Question: You’ve been talking about ‘Tera Kya Hoga, Johnny?’ Could you tell us a little more about what it is about. And we’ve also heard that you’re planning to make another ‘Devdas’. Is that true?

Sudhir Mishra: ‘Tera Kya Hoga, Johnny?’ is a Mumbai film. I’ve made these Mumbai films— ‘Dharavi’ was a Mumbai film, ‘Is Raat Ki Subah Nahin’ was a Mumbai film, ‘Chameli’ was a Mumbai film and now, ‘Tera Kya Hoga, Johnny?’ In a Mumbai wanting to be a Shanghai, who gives a damn about a boy who sells coffee on the roads of Bombay? So, you see these coffee boys at night in Bombay, those that have lived here and he wonders, a lot of people wonder, “What is going to become of Johnny?” Some people who care for him, who use him, who are more fortunate than him. Neil Mukesh, Soha, Kay Kay all wonder what’s going to become of this kid and this kid wonders what’s going to become of them because if they make it, he’ll make it. He’s latching on to them, they’re more fortunate because he’s been totally abdicated. None of us give a damn. He’s in some other fringe of society. At night, we buy a cigarette from him and we forget about him the next day but he thinks about himself and he’s hoping that those around him, who are using him will help him get away and make it. And the Mumbai magic is that maybe, he can!

Question: What about ‘Devdas’? In the last decade, there have been at least three remakes of ‘Devdas’ and we’re going to see one from Anurag Kashyap. Also, the plot of ‘Devdas’ is fairly confined. How do you intend working around that plot?

Sudhir Mishra: I have seen Anurag’s latest version of ‘Devdas’, ‘Dev D’ and I loved it but I’m not making ‘Devdas’. I’m admitting my debt to the characters from Sarat Chandra’s novel which I read when I was 20. Now, when I was 20, I read a novel by a guy who was 20 years old when he wrote it, a man called Sarat Chandra. So, that novel has stuck with me. It’s a pulp novel of its time and it has become a kind of metaphor. So, I’m taking those three characters and putting them into a political context. So, my Devdas is an heir to a political legacy, much like the children of leaders today who are becoming Chief Ministers or whatever. He comes from somewhere and becomes part of the legacy when his family is in trouble. Paro is the daughter of a normal human being, a bureaucrat. When Paro and Devdas have a rift, Paro joins another political party. Now, what happens? So, it’s a very, very political film and the story is totally different. Nobody should go to my film wanting to see ‘Devdas’. I’m admitting that there are three characters that are borrowed and roughly, the nature of their relationship from Sarat Chandra’s book.

Question: But this will have deeper political connotations.

Sudhir Mishra: Totally.

Question: Are you producing a film called ‘Footsoldier’?

Sudhir Mishra: I’m producing the film of a young film-maker called Piyush Jha which is called ‘Footsoldier’/’Sikander’. It’s called ‘Sikander, the Footsoldier’, maybe and ‘Sikander’ is a film which is a thriller and a kind of suspense film set in Kashmir and it’s a very, very interesting look at Kashmir. The other ramifications of making a film in Kashmir is all there but it’s a fantastic film and I liked the script so much that I helped to produce it.

Question: One last question, is it true that you’re planning to remake ‘Is Raat Ki Subah Nahin’?

Sudhir Mishra: No. I’m planning to make a film similar to ‘Is Raat ki Subah Nahin’. It’s a film which is tentatively called “Who’s Speaking?” But it’s a film in the same structure of two people getting in and like a roller coaster ride, it is an event which spins out of control. So, it’s a film like that, it’s a non-stop thriller but it’s also not ‘Is Raat’.

Transcribers Notes

Balaji: Khoya Khoya Chand IMO is the most accomplished film he's made to date. It's a film I'd thought of reviewing many a time for kvltsite but never felt upto it (one of the very few times not because of laziness/overdose of work) because I thought it impossible for me to adequately convey the sheer magnitude of his canvas here. Every character in the film is sublimely ambiguous and flawed. He may not have intended it as a history lesson but it incorporates many aspects of the history of that era, many known personalities and stories within the stories of its characters. How'd he manage to shoot so many set pieces with so little?

The more one watches the film the more discoveries one makes and the more one feels that it's a masterpiece that really hasn't got its due. It's rightly compared to 8 ½ and Amarcord in terms of its scope and style but (again IMHO) it surpasses both as I feel it's more emotionally resonant and makes one identify with the characters and the milieu despite their flaws— Lovely, lovely film. And a great response from the man which makes me want to go back to it immediately.

Suresh: There was a tele-series called Raag Darbari on Doordarshan, with Om Puri and Manohar Singh playing pivotal roles. As I recall it focused on a ruthless and venal small-town political machinery. Though I was a kid at the time and couldn't really grasp the detailed plot aspects, I remember a grim and somewhat scary experience.

Nivedita: Having recently watched Anurag Kashyap’s ‘Dev D’, I’m quite curious to watch how much farther Sudhir Mishra can push the envelope. ‘Devdas’ isn’t just a movie or a questionable work of pulp fiction but is a concept that is deeply rooted in the Indian conscience and a playground of values that people hold dear. Although I’m sure that his take will be “modern”, I wonder how Chandramukhi will be portrayed. I suppose it’s just a matter of time before we know.