Cannes Diary

Indian film “Masaan” was screened at the 68th Cannes Film Festival on May 19 in the Un Certain Regard section and received standing ovation at the end. In an interview, Star Showbiz Editor Rafi Hossain, currently at the festival, caught up with its director Neeraj Ghaywan -- a director belonging to a generation of filmmakers who took independent Indian films beyond the clichés of Bollywood. “Masaan” recounts a tale of impossible love between Deepak and Devi set in the holy city of Varanasi.

How did you begin work on this film?

Neeraj: In 2010, a friend told me about the cremation ghaats in Varanasi. An idea for a short film occurred to me instantly, about a young orphan boy who spends his time burning bodies on ghaats of Varanasi. His banal life becomes exciting when he sees the priest's young daughter and falls in love with her. One day his boss gives him three bodies to burn, and one of them is that of the girl.

Describe your working method and the atmosphere on set.

Neeraj: Since I started assisting Anurag Kashyap and became an admirer of Vikramaditya Motwane's work (they are also my producers), I have learnt many skills and techniques from them. But what I have learnt most from them is that filmmaking is mostly about getting the right team on board. In this film, most of my crew is debuting too. I wanted people to be part of it because they are passionate about the story. When we went into production, I banned any hierarchical structures.

Tell us about your actors.

Neeraj: Richa Chadda (who plays Devi) is an extremely intelligent actress. She is a happy fun person on set, and when you say “action”, she completely turns herself into the character. Thanks to her emotional intelligence, Richa has captured the complexity of Devi perfectly. Vicky Kaushal (Deepak) and I are very good friends, and that helped both of us to succeed in bringing out the depth of the character together. Once we got to Varanasi, Vicky spent a lot of time with the locals and became one of them. He would spend days on the cremation ghaat, observing the people work and the way they talked.

What are your views on the Bollywood industry?

Neeraj: Our film industry is strongly dominated by money-making “song, dance and action” films. These films generate huge revenues, which in turn help fund smaller indie films -- so the two need to co-exist. Over the years, we have seen a change in audiences' tastes. This year has been a marked example of this shift, with many of the blockbusters finding things difficult at the box office.

Who and what do you draw your artistic inspirations from?

Neeraj: I grew up watching the great movies of Satyajit Ray, Guru Dutt and Shyam Benegal. I couldn't appreciate them much but in my formative years they had a great impact on me. I admire Shekhar Kapur, Anurag Kashyap, Vikramaditya Motwane, Vishal Bharadwaj and Dibakar Banerjee. In terms of Western cinema, I draw inspiration from Bergman, Fellini, Haneke, Inarritu and the Dardenne brothers.

What's your next project going to be?

Neeraj: I am currently toying with an idea about the abuse of freedom of expression in the modern world, and the quest for identity.