Amole Gupte interview

'Food is a metaphor in the film'

Amole Gupte, whose film Stanley Ka Dabba releases today, talks about the benevolent shooting patterns he adopted for the film, and how acting can never be his priority. Sandhya Iyer chats up the director/writer



Amole Gupte is visibly nervous and excited. His film Stanley Ka Dabba releases tomorrow, and the pre-release reports he tells us have been excellent. "I'm getting 4 star reviews," he says, as we catch hold of him for a quick interview during his Pune visit. Incidentally, the actor's parents stay in the city, and Amole is a regular visitor. Positive reviews are a shot in the arm, but the actor-director-painter is still anxious for his film. "It's delivery day, so I'm feeling labour pains now," he says.

Amole came into prominence with his writing for the celebrated Taare Zameen Par - - a poignant tale of a 8-year-old on the precipice of suicidal depression. He was supposed to direct the film as well, but as is public knowledge, an ugly controversy erupted with actor-producer Aamir Khan taking over the directorial reigns. It was seen as an act of betrayal from an old friend and much newspaper ink was expended on the topic. Whatever the truth of that episode, the one thing that emerged through the film was Amole's passionate commitment towards the cause of children. And TZP was certainly not going to be the last of it, he had made clear. Having worked for years with his wife Deepa Bhatia in the area of childrens' welfare, Amole knew there was a fount of stories that needed to be told. And thus came about Stanley Ka Dabba.

The writer/director agrees that the film is a continuation of the process that started with TZP, though the feel and tone of Stanley...is very different, he says, "TZP was about depression in a child, Stanley...celebrates life seen through the life of a 9 year old."
Not many know but Amole has a great love for food, both eating and cooking - and at one time he had been all set to make a film about Mumbai's delectable street-food. It almost appears he found a way to bring together two of his favourite subjects in his new film. "Yes, you could say that. You'll see a lot of food in Stanley.... It is going to make everyone madly hungry," he smiles. But the film per se is not about food, and has other issues it deals with, though Amole would not like to reveal them just yet. "Food is the metaphor, because the theme is about hunger of a certain kind. Food is the carrier of that message, a Dabba."

Stanley Ka Dabba, produced by Fox Star Studios, also saw a unique shooting pattern devised by Amole, where the kid were called for just four hours every Saturday, and a still camera was used. "All the children were from the same class, so there were no auditions. I held some workshops with them and on other Saturdays, we filmed the scenes. There was no paper given to them. It was all oral narration," he says. Amole is clearly pleased with the departure he made from conventional shooting practises where children are asked to be on the sets for hours. "I think I changed the rules of the game. I wanted the process to be benevolent for the children. And none of that affected the lucidity or grandness of the film," he says.

Amole is also an acting in the film, but he insists, it was only because he couldn't have got another actor to make time every Saturday. "Senior actors like Divya Dutta etc showed a lot of grace by adjusting their schedules, and rallying behind the kids." he says.

There was speculation that Amole had taken this script to Aamir, who in spite of their acrimonious split, had given him a patient hearing. Ultimately, it was reported that Aamir thought the film was too similar to TZP. Amole terms the news complete concoction. "I never went to him with anything," he says firmly. Would be work with Aamir again? "I can't say that." he dismisses.

There were creative differences between Aamir and Amole during TZP. Were there any aspects that he found freedom to rectify this time around, considering he was the director on Stanley..? "I wouldn't say I had problems with TZP. That was also my vision," he says, clearly unwilling to make any controversial statements at this juncture.

Amole started off being an actor, having done over a hundred diploma films at FTII. He was also a stage performer for many years, until he turned his attention to cause of children. He started to be identified as a talented painter, writer and social worker. Acting was long forgotten, until a couple of years ago, when Vishal Bhardwaj offered him a meaty role in Kaminey. Amole says the gesture flattered him. I asked him 'Why are you taking me when there are so many other actors?' But I enjoyed that film. For me processes are important. But no, I don't suddenly perceive myself as an actor now, because I always knew I was one. But my priority is not acting. My focus is always to table childrens' issues. When I do films, it's to earn some money. Like I did Bheja Fry 2 and Phas Gaye Re Obama," he says candidly.

For now of course, the actor only has Stanley... on his mind, before he embarks on anything new. "This is it for now." he says.