No room for ‘I’ in filmmaking: Saurabh Shukla

Saurabh Shukla never believes in blowing his own trumpet. So, despite playing the pivotal role in his play ‘Jab Khuli Kitaab’ for years, when he decided to adapt it on ‘Zee5’, the actor-director chose to cast Pankaj Kapur.

“The beauty of filmmaking is that it is not I, me or myself. It is a group of people coming together to brainstorm ideas. In my mind, I never wanted to cast myself as Gopal ji. Rather, I always wanted Pankaj ji to play the role,” he said.

Known as one of the most powerful actors in Indian cinema, Shukla commands attention whenever he appears on screen. Be it his iconic roles in ‘Satya’, ‘Lage Raho Munna Bhai’, ‘Barfi!’ or ‘Jolly LLB’, here’s an actor par excellence who shines in any character. Apart from acting, he also channels his creative intent through direction. ‘Jab Khuli Kitaab’ took more than two years of his life, but he isn't complaining. It’s a labour of love and he has managed a casting coup with Kapur and Dimple Kapadia playing the leads. Interestingly, it wasn’t Shukla’s idea to get Dimple on board. Naren Kumar, one of his producers, nudged him.

“I didn’t have the courage to even think about her. I thought, ‘She is such a huge star and would be busy’. But Naren convinced me. So, I sent the script with no hope that this would materialise. But then, on the third day, Dimple ma’am called me and said she would play the character of Anusuya. She was a breeze to work with,” said the director of films like ‘Dry Day’, ‘I M 24’ and ‘Raat Gayi Baat Gayi?’

Many actors find it difficult to separate acting from directing when they take up the megaphone, but Shukla said that he has been lucky to have been spoiled by filmmakers like Shekhar Kapoor, Sudhir Mishra, Ram Gopal Varma and Kamal Haasan.

“Whenever I have worked with Kamal Haasan, he has never tried to show me or enact the scene. This creative process is common among good artistes. As an actor, I draw a lot of things from my own life and the way I have understood life. So, when Pankaj ji or Dimple ma’am played the parts, they brought in several nuances from their own experiences, which made the characters blossom,” said the ‘Subedaar’ actor.

‘Jab Khuli Kitaab’ is a take on long-term marriages and how an elderly couple decides to seek a divorce after 50 years of togetherness. Shukla has seen such couples in real life and through his film, he asks whether a long relationship can stand the acid test of truth.

“This story says that everything looks good in a long relationship until the truth penetrates. Once the truth enters the relationship, there’s nothing to hide. If the relationship still survives, you know it’s everlasting,” he said.

Shukla’s film is streaming on ‘Zee5’ and hasn’t been released in theatres. According to the veteran actor-director, OTT has opened avenues for many. “I never had a doubt that OTT has been a wonderful development. This is because the market can ultimately take on only a certain number of films. So, there is another outlet. At the end of the day, a filmmaker wants the product to reach the maximum audience and OTT does that,” he said.