On the sixth anniversary of Mardaani, writer and director Gopi Puthran feels that he is the only filmmaker to have a female cop franchise to his credit. By Team Viva
Writer and director Gopi Puthran describes his journey in the film industry as “incredible.” Steeping in YRF as the writer of Lafangey Parindey, he became the writer and assistant director of Rani Mukerji-starrer Mardaani and then graduated to become the director of Mardaani 2. On the sixth anniversary of the film, Gopi talks about how he is the only filmmaker to have a superhit female cop franchise to his credit.
Gopi says, “The reason why (that’s my speculation) Mardaani as a franchise resonated so much with the audience is because there is so much dearth of stories of women, which are sincerely told while tapping onto the correct insights of the problems and the journey they go through. So Mardaani is one such film that taps into the core of being a woman, especially in a patriarchal society. Both the parts — I and II — have been dealt with complete sincerity. We have tried to touch the struggles of a woman, maintaining one’s own identity in a world where she is constantly asked to compromise.”
He adds, “I think the integrity with which we made both the films has clicked with the audience very well. I hope we continue to do justice in the way we approach such themes in the subsequent parts that we’ll be hopefully doing.”
This year, Gopi completes a decade of his association with the banner, a journey that he cherishes dearly. He shares, “It’s truly some karmic thing, some connection that I have with YRF and, most importantly, with Aditya Chopra. The ease with which we connected creatively, I could freely argue with him if I felt strongly about a point. Our relationship has always been special. Somehow, Aditya has never interfered or asked me to change my ways of working. This openness and nurturing is what has made me what I want to be here.”
Gopi shares an incredibly endearing relationship with Rani. “She has actually given her soul to the character of Shivani Shivaji Roy. It’s so satisfying to see, especially for a writer, when an actor puts in so much effort and time. The way she added so much of depth and gravitas to this character, it’s commendable! She actually made Shivani Shivaji Roy come alive,” says he.
He feels that Rani is natural at action sequences and pulls them off with ease. “Right from Mardaani to Mardaani 2, she is completely natural when it comes to action sequences. It was like she was meant to do it. She can bring vulnerability and toughness both at the same time. Thus, Shivani became a unique character,” says Gopi.
He shares that it was hugely magnanimous on dada’s (Pradeep Sarkar) part who asked him to be a part of the making of Lafangey Parindey. Since then, their journey started from the film to Mardaani, part I. “That is how I ended up being an associate director for both these films. I always wanted to direct. I was one of those writers who knew that I will write and direct at the same time. I was just waiting for the correct project to come along,” he says.
Talking about how he conceptualised a part two, Gopi says, “While I was discussing something with Aditya, we were speaking about a couple of projects that I should be directing. He suggested that why don’t you just direct a sequel to Mardaani because you know the world entirely! It will be relatively simpler for you to mount this in the correct way. You have an equation with Rani, so it should be your debut film. I completely and whole-heartedly agreed to it and that’s how it all fell into place.”