dostana was actually a set created by this talented youngster. She trained under Sharmistha Roy of Kuch Kuch Hota Hai fame. “I had done my degree in commercial art and was actually looking for a break in advertising in Mumbai but things didn’t work out.

Meanwhile, my sister Sabrina who is a stylist was working on an ad film and I tagged along. I bumped into Sharmistha who was working on Bunty Aur Babli and looking for an assistant. I joined her and worked with her for three years. I assisted her for the India shoot of Salaam Namaste, The Namesake besides KANK and Tara Rum Pum.”

Meanwhile Amrita met Dostana director Tarun Mansukhani who soon became a good friend. “I remember telling him that I wanted to be a part of his first film and I guess he felt I could handle the designing. I had also worked on Sooni Taraporewalla’s Little Zhizou earlier,” she adds.

Amrita is presently working on Ayan Mukherjee’s Wake Up Sid and says, “I believe in working on one film at a time and don’t want to spread myself too thin.”