Sudhir Mishra: “If This Is What They Think Of Me I Disown This Film Industry”

 Sudhir Mishra Breaks Down During A  Conversation With  Subhash K Jha

Celebrated  filmmaker  Sudhir Mishra is inconsolably upset  over a viral video which shows a man apparently resembling Sudhir , being manhandled by  the  cops.

 A day after   the  fakenews  broke out Sudhir seemed  monstrously   upset .In fact he broke down during  our conversation.  “The fact that someone decided  to entertain himself by putting  out this video claiming  I was being roughed  up by the cops is  not a big deal. We’re in the times of digital  excesses in the  social media where no  one  is spared. Why  should I be? No. What  bothered me is that my friends in the  film  industry ,or rather  my so-called  friends, actually believed that  it was  me being beaten  up in  the  video.I had them gleefully  calling me  up asking  me, ‘Arrey woh tu hai?!’ .I  banged the phone on them. F..k it,man! If you think I am the kind of guy who  can be randomly  beaten  up on the street then what have I earned  from this industry after so  many years?”

 Angry and upsets Sudhir sobs, “I disown this industry. Sure,  I’ve  some friends like Hansal Mehta, Anubhav Sinha  and Anurag Kayshap. But a large section of  the industry is wary of me because I hold political views  opposed to theirs.They enjoyed the thought of me being beaten  up.Earlier  too,   the film industry had separate  political ideologies. Raj Kapoor Saab was  never a  Congress I man but no one wished him ill for that. No one wished  ill for anyone. Manoj Kumar said, ‘I want everyone’s  film to do well. But I want my film to do a little better.’ Wasn’t that an endearingly honest  confession? Of course we want that we  should be  a little ahead of  the others. But now  if you don’t adhere  to the popular ideology you are hated  by  the  film industry.”

The  enormously acclaimed  director  of  such films as  Yeh Woh Manzil Toh Nahin, Iss Raat Ki Subah Nahin. Dharavi, Main Zinda Hoon, Hazaaron Khwahishein Aisi and Chameli, feels there was a  plan to denigrate him through the  video . “It is  is very  disturbing how widely  the video  was circulated even to my friends  from outside  the  film industry. It  was as though some people wanted everyone to  believe  that person  in the  video was me,when in fact  you only had to zoom to the face  to see  it was not me. It couldn’t be! Do you think I’d stand there taking lathi  blows?”

Now when another person has come forward to rectify the  identity of  the  chap in the video Sudhir wonders why so  much hatred  is being darted at him.  “I’ve never threatened  to return my National award, like some of my colleagues. Why should  I return it? It was  given to  me by Adoor Gopalkrishnan.”