We have lost our down to earth heroes, we have to make both real and mainstream cinema – Apoorva Singh Karki

You grew up in Nainital. Generally, boys from the North dream of becoming heroes, how did you think of becoming a director?

I don’t know, I liked the company of camera since childhood. My father used to work in the Forest Department. he/she lived in Jim Corbett Park for many years. At that time he/she had a camera with which I used to take photos of animals, edit them and post them. I had a hobby since then, when after 12th my father asked me what to do next, I said that I have to make films. Then father said that then get behind it, father himself was fond of films so he/she supported me a lot, but it is not that there were no challenges. We are from a normal middle class family so resources are very limited. It took 14 years to direct the first film. I struggled a lot in Mumbai but I don’t think about all that because this journey made me me. Like I had left Mumbai from 2009 to 2014 because my health was not well and money was not coming. Then I went to Rajendranagar, Delhi to prepare for UPSC, but the essence of the same was visible in the aspirants. I didn’t know then that that preparation was going to change my life.

Interview: If we want to bring people to the theatre, we will have to show their stories and heroes – Manoj Bajpayee

The realistic approach of your first film ‘Ek Banda Kaafi Hai’ was highly appreciated, so why did you think of making a commercial masala film like ‘Bhaiya Ji’ instead of that kind of cinema?

I always wanted to do this kind of film. Every person comes into the industry for some purpose or the other. Someone comes to call it hard hitting cinema. I always wanted to make mainstream cinema. I get goosebumps watching the hero’s entry on the big screen. When people whistle and throw clothes in the cinema hall, it is a different story altogether. I also wanted to make such a film and we have been watching Manoj sir (Manoj Bajpayee) since childhood. I used to wonder why I have not seen him/her in such a film till date, even though this is his/her hundredth film, so I said, Sir, you have to do this. I’m bored of watching other people do slow motion and when you do it, you’ll look brand new. Manoj sir had the story, he/she wanted to make it art cinema but I said sir, don’t do this. I do it my own way and that’s how the film started.

‘Bhaiya Ji’ also has the imprint of South Indian cinema. By the way, nowadays only South films are being played in theatres. Was this the reason for making ‘Bhaiya Ji’ in that style?

I have been a big fan of South Indian films. In my childhood, when she used to come dubbed on TV, I used to watch it a lot. I wanted to make a true commercial film, which had no lack of depth and performance. Just because I made ‘Aspirant’ or ‘Ek Banda Kaafi Hai’, it doesn’t mean that I will make only those films. I will do that, I will do this too. I don’t want to play safe, otherwise I will get bored myself. As for the matter, it is only a matter of time for South films to get a longer run. Trends keep changing. Things have changed after Corona. It is also true that our relatable heroes are missing. We have lost our down to earth heroes. We liked the films of Amit ji (Amitabh Bachchan) because they were related to us. This is also a big reason for the running of Singham, Pushpa and KGF.

You did both the films with Manoj Bajpayee. Do you wish to direct another actor?

I have been a big fan of Ajay Devgan since childhood. he/she is a commercial star. he/she is Singham but he/she also does hard hitting cinema like Zakhm or The Legend of Bhagat Singh, so I was a big fan of his/her. There was a time when I used to keep the tickets of his/her films in my diary so that today I saw this film of his/her.