I'm not particularly fond of biopics: Sujoy Ghosh

From "Bhaag Milkha Bhaag", "MS Dhoni: The Untold Story" to "Dangal" -- biopics seem to be the flavour of the season in Bollywood. But filmmaker Sujoy Ghosh says he is not fond of biopics as he is not interested in peeping into the personal lives of iconic personalities.

"I am not particularly fond of biopics. It is a very subjective thing. I like people and their work. I mean, for example, R.D. Burman or Kishore Kumar, I love their songs and music. But I am not interested in their personal life," Ghosh told IANS over phone from Mumbai.

He added: "I want to stick to the work. I could be wrong (in thinking like this). I am sure there will be other people who want to know, but I prefer the work... That is what attracts me. Maybe I will change my mind."

Ghosh re-interpreted a legendary episode from the Indian epics Mahabharata and Ramayana with actors Radhika Apte and actor Soumitra Chatterjee with "Ahalya". Set in a contemporary time in Kolkata, the 14-minute film narrated how fate of an apsara, a mahirishi and God of rain Indra is sealed by a curse -- all weaved together with the emotion of desire, seduction and infidelity.

At the moment he is working on another short film. This time, he has picked up a story by legendary filmmaker Satyajit Ray.

He says he might be ready with the film based on Ray's "Anukul", which explores the relationship between a robotic housekeeper and his owner, in the second half of the year.

The director, who hails from Kolkata, is excited about the new project.

As a director, Ghosh is known for films like "Jhankaar Beats", "Home Delivery: Aapko... Ghar Tak" and "Aladin". But he got everyone's attention with "Kahaani" franchise. He has also acted in projects like "My Brother... Nikhil", "Bluffmaster!", "Ta Ra Rum Pum" and "Badman".

The director is happy with the newfound interest in short film format in the country. But he feels "many people still don't know how to monetise the short film".

"As of now, short films are being made with people who can just give us some money to make the film. It was hard initially... People are willing to invest in short films with full knowledge fact that they might not get their money back."

Talking about the challenges of making short films, Ghosh said: "It (writing with limited time in hand) is a huge challenge. Just the shooting time of short film is less but the rest of it is same as any other feature film."

There were reports that he might work with Jacqueline Fernandez or Alia Bhatt in his next. But Ghosh laughs off all such claims.

"The problem is that (if I talk to) anybody, assumption starts... There might be an article saying I am making a film with you... It is very hard to talk to people," he said.

On a concluding note, Ghosh said that he wants to master the art of storytelling, not directing.

"The aim and goal of all the famous directors across the world is to be able to tell any story."

(Sugandha Rawal can be contacted at sugandha.r@ians.in)

--IANS

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