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Tigmanshu Dhulia says love stories are ‘not worth making’ as a filmmaker
Tigmanshu Dhulia shares why he will not make a romantic film, and why he prefers being a director more than an actor in Bollywood
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Tigmanshu Dhulia has become synonymous with gritty and rooted stories, be it as a director or an actor. But love stories is a genre, he hasn’t tried much before. And the filmmaker-actor is not even keen in making one in future too. When asked about the possibility of making an urban love story, Tigmanshu Dhulia, who recently directed Ghamasaan, says, “Absolutely not”.
Elaborating on his reason, he shares, “It’s because there are far more interesting subjects apart from love stories. I don't watch love stories. Duniya mein itni problem chal rahi hai, and okay, the film should not appear like a newspaper, it should be engaging and entertaining. But if so many things are happening, why the hell should I be interested in somebody's love story? It's happening between two people. So, it’s not worth making a film until it’s a love story like Mughal-e-Azam or Ek Duje Ke Liye, where there is a language or cultural conflict. I can’t comment on love stories today because I don’t watch them only.”
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Dhulia also points out that while he is known for his stories in rustic, dacoit settings, people forget the varied work he has done before. “It’s not something I do all the time, I'm just known for it. My first film Haasil was on student politics, it was a semi- urban film. Saib Biwi Aur Gangster talks about the decadence-fueled society. Paan Singh Tomar and then Ghamasaan, these are the only two films which are dacoit films. otherwise all of the other films are different. Shaagird was a cop drama with Nana Patekar. I made a film on Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose and I made a love story in Milan Talkies. But picture logon ki is tarah ki pasand aati hai, to logon ko lagta hai ye Tigmanshu Dhulia type film hai,” he says.
Having been both in front and behind the camera, Dhulia asserts that he enjoys the latter more. “I started as a director, so that is my work. Acting is a luxury,” he says. But does being an actor help him become a better director too as he understands the psyche of an actor? “It happened before I started in the industry. I'm a graduate from the National School of Drama. I specialised in acting but I did not pursue it because I thought that I was a very bad actor, and I was. I never acted but because Anurag Kashyap worked in Shaagird with me, he asked me to do it. I didn’t give much thought and said yes and I didn’t realise how big the role was. When they came to me for prosthetics and the shoot was to start in 20 days, that’s when it hit me what I had signed up for. I hadn’t acted before but the confidence came because I knew everyone on the sets of Gangs Of Wasseypur. Confidence mein kar diya to woh ho gaya,” he ends.
