Vibe 25| Madhur Bhandarkar: If Trishakti was a hit, I wouldn’t have made Chandni Bar
Filmmaker Madhur Bhandarkar talks about turning director 25 years ago and how he continues to be relevant
In 1999, Madhur Bhandarkar embarked on his directorial journey with Trishakti and while the film remains forgettable, his journey has been the complete opposite. Mention to him the milestone and he is in disbelief. He says, “I just can’t believe it has been 25 years. I made 15 movies in this span, and I am very happy with those films. I’ve always been an independent filmmaker and never went to any camp, lobby or kotari. The best part about this journey is that I made movies that I personally believed in.”
The 55-year-old director shares that in the last 25 years, he has received many tags like ‘women-centric filmmaker’ and his style being ‘topical, hard-hitting, real cinema’. “I am okay with it,” he insists, adding, “Even the current generation connects with the films I have made. My films have aged well.” The filmmaker has some of cult classics to his credit including Chandni Bar, Page 3 and Fashion.
However, the fate of Trishakti did make Bhandarkar doubt himself. He divulges, “I wanted to make movies I believed in, but nobody was backing me on it. Those days commercial cinema had a certain template and I had to make Trishakti fit into that. Even though I didn’t want to do it, I was under duress. But Trishakti bombed very badly, and I was completely disturbed. I thought my career was over.” However, things took a 180 degree turn after his next release, Chandni Bar.
The Tabu-starrer emerged a big hit, bringing National Awards for the director and the actress. And he proudly accepts that Chandni Bar indeed changed the industry’s dynamics. He shares, “It was the first female-led film that became a success not only in multiplexes but also the single screens. I made Chandni Bar when people used to make big-budgeted and male-centric films. The film was nominated in popular category with big films like Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham, Gadar and Dil Chahta Hai. It was evident that our film made a strong noise and disrupted the whole grammar of cinema.”
Interestingly, Bhandarkar confesses that Chandni Bar came to life because of Trishakti’s failure. He insists, “If Trishakti was a hit, I would never have made a Chandni Bar in my life. I would have made 2-3 more commercial films and today, I would have been a non-entity.” 25 years later, the filmmaker continues to be relevant and confides that it has been a journey that makes him feel content.