Madhur Bhandarkar is known for making hard-hitting realistic films like Chandni Bar, Fashion, Heroine, etc which have often excited comment and controversy for their stark content. His latest film, Calendar Girls tells the gritty tales of five calendar girls after they become famous. Madhur says he is ready to face any kind of strong reactions his film may elicit.
Asked if the fashion world will react vociferously to the way it is depicted in Calendar Girls, Madhur shrugs, “They already reacted when I made Fashion. This time, I feel the high society people will react. When I made Heroine, people from Bollywood thought I went too far in showing the reality of the glamour world. If we can see the news on TV or read newspapers, we should be able to see it on celluloid too.I am ready for all the reactions! I am a fighter and I will stand by what I mean.”
Adds he, “This film has five newcomers so there is pressure ... but the pressure is the same for your first film or the tenth film. I always say a film is a concept. My cinema or my brand shows a certain kind of reality in films. Each actress perfectly fits into her individual characters. This film is not about glamorous girls in bikinis; I have always given importance to the actors’ performances.”
Says he, “No one has made a film on this subject so I thought making a film that would explore where the calendar girls go after their one-year contract is over. This film is 75 per cent real and a lot of research has been put into this film.”
The film has been granted an A certificate by the Censors and Madhur has reconciled himself, “We wanted this film to receive a U/A certificate because we wanted the youngsters to see the film but sadly that didn’t happen. We got an A certificate.”