I Iove music in cinema: Imtiaz Ali
My Melbourne, an anthology helmed by acclaimed filmmakers Imtiaz Ali, Onir, Rima Das and Kabir Khan, delves into powerful themes including race, gender, sexuality, and disability. A standout feature at the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne (IFFM) earlier this year, the film was showcased at the Kolkata International Film Festival (KIFF). After a tram ride from Esplanade tram depot, filmmaker Imtiaz Ali, who helmed the film Jules within My Melbourne, spoke with us about it and more.
Tell us about My Melbourne.
We are very lucky to have a premiere here at KIFF. There’s a connection between Melbourne and Kolkata—the tram, as seen in the film. My Melbourne is an anthology of four films that is loosely strung, in the presence of this visual mnemonic which is also the tram. The film that I have helmed is directed by Arif Ali and we worked with a diverse crowd of young filmmakers, whom I was supposed to be mentoring, but honestly, I learnt a lot from them. I also learnt about inclusive filmmaking, to work with different genders and different abilities as well, which coincides with the theme of the film itself.
Tell us about your film Jules.
I think the producer of the film Mitu Bhowmick Lange AM, came up with this story and then, we worked on it. It’s about a homeless woman named Jules and a newly married Indian who has shifted her base to stay and live in Melbourne with her husband, but struggles to actually have a ‘home’. So it’s about home and homelessness, lives of two people who belong to two opposite points of the society colliding, and their lives changing in the process.
Does it talk about gender inequality?
Yes, it does. It talks about gender inequalities in a very subtle and basic manner. It got a lot of responses post screenings, since people could identify with the subtle gender inequalities that exist in society.
How difficult is it to make a film that is a part of an anthology than make a full feature?
It is not easy to make an anthology and release it as a feature. You want each part to be distinct, but at the same time, you also want them to be connected somehow.
Would we see you deconstruct your genre and break the notion of a romantic filmmaker?
Well, I hope that I can deconstruct myself and then come up with the real essence of what I can stand for. Sometimes you need to deconstruct yourself to be more of yourself. I hope that’s what I do.
Harry Met Sejal received very negative feedback. Do you have plans to collaborate with Shah Rukh Khan again?
If I have a very good story which will shine with Shah Rukh’s presence, I would definitely pitch that.
Are you filming your next project with Fahadh Faasil and Tripti Dimri?
Nothing has been finalised yet. It is in talks but in a very nascent stage. Somehow it got leaked.
Do you think films like Tamasha, Rockstar and Highway resonate more deeply with today’s audience, given their evolved perspective?
Yes. When it got re-released recently it received so much love that Laila Majnu needed to be released again. Now, I think the audience is even more accepting of Rockstar than it was before. I think it is a great time for films. Not all films are working but this is a time for some artistic revolutions.
Do you think this is a great time for global films and independent filmmakers?
I think the approach towards filmmaking needs to be changed. But we should also make more popular films. Yes, we should welcome the new voices in filmmakers but find the new voices in us to make things work.
By popular, do you also mean commercial hits?
Commercial film has a very negative connotation in the film industry. By popular or commercial hits, I mean something that more people can enjoy.
Music has been a very integral part of all your films. Why is that?
I love music in the cinema. I love the process of making music for the cinema, shooting it and putting it on screen. I feel a lot of things that cannot be expressed through words, can be expressed through music and songs in films. So I think cinema gets another layer or dimension with the music.