Tuesday, February 18th, 2025

Tigmanshu Dhulia EXCLUSIVE: There is a shortage of good writers in the country, I will not become a villain.


Well-known filmmaker Tigmanshu Dhulia has made many films in his/her career. Fans always get to see something new in his/her films. Tigmanshu has recently talked openly about everything from his/her movies to his/her personal life.

highlights

  • ‘There is a shortage of good writers in the country, I don’t want to become a villain who kicks and eats’
  • I like to play characters that go against the administration – Tigmanshu
  • Tigmanshu believes that sometimes filmmakers become weak in writing.

Tigmanshu Dhulia has worked on different aspects of filmmaking. People still remember his/her role of Ramadhir Singh in the film Gangs of Wasseypur. But he/she wanted to direct from the beginning. he/she says, ‘I wanted to do direction but did a three-year acting course in NHD. It was our first batch in which everyone acted. There was a boy from Manipur, he/she also wanted direction but then we were told that no, direction course would not be run for two children. Acted in the film Gangs of Wasseypur after 20 years. After completion of the course, worked in TV. I never wanted to do that either. At that time there were no daily soaps, there were weekly ones. At that time I was assisting Shekhar Kapur in many films. At the same time Shekhar ji went abroad to do the film Elizabeth. With his/her departure we became orphans. Then what to do now? Then worked in TV for two to three years to run the household. Then I got it from my heart and wrote its dialogues. Then did OTT. Felt that we would get international recognition but nothing like that happened. Just like this the journey progressed.

‘I don’t want to be a villain who gets beaten’

Gangs of Wasseypur had many film roles coming to him/her, but he/she did not do it. On the reason for this, Tigmanshu says, ‘I get many offers to play the role of a villain but I don’t want to be a villain who eats shoes and kicks. Yes, if you kill him/her with a bullet, it will be fine. I like to play characters who go against the administration. I don’t like playing roles that start licking the administration. Of all the roles I have done so far, I liked acting in the role of Shahrukh Khan’s father in the film Zero. Direction is the most difficult. If someone is physically fit and is still 19-20 in talent, then it is okay. We have many things to make acting effective. Even a bad dance can be made a good dance. Who is the actor here? Everything needs to be done. Only drama is such a stage in which you do not have any support system with you, only your acting matters in it.

‘There is a lot of difference between Pakistan and our serials’

Tigmanshu believes that sometimes filmmakers become weak in writing. There it is said, ‘Pakistani serials have decency, family stories and truth. I don’t watch many serials. But I must say that his/her writing and his/her diction are very good. Here people are not able to come out of topics like mother-in-law and daughter-in-law. People don’t get anything new. The viewers have also become habituated to watching, so let’s see. Actually, there is a shortage of good writers in the country. Anyone can get up and leave. To become an engineer one has to do engineering, a lawyer has to do LLB. Similarly, writing is also a skill. Writers are not even treated well in the country. Anyone who knows a little writing becomes a writer. They don’t give money, they say look at this, copy it and write it down. If someone writes two scripts in foreign countries, he/she can enjoy his/her earnings for the rest of his/her life.

‘There is a lot of difference between the films of South and North’

Pushpa 2 has become the highest grossing film in Hindi language. Talking about the films of South and North India, he/she says, ‘There is a difference between South and North. They make their own grassroots films. he/she will be a hero but he/she will wear lungi, he/she will eat food in the same way. It will be the talk of the village. What is happening here in the movies is the Oberoi family coming in an aeroplane. Getting cold. When less educated people are making films here, they are misleading people by showing Karva Chauth etc. Earlier too, only a few good films were made in Bollywood. There were four to five directors. Chetan Anand, Guru Dutt, Satyajit Ray, Raj Ghosla and some of Yash ji’s films. There are few good people in the society, there are more bad ones. he/she is the same in this industry also. There are only a few film directors who have received recognition at the World Film Festival. There is Anurag Kashyap, whose film has as many people outside the theater as inside it. Mira Nair, Shekhar Kapur, Mrinal Sen, Ritwik Ghatak etc. Dada Kodke was a director. his/her films had double meaning. Used to walk a lot. That was the 80’s. Those were old times. But seven-eight years ago, a film from a big production house came which had double meaning dialogues. I was scared even to watch its trailer. A-list director, big production house which did business worth Rs 100 crore, these have become the labels of the audience. Earlier, if someone’s house in the locality was red, people would not go to that house to drink water. Today, people in whose house is raided are ready to marry their daughter. The society has deteriorated badly. Film makers are also a part of the society, they have not come from the moon.

‘People forget everything in a week’

How does Tigmanshu feel about the film not doing well at the box office? In response to this he/she says, ‘If the picture doesn’t work then I don’t leave the house for one to two days. It feels bad when you get bad reviews. Anyway, people forget everything in a week. Mani Ratnam Saheb had celebrated the picture wholeheartedly. What a great film but the film did not work. What can we do? On the increasing use of abuses in films, he/she says, ‘I personally feel that abuses should not be used. If you are watching on laptop alone, it will do. But it certainly feels bad to watch while sitting with the family. Abuses are used by those who do not understand the language. Abuses have not been used in any of my films.

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