Madhur Bhandarkar opens up on "Heroine"
Though you have always tried to evade controversies, they somehow don't seem to leave you. Case in point is your most ambitious project to date, Heroine that has been making headlines for all the wrong reasons.
Yes Heroine courted a lot of headlines even before I could shoot a single frame or even complete its script. But I would like to say this on record that as of now, the film has been shelved. It's on the back burner now. I will definitely make it someday; maybe after six months or six years. But I don't know when. I have to be in the right frame of mind to make it. It would require a different kind of opulence. I need my time to make it. My earlier films like Page 3, Corporate and Fashion had lots of glamour in them. So while making Heroine I will need to take utmost care that it doesn't resemble any of my previous films. After watching Heroine the audience should not feel that they have already watched it in one of my previous films. Right now my complete concentration is on Dil Toh… So once everything falls in place, I will make that film for sure.
Your films have always managed to get the best out of every actress you have worked with some even winning their only National Awards. Heroine also seemed to be one such character driven film. Still, why do you think it stopped an actress like Kareena from doing it?
I don't think that way. When people tell me that Tabu's best is Chandni Bar or Priyanka's best to date is Fashion, I feel good and humbled but at the same time I do get scared wondering what better can I offer them to work with them again. People telling such good things also means that they expect much more from me than what I have already delivered. I feel God has been very kind to me by blessing me with three National Awards and giving me an opportunity to work with the best actors in the industry. I have never felt that just because my films have won awards or been successful, Kareena has to say yes to me. My job is to narrate a good script to her and then it's for her to decide if she wants to do my film or not. And irrespective of the outcome of her decision, I will still like and respect her as much as I do today.
There were reports alleging that she walked out of the film because of some steamy lovemaking scenes which she had asked you to remove completely. What actually went wrong?
Nahi, aisa kuch bhi nahi hua tha. I know there were many reports being published almost every single day but not all of them were true. You don't have to necessarily believe everything that you hear or read.
But fact is that while on one hand, you kept telling the media about Kareena's presence in your film, she, on the other hand, kept denying it. Why this communication gap?
Well as I said, nothing actually went wrong between us. Unfortunately our individual schedules didn't permit us to work out the dates. And she was not shooting in India also. She was shooting abroad for Agent Vinod and Ra.One. So yes we definitely met to discuss Heroine but destiny seems to have planned something else because of which I had to put the film on the backburner.
Kareena was also very upset with a character in the film, who apparently was inspired by her real life beau Saif Ali Khan. Her character was shown dating a divorced actor with two kids. Comment.
Well, these are all fabricated news. All I can say right now is that none of this is true at all.
There were also reports about you having approached Aishwarya Rai to play the lead, but even she refused to do it.
I never approached Aishwarya for Heroine. In fact I haven't approached any actress other than Kareena. I had written the script keeping Bebo in mind so there is no question of me approaching anyone else.
Since the script and the role had been written keeping Kareena in mind, don't you think another actress might not suit the part at all? Do you plan to make any changes in the script to suit any other actress who agrees to do the role?
Well I really don't know. It's very difficult for me to contemplate on these possibilities because now that the film has been put on the back burner I am not even thinking about it. I will think on these aspects when I start working on the project again. See my films keep changing and growing at various stages. What I narrate to an actor is little different from what I often originally conceive. What I shoot is again little different from what's discussed on the scripting stage. So my films go through a lot of changes and developments right from scripting to the final edit. Today whenever I meet people, at events, parties or press conferences; the first question I am asked is why I am not making Heroine. So I know that there is a curiosity amongst the people on the film and that they want me to do it. It's a big film for me too. I would definitely like to make it in the future.
Apparently, Heroine's protagonist's journey to stardom happens through some casting couch episodes. Do you think that could be a reason for leading actresses getting a bit wary about doing the film?
Such speculative newspaper reports in fact have given me many new ideas to include in my film. Because the film is about a heroine, people had been airing their pre-conceived notions on its content. It's like everybody else apart from me knows the story of my film. Fact is that the film's final script is yet to be ready. Its whole concept was there in my mind and that's what I had discussed with Kareena. But there wasn't a bound script ready so even I was surprised to read all these reports about casting couch episodes, love making scenes, a character inspired by Saif and the likes being discussed about my film.
Source: Stardust
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