I told him there are many stories about how Elizabeth his first international film finally happened but what is the real story? Shekhar Kapur was rather matter of fact, said, “The fact is that Hollywood did not chase me, I chased them. After Bandit Queen I wasn’t willing to make another Hindi film so I arrived in Los Angeles and booked myself into a hotel. I began visiting production houses and one day, one of them was convinced by my story telling and I signed on the dotted line.

“Miracles happen to those who believe in them. I did and therefore it happened to me and when it did, there was no time to celebrate because I had to begin planning my production the very next moment. Elizabeth was big scale project but for me is not a story about the queen but the story about a woman, her anxieties, her passion, her love”.

To be continued

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

Shekhar Kapur started his career as a Chartered Accountant in America but gave up a flourishing career to become an actor in Hindi films when uncle Dev Anand launched him as an actor in Ishk Ishk Ishk.  Kapur did a couple of films but none of them made an impact. He found his spotlight when he directed Masoom, Mr India, Bandit Queen in India and later international projects like Elizabeth, Four Feathers and more. Over the years he travels between Los Angeles and Mumbai, announces new projects but never makes them.

On 04 December Kapur turned 76. I have been interacting with him since he was a struggling actor to the time he settled in Hollywood. On his birthday I recapture some of our old conversations. He was an excited main the eighties working on his debut film Masoom and I asked him why he thought he was ready to become a director? “Because I have written the story and writing is half the job done. I understand cinema emotionally not technically for instance I don’t understand colour separation but I understand my characters and I’m ready to discover them as I go along”.

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What about career conflicts, do they resolve on their own? “No, every action has a reaction, every choice has a counter effect, but it is okay, all actors have their defense mechanism and learn to survive the challenges.  After shooting a very intense film, I look forward to shooting with David Dhawan because it is like a paid holiday. Sometimes, you do films for emotional reasons. When Ashok Kaul told me that he was making an animation film on Hyderabad city, I felt I should be a part of it because it was about ny home town. Similarly, I agreed to be part of Ram Gopal Varma’s debut home production because I am familiar with Telegu and I love spending time in Hyderabad”.

Why do you think you have survived this long when all your contemporaries have packed up? What is the secret of your success? “No secret” replies Tabu, “I did the same masala films as my contemporaries, made the same mistakes too but was lucky to grab some great roles and films. My strength is that I was not desperate to fill up my diary and let me tell you this was unacceptable till a few years ago.  In Hollywood, every one takes a break to refuel themselves, now it is happening here as well thank God. I had the confidence to show restraint. I wasn’t insecure”.

So how did you evolve into such a good dancer eventually? “I really don’t know, probably I am still not good because I feel awkward and my directors say that they like me because I’m awkward. I know Priyadarshan signed me for Saza-E-Kalapani because I look older and can pass off as a Mayali. He would wake us up at 3 a.m every morning and pan the first shot at 5.30. Every day, I had to learn long lines in Malayalam. One day, for a difficult scene I did not get it right after 15 takes and everyone was impatient so I burst into tears.”

That’s a difficult situation to handle, isn’t it? Tabu says all talented directors drive their actors crazy and actors feel frustrated when they are unable to deliver their potential”. Are you as you as vulnerable in a personal crisis? Tabu thinks for a while, “No…” she replies “Because there is a lot more at stake in personal life than in your career and therefore, one is always weighing the pros and the cons of an outburst. I am always worried about how my reaction will affect my loved ones and if hurt, I would rather withdraw. It is strange but in moments like these I wish that the conflict resolves on its own but most of the time it doesn’t”.

To be continued

Tabu is the only heroine of the 90s who is as relevant in 2020 as she was in the early days of her career. While most of her contemporaries (Kajol, Karisma Kapoor, Monisha Koirala, Urmila Matondkar and Shilpa Shetty) have disappeared over a period of time, Tabu continues to make an impact! Every time you watch her on screen, you wonder what makes her so special? Her talent, of course, but also her persona.

There was a time when she was winning all the awards of the season and one expected her to be giddy with attention but Tabu was strangely unaffected, she said, “I don’t take the applause seriously; I treat it like it’s happening to someone else because I have learnt that everything about show business is temporary. My first film Prem took five years to take off and by then the industry had written me off. I was low in confidence and burst into tears when I had to shoot my first dance sequence.No matter how hard I tried, I could not get the steps right and choreographer Saroj Khan yelled at me in front of the entire unit. It was a nightmare”.  

To be continued

1999: Salesman Ramlal: Ramlal is an ordinary man with extraordinary dreams and Satish Kaushik is the right actor for the right role. He reports for rehearsals 9.30 in the morning and leaves for shooting at 1.30 where he is directing Hamara Dil Aapke Paas Hain. Such dedication and focus can only come from a true theatre lover. During rehearsals, Satish is forever scribbles notes. Not surprising his performance is extraordinary.

I will not talk about Mughal-E-Azam and Raunaq & Jassi because operas like these cannot be described they have to be witnessed inside an auditorium.

Concluded