Filmmaker Anees Bazmi shares the thought process behind his comedies and why he considers them serious business. By Debasrita Chakraborty
For many viewers, filmmaker Anees Bazmi is like the ultimate crazypot, making us laugh with his slew of family entertainers that are not just about suspension of disbelief but of the mind altogether. But the hitmaker is a much more serious man than you might think and considers making comedies a social responsibility.
“Making a comedy film is way more difficult than any other genre. In the rat race called modern life, people have forgotten to laugh. In such a scenario, working on a comedy is a big responsibility. Writing proper dialogues and creating the right ambience is very important. If anything goes wrong, the audience will not laugh because of the movie but they will laugh at the movie,” said the director whose latest film Mubarakan had a promising start, though nothing compared to his evergreen mood-lifters like Welcome and No Entry.
Bazmee started out as a serious film-maker, becoming an assistant to Raj Kapoor no less. “The thought of becoming a filmmaker probably began while assisting Raj Kapoor but I made the big decision only after I watched Mughal-e-Azam in detail,” he told us over telephone. He has learnt on the job and trained in different aspects of film-making. He set out on his own by becoming a dialogue writer in 1988 for the film Hum Farishte Nahin. After a gap, he worked as a full-fledged writer for Swarg, directed by David Dhawan and starring Rajesh Khanna and Govinda. He also did several projects in collaboration with Dhawan later. “Writing dialogues to bring out the essence of the character and giving priority to each are very important. Giving space to each character judiciously is a big challenge and requires experience. I have written around 35 stories and have always obsessed over how each character could take the narration forward. I should not lose interest while writing a story. If that happens, then I won’t be able to keep the audience glued to the screen. Each word spoken should touch the emotions of the audience,” he added.
Bazmee usually stays away from gimmicks and believes in the power of the navrasas. “Somewhere in its journey from Basu Chatterjee and Hrishikesh Mukherjee to the present day, comedy in Bollywood has become a cheesy affair. This is why the family audience is suspicious of our comedies. They say, ‘ismein zaroor kuch ganda hoga (It has to be dirty).’ But they trust my comedies because they are all about happy emotions. There will be no kissing in my films, ever, no matter what the requirement in the script. let the audience have fun without indulging in crudity,” elaborated the director.
“My comedies are watched by the entire family and kids love my humour. I’ve a mother, a wife and sister at home. And I’ve a daughter. I wouldn’t like to do anything in my films that would make me cringe in front of them. Very few people realise this but the script is the real king in comedy,” he added.
Though he may have specialised in comedies, Bazmee has had quite a rounded experience as a filmmaker. He has done the romantic hit Pyaar To Hona Hi Tha in 1998. Then there were Deewangee in 2002, No Entry in 2005, Welcome in 2007, Singh Is Kinng in 2008. By then he yielded to the pressure of rolling out laugh riots and did Welcome Back and is now working on more franchises. In the process, he has worked with almost every actor in the industry. “I am lucky to have worked with different people in the industry. They gave me a larger perspective of my work. The more I wrote different stories, the more I explored life. In the process, I have learnt and grown each day. The more you are connected to people, the more stories you can write. I love to interact with people and I always have a keen interest to know their stories, their happiness, howsoever big or small. This keeps me going.”
Restrictions of freedom of expression with regard to dialogues have become a huge issue along with stereotyping women characters in mainstream entertainers. But Bazmee has never come under the scanner. Said he, “I have not yet faced any restrictions. I always try to avoid double entendres too. Today women are no more considered a showpiece on screen. They play important characters around which the story revolves. Women-centric films are growing in importance and filmmakers have to respond to the changed paradigm and be sensitive.”
He also debunked that our song and dance sequences prevented the West from taking Bollywood seriously. “Our films reflect Indian culture and society on a larger platform. Music is an integral part of the good and bad in our society. That should be there on screen and the alien audience who watch Indian films should get an idea about our country from the content of the film,” said the director, who is currently taking a break. “I need about a month to think about my next project though I have few things in hand,” he said, rounding off. In the end, laughter is not only another challenge, it is about big business.