New Delhi: Director Anurag Kashyap recently inaugurated a public health awareness campaign and exhibition by Doctors Without Borders/Medecines Sans Frontieres (MSF) in the capital. When we interacted with Anurag, who was brought up in a small town, he told us about his familiarity with the agony and difficulties people in remote areas face to combat deadly diseases such as tuberculosis and kala azar (black fever). The director spoke to IBNLive about how his mother survived tuberculosis, why the youth remains unaffected by such issues and how much cinema can contribute in making people aware of such fatal diseases.
My mother underwent wrong treatment: It is a phase nobody would ever want to experience. But Anurag's mother could do nothing to avert the inevitable. His mother, who was suffering from tuberculosis, underwent wrong treatment as the doctors couldn't diagnose the disease. "It took doctors very long - eight months - to diagnose my mother with tuberculosis. We had just finished shooting of 'Gangs of Wasseypur'. Meri mother ko koi aur bimari samajh ke injections dete rahe doctors. And later, it was diagnosed that she had TB at the hip area. We had never heard of such an ailment. Pata nahi tha ki aisa bhi TB hota hai," recalls Anurag.
My parents didn't share their problems with me: Did this phase - when his mother was undergoing the treatment - make him vulnerable? "No. For our parents didn't tell us anything about this. They actually hid it from us. Kyunki unko lagta hai ki humei kaam karna chahiye. Mujhe pata tha ki kuch tests ho rahe they. Par Papa ne kaha kuch chinta ki zaroorat nahi hai. Toh wohh sab chupa hua tha. Baad mei pata chala ki kya hua tha."
Anurag, who was taken aback when the news was revealed to him, says his parents have never relied on anybody in their life. "Our parents have always been self-dependant. Abhi bhi wohh Banaras mei hi rehte hain. It was only when I started reading more about this disease that I realized its impact and about the group (MSF) which had been working in a transparent way since its inception to help people."
Aaj ka youth pata nahi kya hai: Isn't it disheartening to see that the youth today shows no interest in taking up social causes which can result in social betterment? "Aaj ka youth pata nahi kya hai. They are more interested in partying. I think it is an outburst of years of repression, which is also why they feel idealism is uncool. Back in our days, we would slog to earn an amount of Rs 10,000. Humare liye toh mahine ka target Rs 10,000 hota tha. But this doesn't hold true for the youngsters today," he explains.
"This is a completely different generation. Their puberty age has risen, but unfortunately, their maturity age has gone down. Puberty 12-13 saal mei aa rahi hai lekin maturity 30 ke baad hi hai," he adds.
Few in Bollywood are as credible as Aamir Khan: If not the youth, can't cinema play an instrumental role in putting forth issues which don't seem attention-grabbing to many? "I completely agree with Farooq Sheikh's thought - 'Agar aap cinema walon ko bandar ka naach dikhane jaisa treat karogey, toh cinema waley bhi aapko chawanni phenkne wala hi samjhengey.' There are discussions wherein filmmakers say - include certain elements to turn a project into a complete masala film. But I'm happy there is a different kind of cinema which the viewers are getting to watch. So if 'Kai Po Che' works, we understand that people are interested in watching a different kind of cinema. That sensibility is seeping in. It is slow, but gradually, it will happen."
"Agreed, not many are interested in watching films which deal with a social problem or health-related issue, but if Aamir Khan can make 'Taare Zameen Par', why can't other filmmakers follow in his footsteps? "It is a fact that not many watched 'Ankur Arora Murder Case'. So if there are no takers, how can we make such films? Jo paisa lagata hai, wohh bolta hai, 'Kyun aisi filmon mei mera pasia dooba rahe ho?'
As far as 'Taare Zameen Par' goes, it worked because Aamir Khan used his credibility, and directed the film. There are very few people who enjoy the credibility which Aamir Khan has. Uss credibility mei se bhi toh koi akela jake karta hai. Aur kitney log kartey hain? If we will make 'Taare Zameen Par', we won't get Rs 10 crores. At the end of the day, Bollywood is a consumer driven industry," he says.
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