KK MENON SPEAKS ON SANKAT CITY

Sankat Cinema

By KK MENON

A question has been pestering me for quite some years now

–

“Who is to blame when good cinema does not do good

business?”

I’ve come to a conclusion of late. The answer is – the

audience.

The fate of cinema, good or bad, lies fair and square on

the audience.

Hence I find it amusing/sad/frustrating when I hear

comments like ‘it

was a good film, but it didn’t do well’. I’m writing

this piece with

the hope that the people reading it would atleast start a

change.

To further my point, a few more questions. Why did

‘Gulaal’ not do

well? Why did ‘Black Friday’ not do well? Why did

‘Hazaaron Khwahishein Aisi” not do well? So on and so forth…

Now a request. Please don’t make me ask this question,

“why did ‘Sankat City’ not do well?!”

Sankat City is a film that is not only thoroughly

entertaining but also an intelligent piece of work – a rare combination.

This film might, against all odds, prove the fact that a non-stop

mad/nonsensical/funny/entertaining film can also be

intelligent.

For me it is the first time that I have attempted working

in this kind of a genre. Now what genre it is, is for the pundits and

the analysts to decide. But one thing I can guarantee you, that you

would be entertained to the edge of your seat. The film has a motley

of extremely talented actors, including veterans like Anupam

Kher. If there is any person who comes out of the theatre after

seeing the film and does not have a smile or a giggle on his or her face,

needs to seriously consult a psychiatrist.

For me personally it was a roller-coaster ride. I have

attempted many aspects of performance for the first time in this film.

Never before have I attempted so many long scenes in one shot. Never

before have I felt the seamless energy running through the performance,

namely because of the long one-shot scenes, akin to what I used to

experience on stage. Never before have the high points of a scene

revealed themselves to me while performing, rather than having some

idea of it before attempting the scene. Never before have I attempted

a Woody.

Allenish sense of comedy. Never before have I seen in Hindi

films so many long one- shot scenes, so effectively done by the

director and the cinematographer. Never before have I shot for a whole

day in a garbage dump-yard. Never before have I shot in more than 50

locations for a film. Never before have I done an out-and-out

physical comedy.

The director’s technique of shooting the film allowed

each one of us as actors to improvise whole-heartedly within the

parameters of the narrative, so much so, that we often surprised ourselves.

And this didn’t pertain itself just to shooting, it extended even

into the dubbing process.

This film has helped me discover more facets of acting,

which I didn’t know, existed within me. Very few films which are funny and

mad at the script level, render themselves to be equally mad and funny

on celluloid. Sankat City is one of them. In fact, it is

madder

So, coming back to my first point, it is upto the audience

to elevate the standard of cinema in our country. Trust me, there are

fantastic filmmakers that exist here. Give them a chance to make

superior cinema. All you have got to do is to promote and patronize

good cinema, the same way you promote and patronize bad films.

We can do only as much as making an excellent film. To

nurture it is your prerogative. Please don’t let us ask that question

again, “who is to blame when good cinema does not do good business”.

We promise to keep making good cinema, provided you promise

to be a a good audience. I hope you wouldn’t let us down this

time.

“Kabhi dhobi ke ooper gadha baitha dekha hai? Yahaan

dikhega. Aur bhagwaan ke peechche shaitan? Woh bhi dikhega. Welcome to

Sankat City.” – Kay Kay Menon as Guru in Sankat city.

Last updated on Jun 26^th, 2009 at 23:40 pm IST--Sampurn Media