The English Press Club got an opportunity to interview the Chief Guest of Oasis 2018, Abhishek Chaubey, the director of Udta Punjab. 

Q: How has your experience at Oasis been so far?

A: I think it’s been an absolutely fascinating experience. I really enjoyed myself here. Yesterday there was the mime show, the dance performances, and the introduction of the organizing committee – all of that was very entertaining, and took me back to my college days. I enjoyed delivering the talk and it was great interacting with the students.

Q: What are your views on the film making events that we have for Oasis this year?

A: I’m looking forward to those events. Something that you might not know is that a large number of engineers make it to the film world. All technicians who work with me are engineers, and Bollywood has good opportunities for them. There is a large technical component to film making. I think that a lot of engineers are really creative people who can do creative things with technology. Some of the videos that I saw yesterday were technically quite excellent. I’m really looking forward to meeting the Film and Media club and seeing what the students are up to.

Q: What inspired you to enter the world of Hindi cinema?

A: I come from a family that is really fascinated by movies, and while I was growing up, there was a lot of talk about films and film-making at home. I decided at a very young age that I wanted to become a film maker. Coming from a small town, I only had access to Hindi cinema back then. As I grew up and went to high school in Hyderabad and college in Delhi, I had the opportunity to watch movies from across the world. Aside from Hollywood, I saw movies from Japan, Korea, South America, and Europe. That really shaped my understanding of film-making as an art. I certainly wanted to be a part of that world, and as soon as I finished college, I took a train and landed up in Bombay. I didn’t know anyone in Bombay, nor did I know anything about film-making. But, where there’s a will there’s a way, and I just found my path to where I am today.

Q: What are some unique things that you’ve learned throughout your career?

A: The simplest thing that I have learned about the work that I do and about me as a person is, cliched as it may sound, that being honest and true to oneself is the key to happiness and success in life.

Q: What kind of difficulties do directors face while bringing out non-generic movies like Udta Punjab?

A: Film-making is an art, but unlike other art forms like painting and writing, it is an expensive art. It demands a huge crew, a lot of equipment, and involves several stages. First, you’ve got to conceive the idea, write it, develop a screenplay, start production, and get technicians on board. You have a large crew working in the office, you have to decide where you want to shoot, how you want to shoot, get permissions, and manage post production. It’s a very long and expensive procedure. As a director I have the responsibility to ensure that the person or company investing in the movie doesn’t lose their money. Hence, I try to straddle both worlds, and to make movies that are honest, true and non-generic, yet interesting enough for audiences to buy tickets. I think that it’s very important to be responsible and disciplined in your film-making. I think what I say stands true to anything in life. I believe that film-makers must be responsible towards the money that they receive for making the film, and not make movies that are dishonest, generic, or have nothing new to offer.

Q: There’s always an element of risk involved while releasing a non-generic movie. Do you believe that that risk is worth it?

A: I absolutely believe in taking risks, but the risk must be calculated. For example, when I wanted to make a Udta Punjab, which is about drug abuse, I made it in a thriller format. I made it a very tightly written film that has some action, humour and music. These things attract the audience, and eventually you get a soulful, enjoyable movie. The audience also learns a thing or two about drug abuse problems, how bad it is, and how can it affect the lives of people. You should take a calculated risk, so tomorrow even if the film doesn’t get the kind of audience that it deserves, the producer does not end up losing his money.

Q: Nowadays, many Indian directors try to emulate Hollywood. What are your views on this?

A: I have a different perspective on this. Most people will just say it’s very bad. What you have to understand is that cinema as an art has come from the West. Technology came from the West. Indians have done something really smart – we’ve made this art form our own. I think blindly copying Hollywood cinema is stupid, it’s silly. It is being watched by Indians – you have to cater to the tastes of Indians. You’re not making a movie for someone sitting in New York or Seattle. You’re making it for someone in Delhi or Indore. At the same time, there are good influences from Hollywood. For example, Martin Scorcese is one of my favourite film-makers. Subconsciously, I will be influenced by him. There are a lot of film-makers who are a source of inspiration for me like Guru Dutt. Blindly aping Hollywood cinema is silly. But good influences must be incorporated.

Q: How is it to have worked both as a writer and a director?

A: I always wanted to become a director, and I became a writer so I could direct. It’s like this – if you want to make a skyscraper, you’ve got to have a blueprint for it. That’s what writing is to film-making. Without a well thought out blueprint, it’s not possible to make structures that stand for centuries. I thoroughly enjoy writing my films, but the real kick I get is from directing.

Q: Is there a common objective you have before you set out to make a film?

A: I think all films a film-maker makes try to say something. Every story has, what you call, a message. It is very important that when you’re writing the film, you think very hard about the message that you want to talk about. For example, through Udta Punjab, I wanted to say that drugs ruin the lives of our youth, and that they’re dangerous. However, drug problems and their business have become so huge that it’s almost impossible to control, and I wanted to bring that out in the film. The film that I’ve just made, which is in post-production right now, talks about the difference between justice and revenge. They are different things, but sometimes in the name of justice, all we’re doing is taking revenge. I wanted to talk about the difference between the two, and I created the whole story to send this message out. I think what I try to do is to figure out the theme of the film – the basic idea behind the story that you want to tell, and work towards it. And everything that you subsequently do as a film-maker has to reflect that idea.

Q: Any other areas of film-making that you’d like to explore in the future?

A: I find editing very fascinating. Editing is like writing the film on a machine – with audio and visual inputs. I think I would really like to learn the technical aspect of editing.

Q: If you were given the chance to go back in time and change something about one of your previous movies…

A: A film-maker’s relationship with his work is really complicated. When I watch my own movies, all I see are mistakes that I have made, and I see a lot of things that I would like to change.

Q: Is there any advice you have for aspiring film-makers?

A: What I would like to tell them is that firstly, explore your fascination with the art form completely. Try to be original, do not try to copy or ape any style. Work on developing your own style. If someone decides to pursue film-making and he/she wants to move to Bombay or Chennai to aid their career, remember that the film industry is a difficult place. You need to have tremendous amounts of patience and level-headedness. Do not give up, success will come.