Starring the Director

What’s common between a Karan Johar, a Farhan Akhtar, a Farah Khan, an Imtiaz Ali and a Rohit Shetty? Besides belonging to a breed that usually calls the shots behind the camera, they are nothing less than the very stars they direct. In a few days from now Rohit Shetty will host Khatron Ke Khiladi, the reality TV series that was previously anchored by Akshay Kumar and Ajay Devgn; Imtiaz Ali is more visible across TV channels than Randeep Hooda, the leading man of his new film Highway, Karan Johar is back with yet another season of Koffee With Karan and with the colossal success he has enjoyed as an actor in Bhaag Milhka Bhaag might just keep Farhan Akhtar from directing another film for a long time… never have been directors so busy in front of the camera.

In Hindi cinema most directors have traditionally towered over others. There have been showmen like Raj Kapoor, stalwarts such as K. Asif and Bimal Roy, auteurs in the form of Guru Dutt and Vijay Anand, and general larger than life personalities like Mehboob Khan or Kamal Amrohi but rarely did one get to see most of these attributes rolled into one. Back in the day a star’s mere presence was enough to get things buzzing and a big director’s name attached to the project only made it more appetizing whereas today, the director is not just as important as the stars to sell a film but in some cases it’s solely their billing that makes all the difference. It’s not like films were never sold on the name of the director in the past, case in point any Raj Kapoor directed film, but in an era where a film’s pre and/or post release publicity is possibly more essential than the content or the actors in it, the director has become the biggest draw in most films. Thanks to an informed audience largely in the context of a 24x7 media, the persona of a filmmaker is inseparable from the film he/ she makes and therefore it’s practically impossible to disassociate an Anurag Kashyap from the subjects he tackles. Similarly the schematics of, for the want of a better term, small-town India are an integral part of a Vishal Bhardwaj or a Tigmanshu Dhulia film much like the overwhelming arc of the human condition cannot not be a fragment of a Sanjay Leela Bhasali film. Perhaps that’s the reason a food and travel based TV show that also shares its name with Imtiaz Ali’s new release gets him and the leading lady, Alia Bhatt as guests as opposed to the ‘hero’ Randeep Hooda.

One of the reasons for this lush idolization of the director as the star could also be the increase in the number of personal stories filmmakers have been tackling. Although new Bollywood still continues to adhere to a somewhat typical Hindi cinema template, the tales seem to be less formulaic. If Farahan Akhtar would have attempted his Dil Chata Hai a decade or two before he wouldn’t have been allowed the visible sense of freedom as far as characters and situations went. The emergence of this rather rare quality in a system that seems to lack a limit to the commodification of film in general could very well be the thing that separates this generation of filmmakers from others.  Ergo, in a larger sense, the director, today, is truly the star of a film and this’s why more people are keen to experience a Raanjhana because of an Anand Rai and that’s why an Imtiaz Ali or an Anurag Kashyap bring truckloads more to Rockstar or a Dev D. than a Ranbir Kapoor or Abhay Deol could possibly convey.  The advantage of this phenomenon is that it makes possible a certain kind of films that otherwise would have been extremely difficult to get made- Swades, Pyar Ke Side Effects, Mithiya, Kahaani, Paan Singh Tomar, and Shanghai to name a few. From an art versus commerce aspect this line seems to be one that can make everyone- the filmmaker, the viewer and the trade- happy as nearly everyone gets what they want but there is a grave flip side as well.

The non-stop spotlight on the creators as against the wares and the baggage of filmmaker’s image runs the risk of overburdening the films they make- Saat Khoon Maaf, That Girl in Yellow Boots and Shanghai. While a Rockstar enjoys the shadow of Imtiaz Ali as an artist on Jordan, which propels the viewer to look beyond the ill structured screenplay and even the abject lack of reason for the protagonist’s angst, the seeming lack of apathy on Dibakar Banerjee’s part towards the proceedings fetters Shanghai. One of the better films in recent time, Shanghai is chillingly real and yet, the audience maintained a safe distance from it. Unwillingly to judge on behalf of his viewer, Banerjee’s coldness to what transpires in the film could have forced a similar reaction on the viewer’s part. In spite of the pitfalls this is more than just a good time to be a director.