‘Bombay Talkies’, an anthology consisting of four different movies from four different directors Dibakar Banerjee, Karan Johar, Anurag Kashyap and Zoya Akhtar, released on May 3rd to rave reviews.
Director Dibakar Banerjee said that making ‘Bombay Talkies’ was the most fun he ever had and will miss working with his three good friends.
“When again would I get the chance to work so closely with three of my friends Anurag Kashyap, Zoya Akhtar and Karan Johar,” asked the director to IANS.
“We were constantly in each other's space enjoying each other's works more than our own. Not only did we make these four films together we also promoted and marketed the finished product together. There was no sense of competition, only deep kinship,” he added.
Out of the four movies it Dibakar Banerjee’s movie that has received tremendous response. But the director thinks that its Karan Johar’s movie that’s the best of the lot.
“I am too close to my own work to judge its value,” he said.
"But my favorite film of the omnibus is Karan Johar's. Not only has he yanked himself out of his comfort zone he has made sure that he hasn't compromised on the telling of his story. I've seen the response to the gay kiss in his film. There's pindrop silence. The audiences are stunned," the director said.
The director said that he used Emu bird as a significant character in the movie as symbolism.
“That was an idea given to me by two documentary filmmakers who helped me with the film,” he said.
“You see, Emu farming was a major enterprise in innumerable households across Maharashtra and other states some four to five years ago. It ruined so many families. The Emu in Nawazuddin's home is symbolical of his wasted life,” he added.
Dibakar Banerjee is all praise for Nawazuddin's performance in the movie.
“I wanted to work with him for the longest time. For many years he had made a habit of doing brilliant cameos in film after film. For my film the biggest compliment Nawaz got came from Anurag Kashyap. After seeing my film Anurag said, 'Yeh Nawaz hai?' He is just unrecognizable in every character he plays,” he said.
The director revealed that he was keen on working with Ranbir Kapoor and offered him a cameo but the actor’s schedule was jam packed.
“I needed him for one shot. But it was impossible to get his time. He was shooting far away for his film 'Besharam'. Ranbir and I both want to work together. And it will happen soon," he said.
At the moment Banerjee is a hands-on producer for his erstwhile assistant Kanu Behl's film 'Titli' which he and Yashraj films are co-producing together.
"I am not thinking of directing another film at the moment… I just want the out-of-the-box experience of 'Bombay Talkies' to get optimum viewership," he concluded hopefully.