The recently concluded Koshala Literature Festival, Lucknow had an interesting end when renowned filmmaker, Tigmanshu Dhulia, known for movies Paan Singh Tomar, Shahid and Bullett Raja came for a session titled Qissebaazi.

At the culminating day of the festival, the filmmaker delved into an intriguing yet witty conversation with academician Nishi Pandey. Tigmanshu spoke about his work as a director and actor, stating that cinema is the most modern art form and that film is the director’s medium. Tigmanshu shared, “I prefer actors to follow me when I direct, and when I am acting, I become a puppet in the director’s hands.”

On working with the current youth, Tigmanshu said, “The present generation‘s concentration level is zero, due to more self-indulgence and social media. They have become so dislocated that they can forget the whole scene within 10 minutes.”

On the purpose of making films, he said that whatever film he makes, he wants it to work, and the producer should get his money back. “Art for the sake of expression is gone. The producer should get the reward of the money he has spent, at least because film-making now is an expensive art,” said Tigmanshu.

He also mentioned that only 10% of Hindi films work, and the rest are “trash.” He added, “Over the years, only a handful of people made good films, and 90% of the pictures are such that they need to be dismissed.”

Tigmanshu also talked about OTT, saying that people here aren’t able to handle it properly, which is why they don’t subscribe to OTT channels. “In cinema, only big tamasha movies are running and good cinema has such less footfall, hence the survival of cinema is difficult,” said Tigmanshu.

The session captivated the audience with Tigmanshu’s honest take on how it feels to be part of the cinematic world as an actor. He has acted in films like Zero, Gangs Of Wasseypur, Yaara and several OTT shows. “I am glad for not pursuing acting, main kitna bhi acting karta tab bhi Shah Rukh Khan nahi ban pata,” said Tigmanshu about his acting aspirations.

The prominent filmmaker further added that he now plans to make films with bigger subjects, and not just cast a big actor. Tigmanshu revealed making a biopic about the Mughal-e-Azam filmmaker K Asif and a documentary on Prayagraj, his hometown.

Nishi Pandey culminated the session by asking Tigmanshu to share a romantic qissa from his real life. Recalling his school love story, Tigmanshu shared how he met his now wife. An interesting tale in itself, Dhulia shared when he was 8 and she was 7 years old, “Hum nibhane wali generation thay,” he said.

Sharing his relation with the city, Dhulia said, “Lucknow is connected to me with the language. I don’t feel that connected to Mumbai the way I do with Lucknow.”