Flexcia Dsouza (BOMBAY TIMES; November 30, 2019)

At the masterclass at International Film Festival of India (IFFI) 2019 titled Master of Multiple Genres, filmmaker Priyadarshan spoke about making comedy films, Hindi remakes of south films and more. Excerpts from the session that was attended by film critics, students and movie lovers:

‘MAKING COMEDY FILMS IS LIKE SOCIAL SERVICE’
With films like Hera Pheri, Garam Masala, Hungama and Khatta Meetha in his oeuvre, Priyadarshan was asked why he didn’t experiment with hard-hitting films in Bollywood. “In Bollywood, I am accepted for my comedies. There’s nothing wrong with making a comedy. I don’t think you’ll be taken seriously only if you make a serious film. The most difficult thing for a filmmaker is to make people laugh. In a world that has so many worries and problems, making a comedy film is like social service,” he says.

‘MOST HINDI REMAKES OF SOUTH FILMS FLOP’
Priyadarshan’s hit comedy Hera Pheri is a remake of his 1989 Malayalam film Ramji Rao Speaking. About being able to express himself in various languages, he says, “There are some things that we cannot translate situationally, especially the humourous parts. So, we had to change a lot of dialogues of Hera Pheri, since the humour is lost in literal translation. Most south films flop when they are remade in Hindi. The basic reason is, when you watch a remake, it still seems like a south film, not a Hindi film.”

‘MY NEXT FILM IS IN MARATHI’
Instead of just working with languages he is comfortable in — Malyalam or Hindi — he also makes movies in Tamil and Telugu. “There is no difference in language, cinema in one language. My next film is in Marathi. Maybe I’ll do one Bengali and Gujarati film also, because it’s nice working with other language actors and understanding the culture. We should have unity in diversity in cinema, too.”

About continuing his work in south as well as Bollywood, he says, “I got interested in films watching Amitabh Bachchan and Dev Anand. When I was watching films in school, I used to wonder why South actors don’t dress like Hindi film actors. Everything, except the content, was very bad. Today South films have improved a lot, so I don’t find any difference in working in either industry. My comfort level in highest in Hindi because of the bigger budgets they give us in Bollywood! But I enjoy making Malayalam films the most.”