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He confessed that he never came to the sets prepared with his shot divisions. “I went with the flow and most of the time I surprised myself. Remember Hansraj’s arrival at Naseer’s home? I had not worked out the movements. So, I asked Naseer to enter. Shabana and the girls are on the staircase. The girls are introduced and come down for a handshake. Shabana stays where she is. My cameraman Parvin Bhatt was shocked that I didn’t want any close-ups. I didn’t because I wanted to convey Shabana’s discomfort through her body language and I did”.

Shekhar said he did not plan any of his films, rather, he convinced his producers with his story ideas but Bandit Queen was the most difficult film because it was a realistic experience. “The more complicated the story the more stressed are the actors. We don’t realize this but actors are a peculiar species who need reassurance all the time. While the rest of the creative teams are self-contained only actors seek validation all the time”.

To be continued