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Main Mulayam Singh Yadav director Suvendu Raj Ghosh: Prefer making realistic cinema over commercial projects
After release of Kusum Ka Biyaah director Suvendu Raj Ghosh plans to shoot a film set in Uttar Pradesh in 1978.
Filmmaker Suvendu Raj Ghosh believes that realistic cinema if made tastefully, even without big names, can leave a deep impact on society and do well in the box office as well.
The Main Mulayam Singh Yadav (2021) director says, “The success of 12th Fail is the best example of how small-town realistic stories can do well in theatre and get enormous love on OTT as well. So, we will continue to have realistic films as well as commercial blockbusters like Animal. It’s a simple rule if a project is good then it will get numbers and love from the public.”
The former cop-turned-filmmaker adds, “I have made 12 films so far and all have been on realistic subjects. My next release Kusum Ka Biyaah too is inspired from a real story of a Bihari girl who marries a boy from Jharkhand and how they were stuck on the state border when the pandemic-induced lockdown was imposed. It’s an intriguing human story. I feel audiences connect with such subjects.”
The director agrees that for commercial projects it’s a challenge to work with lesser-known faces.
Ghosh says, “That’s where the responsibility comes into play. I am from (West) Bengal and have grown up watching meaningful and realistic cinema by many legendary filmmakers. So, it’s the real stories that are my focus. Before Kusum..., I made the film Shunyata (2017) which was the country’s first film on demonetisation. My next film again is a story from Uttar Pradesh set in the year 1978 which we plan to shoot soon.”
The filmmaker adds, “I feel if a film has a good story and is largely inspiring then audiences surely appreciate it be it on OTT or silver screen. If the content is good then popularity of actor, budget and other factors do not matter. The project will find its audience – sooner or later!”
Talking about his journey he asserts, “I was with Kolkata police working with the crime branch and took voluntary retirement in 2016. I have been making films since 2003 — earlier it was Bengali films and now I’m here. Also, I have directed 450 music video and four Hindi films, including Chase No Time to Crime (2019) and Before You Die (2022).”
However, he does not intend to shoot his films in UP. “We will shoot it in Jharkhand as the film is set in the 70s and we have identified a village for that purpose. It’s again an amazing real-life story,” he ends.
