Bejoy Nambiar belies any expectations one would have about the director of the slick and brash Shaitan . Soft-spoken and self-effacing, he’s refreshingly candid about his films. He made the big screen jump after writing and acting in theatre during college. Shaitan , his first full-length feature, won over critics but his second film David was seen by many as self-indulgent and confusing.
Surprisingly, while the usual trajectory of a director after a box-office mishap is to go smaller, eminent producer Vidhu Vinod Chopra liked what he saw in David and offered Bejoy his next gig. “I find it bizarre that even before I started making plans for my next feature, I got this offer,” says Bejoy.
The untitled film, which stars Amitabh Bachchan and Farhan Akhtar, is also scripted by Chopra and is scheduled to go on the floors in September, but Bejoy says he’s clause-bound not to divulge any details about the film.
Despite being among the pioneers of Bollywood indie films, Bejoy says the outlook for offbeat cinema hasn’t changed. “Funding happens in spurts; but there is an audience out there, waiting to hear new stories and new voices.”
Ruing the lack of support for art house films, he talks of all the films that have done well on the festival circuit but are yet to find proper distributors at home. “ The Lunchbox got what it did because of Karan Johar. We need more people to support films that have made a stir.”
It is shaping up to be a busy year for Bejoy, as he gets to handle production for four films. The first one, a comedy called Kuku Mathur Ki Jhand Ho Gayi, has already opened to a warm critical reception if not bountiful box office receipts. Another is the Hindi remake of Pizza, and Bejoy's fingerprints are all over the thriller, as he has helped polish the script. “The remake is very different from the original,” he says. “We’ve adapted it to suit a different context.” The film, directed by Bejoy’s long-time collaborator Akshay Akkineni, is slated to release on July 18.
A second Tamil remake, Fattack, is also underway, an adaptation of Chennai 28. It will be directed by Yazad Anklesaria and stars Shakti Kapoor’s son, Sidhaant Kapoor, in the lead.
Bejoy is also producing road trip dramedy Focus with Rajkummar Rao and Nawazuddin Siddiqui. It was to be directed by another frequent associate Akarsh Khurana, the screenwriter of Krrish 3 , Kites and Humshakals . However, the two parted ways due to creative reasons before the film went on the floors, with Heeraz Marfatia stepping in to replace Akarsh.
Bejoy confesses that he is a huge fan of Pulp Fiction director Tarantino. “When I was in LA working in Ashok Amritraj’s production company, I saw Tarantino’s script for Inglourious Basterds before the film had even gone into production. The cover page was handwritten by Tarantino. Before lunch, I had made sure I had a copy of it! We are all fanboys.”
But, of course, Mani Ratnam is his biggest influence. “When I’m down and low, it’s Mani sir’s films that perk me up. Padmarajan and Adoor Gopalakrishnan are also huge inspirations. I would hate to be a replica of them, but they are the ones who have got me here.”
