Nishad Neelambaran (HINDUSTAN TIMES; January 6, 2020)

From being a screenwriter in Ram Gopal Varma’s Satya (1998) to turning director with Black Friday (2007), Anurag Kashyap has come a long way. His movies have been appreciated by the critics and audiences alike. With movies such as Dev D (2009), Gulaal (2010), That Girl In Yellow Boots (2011) and the Gangs of Wasseypur series, to his credit, Anurag says that he has evolved over the years. “The young me was idealistic and angry, but then I found sarcasm and humour,” he says. The 47-year-old director, who has always been vocal about his opinions, says that he’s approaching mid-life and “the crisis has kicked in big time”.

He says, “It has started reflecting in my work, my stories and the choice of things that I am trying to do. Now, I think I’m getting more condense and complex. But at the same time, I also simplify the complexities. Earlier, I wouldn’t care about this.”

So does he care about box office numbers? “Everyone cares about numbers. Over the years, I have understood that I don’t want to dumb down to reach out to the maximum, but I want to reach out to enough that it sustains me.”

The filmmaker is all praise for regional cinema. “They are way more braver than us. When you look at filmmakers such as Aashiq Abu, Geetu Mohandas and Lijo Jose Pellissery, the kind of work they are doing is on another level. The way Geetu has handled the subject of Moothon (for which Kashyap wrote the screenplay), I don’t think any male director would have been able to do it. The kind of rawness of Mumbai that she shows in the film, I have never seen anybody do it. I wish I knew any of the south Indian languages. Main udhar jaake (in south India) movies banata.”

About how the digital world has changed the industry, Anurag says, “As a storyteller, my primary job is to tell stories and now I can tell them in an uninhibited way. I am totally anti-censor.”

Gladwin Emmanuel (MUMBAI MIRROR; October 20, 2018)

Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA) president Mohanlal on Friday said that the film body has accepted the resignation of actor Dileep. The veteran actor also claimed that he was the one to seek a resignation from Dileep, who is accused in an assault case.

Meanwhile, the association is disinclined on taking back Women in Cinema Collective (WCC) members — actresses Rima Kallingal, Remya Nambeesan and Geetu Mohandas — who had quit AMMA when Dileep was reinstated as an AMMA member following his release from jail.

“If they wish to come back to AMMA, they will have to apply again. There are procedures to be followed,” Mohanlal said in a press conference, in which office-bearers Siddique, Jagadish and Idavela Babu, among others, were also present. He added that it is not possible to convene a general body meeting for the sole issue of reinstating the actresses.

Stating that an ICC (Internal Complaints Committee) was formed after he took over the association as president, Mohanlal added that an explanation would be sought from actor Alencier, who has been accused by an actress of sexual misconduct and that AMMA would consider charges against actor Mukesh, one of the vice-presidents of AMMA, if a formal complaint against him is received.

The WCC members had recently accused AMMA leadership of irresponsible attitude and insensitivity.

Shilpi Sampad (MID-DAY; January 6, 2017)

Aanand L Rai is set to take his association with his Tanu Weds Manu and Raanjhanaa writer, Himanshu Sharma, to the next level. The filmmaker will be launching him as director in an upcoming production venture.

But for Himanshu, it wasn’t a surprise. “I saw it coming. I narrated the story idea to Aanand for him to direct, but he said that I must helm it instead. He told me this should be my first film as director,” says the National Award-winning writer. The Lucknow boy weaves his stories around his home state Uttar Pradesh. For the Tanu Weds Manu franchise, it was Kanpur, while Raanjhana was set in Benaras.

But for his directorial debut, Himanshu won’t reveal the backdrop just yet. “Currently, I am finishing work on Aanand’s next (with Shah Rukh Khan reportedly playing a dwarf) and will then move to my project. The story is ready, but I need more time to develop it. It’s too early to discuss details at this point,” he says.
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BOMBAY TIMES (January 6, 2017)

Ankur Pathak (MUMBAI MIRROR; April 11, 2015)

Liar's Dice which bagged two National Awards last year for Best Actress (Geetanjali Thapa), and Best Cinematography (Rajeev Ravi) is finally looking at a theatrical release towards the end of this year.

"Distributors requested me to trim my film and increase the pace of the storytelling. I was appalled and told them that I wasn't going to touch the film. If anyone wants to watch it, they'll have to see it the way it was made. Now they finally will," says director Geetu Mohandas.

Co-starring Nawazuddin Siddiqui, the film chronicles the journey of a woman searching for her missing husband.

MEANWHILE...

Geetu's next has been selected for the Drishyam Sundance Screenwriter's Lab, organised in India by Manish Mundra.

It's about a boy living in Lakshadweep who swims across the ocean to meet his brother. "It has a fantasy element and I'm excited for all the creative assistance that I will get from the Screenwriter's Lab," says Geetu.

Ankur Pathak (MUMBAI MIRROR; December 8, 2014)

Liar’s Dice actress Geetanjali Thapa remains unfazed despite winning the National Award and being part of India’s official entry to the Oscars in 2015
Shaheen Parkar (MID-DAY; September 28, 2014)

Four years ago, Geetanjali Thapa was slated to make her Bollywood debut in Amit Saxena’s Tina Ki Chaabi (see below) with Ranvir Shorey as her co-star. The film did not see the light of day while Geetanjali went on to do some modelling assignments (she appeared in a hair product commercial with Aishwarya Rai Bachchan) and pursuing her celluloid dream. She landed parts in films that mostly did the festival rounds.



One of her projects, Liar’s Dice (see below), fetched her the National Award for Best Actress earlier this year. The film is now India’s official entry to the Oscars in the Best Foreign Film category. Though she is in the spotlight, Geetanjali remains unfazed and prefers to take things “as they come one at a time.” It’s been a long journey from her home in Gangtok in Sikkim to Mumbai and now hoping for an Oscar nomination for Liar’s Dice. “It has yet to sink in,” she says. “After the film’s director (Geetu Mohandas) informed me about the Oscar entry, the first call that I made was to my family in Gangtok. I was keen to tell my dad about it. It was finally something,” she says.


Audition rounds
When she bagged the National Award, Geetanjali did not go around tom-toming her achievement. She says, “I prefer my work to do the talking. I have yet to learn how things operate in Bollywood. I feel it is better to be low-profile and let people notice you through your films. For me, it was one audition at a time; one film led to another. ” The former model, who has now made Mumbai her home, stays with her sister Kadambari who is completing her postgraduation in sociology. “I celebrated with my sister at home as the rest of my family is in Gangtok. Geeth (the director) is in Kerala and Nawazuddin Siddiqui (her costar in Liar’s Dice) is in the US. I will have to wait for everyone to be in Mumbai.”

In the film, Geetanjali essays the character of a woman who goes in search of her missing husband along with her daughter. “The child actor Manya Gupta, who is based in Shimla, is brilliant. The film has been screened at festivals.”

Choice of films
Geetanjali, who will next be seen with Emraan Hashmi in Danis Tanovic’s Tigers, was also part of Kamal KM’s 2012 film ID that did the festival rounds. “I want to do all kinds of films — Bollywood, regional, indie and shorts,” says the actor who began by winning a beauty pageant in Guwahati in 2007. Sikkim’s best known export to Bollywood is veteran actor Danny Dengzongpa. The former beauty queen, however, feels this is just her beginning.

Acting is something she always wanted to do from her school days. She has no plan for the future. “I live for the moment. It is better to take things as they come. At the moment, I am reading scripts and will continue auditioning for roles,” signs off the actor.


At a beauty pageant in Guwahati in 2007


Her 2012 film 'ID' bagged honours in the festival circuit

Bharati Dubey (MID-DAY; September 24, 2014)

Last year, the choice of Gyan Correa’s The Good Road over Ritesh Batra’s more popular film, The Lunchbox, had created a furore. Looks like the history is repeating itself again. Yesterday, the Film Federation of India (FFI) announced Nawazuddin Siddiqui-starrer, Liar’s Dice as the official Indian entry to the Oscars in the Best Foreign Film category.

Aaindya Dasgupta, deputy secretary of FFI, said, “A 12- member jury watched around 30 films from multiple languages.” Sources say that close contenders included Hansal Mehta’s Shahid, Nagraj Manjule’s Fandry, Omung Kumar’s Mary Kom and Ritiesh Deshmukh’s Yellow.

The selection of Liar’s Dice as the official entry has not gone down too well with some filmmakers, who expected their film to make the cut.

Contender speak
Soon after the announcement, filmmaker Hansal Mehta launched an online tirade against the FFI and its selection process. “Apparently, Liar’s Dice was released last week in Kerala and Pune. About time this whole Oscar entry business is taken away from FFI, and a more transparent process is followed by a more qualified body. Disillusioned with the FFI but consoled that at least a good film has been chosen to represent India at the Oscars. All the best. The bitterness is not about the selection. It could have been any film. The selection is on the basis of a mere technicality. It makes you question the process and the individuals involved. Why is there a ‘secret jury’? Why are the jury names never revealed?” he tweeted.

When contacted, he said, “ I want to trust the process and the body initiating the process for selecting India’s official entry to the Oscars. Unfortunately, recent history makes me doubtful. Shahid had a good chance, so did Fandry. And if Liar’s Dice had a legitimate, wide release, then I congratulate their team and wish them success since it is a wonderful film made by some terrific people.”

Omung Kumar who directed Mary Kom, which has just crossed the Rs 50 crore mark, says, “I haven’t seen Liar’s Dice. But Mary Kom had that universal appeal. It is an inspiring, true story that would have worked very well in the west.”

Pradeep Sarkar, director of Mardaani, too had said earlier that his film should be chosen because it deals with a world subject.


Out of the 30 films in competition, there were around 8 Marathi films in the fray, including Fandry (see pic below) and Yellow (above). Some industry insiders say that that Fandry deserved this recognition. But Nagraj Manjule, the film’s director, didn’t appear to be very upset. He said, “I think the selection committee comprises learned people and I am sure they have chosen a film that will represent India well.”

However, Nilesh Navlakha, the producer of the film, was more outspoken. His Facebook post read, “ The question remains as to how the film, which was not commercially released, was selected as an Oscar entry. I heard that it was released in just 2-3 centres in Kerala and somewhere else. Was it staged? A more transparent selection process is required because this film will represent India and not any film body. Anyway, we have a history of sending films which have not been recognised at the national level. No complaints, but need to check the credibility of organisation sending films for Oscars.”


Money matters
Actor-producer Ritiesh Deshmukh’s Yellow too was in the race. The actor wished the makers of Liar’s Dice all the luck. He simply said, “I hope it does well.” He added that, "The state should take the responsibility of funding the selected film. With the government’s involvement, the film can be showcased well,” he said.
But an industry insider emphasised that the makers will need monetary support to generate publicity for the film. “Only films with studio backing can organise many screenings. Liars Dice is an indie film, so we hope it gets support from all quarters.”

On cloud nine
This year, Geetanjali Thapa bagged the National Award for Best Actress for her role in Liar’s Dice and yesterday’s announcement that her film has been chosen as India’s entry to the Oscars has only added to her happiness. “Geetu Mohandas ( the film’s director) informed me about it. The first call that I made was to my family in Gangtok, Sikkim. I was keen to tell my dad about it,” says the actress who plans to celebrate the news along with her sister.

In the film, Geetanjali, who consciously chooses to keep a low profile, plays a woman who, along with her daughter, goes in search of her missing husband.

Geetu Mohandas, director of Liar’s Dice, said, “I am excited and overwhelmed. It was a struggle to find finances for the film initially. I had approached many production houses in Mumbai but it didn’t work out. Jar Pictures stepped in and supported me in this vision. I want to thank the film’s cast and crew and as far as the selection process is concerned, all I can say is that other filmmakers, whose films were also in the fray, are undoubtedly distinguished names. I don’t want to comment on any controversy as there is a lot of energy and strength in silence.”

— Shaheen Parkar and Asira Tarannum

Ankur Pathak (MUMBAI MIRROR; September 24, 2014)

In a relatively calmer turn of events - as opposed to last year when the clash between The Lunchbox and The Good Road turned into a bitter battle - Geetu Mohandas' directorial, Liar's Dice, was chosen as India's official entry to the Oscars in the Best Foreign Film category among 30 other titles. "I got a call from the ministry and was too stunned to react. I called up everybody I could think of to break the news to them, but as luck would have it, nobody answered," Geetu laughed, admitting that her 'small film' which won two National Awards this year, almost didn't get made.

The film features Geetanjali Thapa and Nawazuddin Siddiqui in the lead and is the story of a tribal woman's quest to find her missing husband who leaves their village for a job in Delhi. Given the non-commercial subject, it wasn't surprising that Geetu had a hard time finding producers. "Nobody was willing to touch it as it wasn't 'mainstream' enough," she recalls.

A screening at the Sundance Film Festival followed by another at the Rotterdam film festival ensured that Geetu, who has also co-produced the film, won the Hubert Bals Fund of 10,000 euros. At any point did she think of "commercialising" the subject to attract funds? "No, either you make the film you believe in or make a film that you think the audience believes in. I can't do a song-and-dance film like most Bollywood directors, I don't have that talent," she says without any hint of sarcasm. However, she is not of the opinion that her film's selection is going to smoothen the process of getting finance for her upcoming ventures. "I cannot live with that belief. There is definetly more visibility and excitement, but a filmmaker's life is an eternal struggle. I am hoping for the best. Who knows, we might just get a trophy back home!"

Although we applaud the optimism, there's a lot of lobbying that goes on in Los Angeles to get a film in the Top five. The last Indian film to make the cut was Aamir Khan's Lagaan in 2001. Is there a strategy in place? "I don't know about all this since it's a first time for me. I have done my job as a filmmaker, the rest now depends on the marketing team," she signs off.

'I HOPE IT OPENS MORE DOORS'

Fresh from the Toronto premiere of Danis Tanovic's Tigers, co-starring Emraan Hashmi, Geetanjal Thapa is elated by the news. Keeping her finger's crossed, she says, "It's not like I only want to do indie films, I am open to to commercial cinema and have been in and out of auditions." What was her first reaction? "I called up my parents who broke into tears....I hope this honour opens more doors for me as well as the makers."