Reza Noorani (BOMBAY TIMES; October 12, 2018)

National Award-winning filmmaker Pradeep Sarkar is a master when it comes to crafting stories around relationships. In his latest film Helicopter Eela, he explores the bond between a mother and son in today’s time, but he is not about to bore you with a heavy film — he touches upon the concept of helicopter parenting, with a dose of humour. In a freewheeling chat with BT, the director talks about how his relationship with his parents was not as cool as the one he now shares with his own kids and much more. Excerpts...

You have already made a mark in ad films, but the world of movies is different. So, what is it that draws you to it — the one factor that compels you to make a film?
Some idea or the other is always cooking up in my head, be it a story or its subsequent execution. The process is always on, you cannot stop that. It’s a primal instinct. So, you search for stories and judge whether they deserve to be told or not. Sometimes, you realise that you don’t want to tell a story. There are times when you overanalyse a story and there’s trouble then. But sometimes, it sticks. Eela stuck. I want to be 100 per cent sure before I make a movie. With Eela, it took a lot of time, energy and writing to come up with the first draft. And then, there were surprises which we had to incorporate, and I like surprises. Also, when you’re working with a person like Kajol, you can expect some surprises. Her spontaneity is incredible; you can’t help but use that. So, it is best to follow that and use it to make the film better. In fact, I allow every actor on my sets to surprise me with their spontaneity.

You are known for films that delve into human relationships, while Bollywood is still thriving on formulaic films, packed with death-defying stunts and item numbers. In such a scenario, how difficult has it been for you to find your space in the industry?
Who said I would not include an item number in my film? I’d love to do that. In fact, the Ruk Ruk remake (in Helicopter Eela) is in the same vein. However, I don’t look at it as an item number, I look at it as fun. When I heard the song, I was like, ‘Gosh, I have to be a part of this’. In fact, the ‘So Sexy’ voice in the song is my own. I told Raghav (Sachar, composer) to somehow make me a part of the track. I am open to all things. After all, we don’t have much time, so it’s best to enjoy as much as we can.

Helicopter Eela revolves around the concept of helicopter parenting, where a mother fails to draw the line between being protective and intrusive. Having said that, while parents were stricter in previous generations, today, many are more like friends with their children. Do you also think that the parent-child relationship has evolved over the years?
Mothers are mothers, their love won’t change. However modern you become, you will still need her shadow. But yes, I agree that the parent-child relationship has evolved now. They have become friends with their kids, rather than just being parents. Gone are the days when a parent can say, ‘I am the authority.’ If you are like that, there will never be any understanding between you and your kids. It was like that between me and my parents. I never knew my dad properly. On his deathbed, I cried like a maniac, and that’s the first time I hugged him. I was crying, because I realised how much closer we could have been. Today, there is more bonding and mutual understanding. Recently, I went for a drive with my son and he was at the wheel. I was on the edge in the beginning, but later on, I relaxed. The acceptance that he has grown up and that I should take it easy is important. The happiness this kind of parenting gives you is unimaginable. Earlier, people would die without knowing what their kids or parents want. Now, when kids and parents miss each other, they are vocal about it. My daughter, who studies in the US, speaks with me now more than ever, because she misses me and I miss her, too. It is such a fantastic feeling. Our relationships are emotionally rich now.

In a lighter vein, as the trailer of your film shows, mothers are still obsessive about packing your food dabba. That doesn’t seem to have evolved...
Yes, that will never change and it should not. My daughter called my wife the other day and said, ‘Ma, can you please send me some samosas?’ My wife was like, ‘Go away!’ So, the dabba is an assurance that your mom is with you. It is not just about the food; a lot of love goes into it. And if food does not have any love in it, then it’s a complete waste. There is no taste then.

Director Pradeep Sarkar says multiple delays won't affect Helicopter Eela's box office chances
Sonil Dedhia (MID-DAY; October 8, 2018)

Kajol's Helicopter Eela has seen multiple changes in its release date. Initially scheduled to hit theatres on September 21, the Pradeep Sarkar-directed venture advanced its release to September 14 and subsequently, to September 7 to avoid clashing with other films. The family drama was again pushed by a month after the director was hospitalised for dengue.

Given that the first promo was unveiled in August, one wonders if the long-drawn wait may adversely impact the film's prospects at the box office. However, Sarkar is certain that his labour of love will be given a fair chance by the audience. "I don't think delaying Helicopter Eela has affected it at all. A good film will always perform well, and we are confident about our product."

"We had released our first promo before we had wrapped up the shoot, which is normal with any film. Unfortunately, I was hospitalised soon after. So we weren't completely ready, and showing a half-baked film would have been wrong on our part," says Sarkar, adding that producer Ajay Devgn was gracious enough to stand by his side through the delay.

The film, which sees Kajol returning to Bollywood after three years, revolves around the concept of helicopter parenting. Sarkar says he took inputs from his kids while making the film. "Since it's a youth-oriented film, I wanted to know their perspective. My kids would give me an honest feedback; they also guided me in getting the college lingo right."

Roshmila Bhattacharya (MUMBAI MIRROR; June 14, 2018)

When Vidhu Vinod Chopra during a meeting with ad filmmaker Pradeep Sarkar casually enquired if he had any story for a Hindi film, Dada admitted he wanted to adapt Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay’s 1914 Bengali novel Parineeta but wasn’t quite convinced about Shekhar and Lalita’s ‘mala badal’ wedding which forms the crux of the story. Intrigued, Vinod asked for a narration and surprised Dada by saying, “Chalo, yeh film ek saath karte hain.” Dada however wasn’t sure of convincing the new-age audience, for that matter Lalita herself, that uske shaadi ho gayi when she unthinkingly slipped his gold chain around the neck of her neighbour Shekhar. Just because this happened while a priest was conducting another wedding next door and the mahurat was auspicious, did it make the marriage real and binding? How was he going to justify the title Parineeta (The Married Woman) when he wasn’t convinced? Vinod insisted they go ahead, reassuring Dada that they’d find a way of making that defining moment believable. “And so I went into Parineeta, unconvinced, waiting to see what would happen, the only consolation being the team believed aisa ho sakta hai,” Dada reminisces.

On D-day, a fight erupted between Saif Ali Khan and Vidya Balan after she used an unscripted Bengali expression which he believed to be rude. “Saif was really angry and noting the cold vibes, I’d resigned myself to an early pack-up when it struck me that perhaps this was how it was between Shekhar and Lalita too,” reasons Dada.

In the story Shekhar is miffed that Lalita has found new friends, including Girish, a tycoon from London, and when she swings by to hand him his kurta buttons and slips the gold chain around his neck he exclaims, “What have you done?” She retorts, “Ab kya galat kar diya maine?” and suddenly, his anger melts away and he reaches for her. She struggles to break free, not wanting to be held but also not wanting him to let her go. “As I watched the scene play out, I realised that kabhi kabhi jhagade aur manana brings lovers close,” Dada explains, sighing that filmmaking is a huge responsibility as you’re creating a world of your own. “Sometimes the responsibilities can overwhelm you and when that happens it is best to leave things to a higher power sitting besides you. He could be the cinematographer or the spotboy. That evening, I felt God was with me and he resolved the dilemma. When I told Kabir Bedi this on a TV show, he asked me, ‘So what happened during Laaga Chunari Mein Daag?’ and left me speechless.”

He also veered from the original ending where Shekhar leaves the final decision to his mother, telling her to do what she thinks right. “It was a lukewarm end, not the way a hero would react,” he asserts, and so made Shekhar break down the wall that had come up between his house and Lalita’s, in the process breaking down the wall between them. “I knew I’d have to face the repercussions of this in Kolkata and was relieved when  Rituparno Ghosh called me at 2 am after a screening and lauded me, saying Sarat babu too had wanted to break down walls, metaphorically.”

He goes on to recall the first’s day’s shoot in Kolkata after a schedule in Assam. “We were waiting for three trucks of props to arrive so we could start filming 'Piyu Bole Piya Bole' when I was informed they were stuck in Orissa. We had just a piano. I called for a ghoda gaadi but since we didn’t have permission for the horses, the cart was positioned in a corner, and I sat Saif down by the piano and around 10 pm got started on the song, shooting through the night. Cinema is all about magic and madness,” he smiles.

By the time Dada arrived in Amsterdam for Parineeta’s premiere he was exhausted, mentally and physically. “The screening was in a beautiful hall with an old world charm, lots of big names around but they were all strangers since I was from the ad world. The film started and both my wife and I dozed off. I woke up with a start to hear my name being called and realised they wanted me up on stage,” he laughs, saying fondly, “It was a film made from the heart, that’s why we are still talking about it 13 years later.”