Chitrangda Singh, who made her debut in Bollywood with Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi in 2005, went on to do other prominent films like Yeh Saali Zindagi, Desi Boyz, Saheb, Biwi Aur Gangster 3 and Baazaar. The actress also turned producer in 2018 with a sport-based biopic, Soorma, starring Diljit Dosanjh. Her choice of films have mostly been a tad different and often not fitting into the typical Bollywood leading lady mould.

The actress, who is evidently choosy about the parts she picks to play, tells us that there are certain women in cinema whose careers have always left her inspired and motivated. “Film personalities like Smitaji (Patil), Rekha ji or even Shabana ji (Azmi) have not only impressed us with their body of work in Bollywood which includes glamourous roles, but also set an example by achieving their goals in showbiz. Their passion and grace with which they made their way in the film industry has left me amazed. It is their love for the craft and the way they pursued their career that inspired me,” she says.

Talking about the choice of films of these supremely talented leading ladies, Chitrangda adds, “Their films like Mandi (1983) and Mirch Masala (1986) have inspired me and have been a reason for me to be a part of Bollywood. Also, how can we forget the performance of Rekha ji in Umrao Jaan (1981)? These women have truly been an inspiration.”

Anubhav Sinha, Sudhir Mishra, Hansal Mehta, Ketan Mehta and Subhash Kapoor are planning an anthology film based on stories and experiences from the Coronavirus pandemic
Anshul Chaturvedi (BOMBAY TIMES; July 26, 2020)

For Indian cinema, the anthology — a collection of short films with a similar subject — as a collaborative project with multiple filmmakers has now become a relatively familiar concept. This is courtesy the OTT space, which has been host to several popular ones, stitching together tales on a variety of topics, ranging from stories of lust to stories of ghosts.

For the big screen, however, this remains unfamiliar territory. In 2013, we saw Bombay Talkies, an anthology that had four short films, directed by Dibakar Banerjee, Karan Johar, Zoya Akhtar and Anurag Kashyap, to celebrate the 100th year of Indian cinema. However, when the sequel for it, Lust Stories, with the same directors, came out in 2018, it released on OTT and not in theatres. All subsequent anthologies have also released on OTT platforms. Before this, there have been films like Darna Zaroori Hai (2006) and Dus Kahaniyaan (2007) with each story being helmed by a different director.

Does that make Bombay Talkies Bollywood’s last big screen collaborative anthology? Perhaps not, if something being planned by five directors presently works out — a project that may release sometime around April 2021.

Anubhav Sinha, Sudhir Mishra, Hansal Mehta, Ketan Mehta and Subhash Kapoor are working on making an anthology focused on the subject that we are living through presently — the experiences of life amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.

“This is such an interesting time, you know — even though I realise interesting may not be the best word,” explains Anubhav, who is informally spearheading the collective effort. “Sudhir bhai’s driver had contracted COVID and he was unable to get a bed — and we were making all sorts of phone calls just to get him a hospital bed. Uss raat mere dimaag mein aaya ki humein usko document karna chahiye. And what better way to do it than different filmmakers looking at different things? Sudhir bhai ke pitaji ki death hui COVID period mein. We lost Irrfan — aur hum Irrfan ke janaaze par bhi nahi jaa paye. Nikloon ki nahi nikloon… Tigmanshu ko police se jhagda karna pada – he said main toh jaaonga, bhai hai mera!”

He adds, “Yeh saari cheezein disturbing thi. Mujhe laga inko record karna chahiye. Maine phir baat kari sab doston se — and they all said haan yaar karte hain. And that’s how the idea behind it began to formalise. This seemed like a good collaboration for all of us. There’s one story by Subhash, one by Hansal, one by Sudhir bhai, one probably by Ketan. These are filmmakers that I believe that the socalled ‘Bollywood’ has largely ignored.”

Ketan Mehta? It’s been a while since we saw his work. How did he get persuaded?

Anubhav pauses to make an impassioned point. “The corporate world doesn’t know who Ketan Mehta is. Unhone Mirch Masala ka naam hi nahi suna, dekhna toh chhor do! I saw it a month back. Log mujhe bolte hain ki Anubhav makes feminist cinema, etc etc. I say look at Mirch Masala — that’s what a film is! Thappad is not a film — Mirch Masala is a film! If I had any power, I would be chasing Ketan Mehta to make films all the time. I heard this story once about (Akira) Kurosawa not making a film for many years and (Quentin) Tarantino met him and asked him about it — and he said, I don’t have funds. And Tarantino called up the studio and said, ‘Hey, Kurosawa doesn’t have money to make a film — produce one!’ And then Kurosawa made his next film. This is an authentic story I believe... Today Ketan is not making films. Govind Nihalani is not making films — arrey yaar Ardh Satya banai thi unhone! Sharam karo, doob maro, iss sheher mein Govind Nihalani ko film banane ko nahi mil raha hai!”

Angry point made, Anubhav returns to the original topic. “Sudhir Mishra and Ketan Mehta are the stalwarts here — jinka cinema dekh kar hum ne picture banana seekha hai. Then the three of us, aaj ke — myself, Hansal and Subhash Kapoor.”

Anubhav adds, “So, it will be an interesting bunch of names, to tell stories of an interesting time in our lives. Yeh meri neeyat thi when I thought of the directors. I would have wanted (Anurag) Kashyap to also be part of this, but he is starting a big project so he couldn’t join us.”

The pandemic stories, essentially, then? “Yes. We will all interpret this period — starting February/March 2020 — and we will all tell a story from it.” And the sub-stories? “Hansal’s story is quite comic and quite tragic. Sudhir bhai’s is political, quite political. Subhash’s is also political, but in a different way. I am still struggling with my story — I want to tell an atmospheric story, which is about fear. I live on the 20th floor and I can see a very large expanse of Mumbai from my window. It has suddenly started looking like a deserted, dead city. And Ketan is saying ‘main dekh ke batata hoon’ (laughs).”

Hansal Mehta adds that he was very excited about the idea and is ready to begin shoot. “We have been meeting virtually very often during this lockdown. In one of our virtual parties Anubhav came up with this idea of chronicling this extraordinary time in history through this anthology of short films. I jumped at the idea. I think I was the first among our entire group to submit a script! I’m ready to begin shooting next week. It will be exciting to have like-minded directors with diverse styles tell their stories.”

Sharing why telling these stories is important, Subhash says, “The world has not seen anything like this ever before, it’s crucial to chronicle this period and explore stories around, I look forward to this journey with like-minded friends.”

“Reflections during the COVID time” is how Sudhir Mishra puts it. “It is not just ki chalo anthology banate hain and this is a good topic,” he explains. “It has developed organically. We talk a lot. We are envious of each other in the right ways. We have some sort of loose federation of common interest. This developed like that — and we said, let’s do this together.”

“We will all hopefully be able to start shooting by November,” says Sudhir, “If someone has to shoot indoors, then that is easier. But if the story demands outdoor shots, crowds — which you assume a political story will — then we have to see by what time that becomes possible.”