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Interviews

A ‘Glamour’ous Afternoon with Mahua Chakraborty

  • To start with, who inspired you to become a director?
    Well, I always wanted to be a director. Never did I want to be in front of the camera. My dad knew about this all along. But the works of few directors inspired me the most, one of them being Vittorio de Sica, the director of Bicycle Thief and another person is Francois Roland Truffaut.
  • Tell us about your experience as a debut director.
    Oh, it was a very good experience. Directing Parambrata( Chatterjee), Benu da (Sabyasachi Chakraborty) or Parno for the first time behind the camera is itself a huge task. Asking Param to enact a certain scene the way I want is not easy as obviously he is more experienced than I am. But being fine actors, they worked very comfortably with me. I must say, it was amazing how much I learnt while working.
Mahua Chakraborty
Mahua Chakraborty
  • Is there any memorable moment from the sets of Glamour?
    Param was associated with my film for around two years as Glamour was supposed to be filmed before two years but was shelved due to some technicalities. Param lost her mother on the third day of our shoot because of which the shoot stopped for two days. This incident sort of made Param more emotionally connected with the film. We never forced him with anything but he himself went to all the shoot locations as well as promotions for the next twenty-two days. This, I feel is a moment that’s important for my movie.
  • Why did you cast Parambrata as Aryan Chatterjee?
    For me, Param was the only choice…I felt Param can portray both the calmness and shrewdness. He has that sophisticated, intellectual vibe about him. Nobody else would have played Aryan Chatterjee nor would I have allowed that!
Mahua Chakraborty
Mahua Chakraborty
  • How was it working with Sabyasachi Chakraborty?
    I guess there is no way we should question his potentials. Plus, if you observe there is a link between Benu da and Param because they were Feluda and Topshe as well.
  • What about Parno Mittra?
    Parno came into the scene after Swastika dropped out. Glamour had Raima (Sen) and Swastika (Mukherjee) initially but things did not work out with them.
poster of Glamour
poster of Glamour
  • If not a director, then what would you have become?
    The only thing I am good at apart from being a director is being an excellent mother!!
  • Speaking of which, we would like to know how you manage family and profession?
    Everybody can manage both family and profession. It just depends how you deal with it.
  • Generally we have seen women involved in the film industry take a backseat once they have a baby. What would you say about that?
    I don’t think so. It is tough to stay away from this industry. Rather, I feel women concentrate more on work when they have a baby as that becomes the only two priorities in their life then. I believe a mother needs a break from work for some time to attend to her child which even I did. I took a gap of 5-6 years after I assisted Vivek Sharma in Bhootnath in 2007. But now I am back again!
Mahua Chakraborty
Mahua Chakraborty
  • What are your upcoming projects?
    As of yet, nothing much is decided. But my target is to get an entry in the Cannes 2016 with a movie of a completely different flavor that I am currently working on. I am not a commercial person so I’ll stick to non-commercial projects.
  • What is your key to success?
    I would say hard work and honesty. You need to stay focused on your target.
  • Any advice for future film-makers?
    They should watch good movies. In order to love the film industry you need to fall in love with films itself. Money will automatically follow fame.
  • So, according to you, ‘fame’ is more important?
    If you do some quality work, you will be famous eventually and it is only then that you get the money. If you get the taste of money in the beginning, you will not improve much on your work. You should not go for money but good work. And again, honesty is really important for a strong foothold.

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Content Writing : Deblina Roy
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