A lot was riding on Kuttey. It was the first Bollywood film of the new year after a terrible 2022; it had some of the finest actors in the industry―from Tabu to Naseeruddin Shah, Konkona Sen Sharma and Kumud Mishra; the dashing Arjun Kapoor carried the film on his shoulders; and the film was the directorial debut of Aasmaan Bhardwaj, son of veteran director Vishal Bhardwaj and singer Rekha Bhardwaj. However, it bombed at the box office. But Aasmaan, who studied screenwriting at New York University, says it was never meant to be a commercial blockbuster. Excerpts from an interview:
Q/What is your own assessment of Kuttey?
A/I’m too close to it right now to analyse it at all. Maybe two to three years down the line, when I watch it again, I would be more objective and critical. Right now I am very happy with the film I made because it is what I wanted to make right from the beginning and it has come out exactly like―in fact, better than―my visualisation.
Q/The reviews on social media and on the internet suggest that the film lacked the punch.
A/I haven’t read the reviews. I’m glad at least the film is being talked about and is being reviewed. What matters is, whatever be the perception, at least people have watched it.
Q/It didn’t do well commercially.
A/We made a film under budget, a little over 035 lakh. So, we have recovered our money and are not worried about losing money at all. It was anyway never meant to be a commercial blockbuster film.
Q/As a first-timer did you think Kuttey was a safe film to make?
A/Of all the scripts I had written, we decided that this is the one I wanted to make first. We want to make real cinema. Not write blockbuster films. Kuttey wasn’t a safe bet or anything like that for me just because I was starting out as a debutant. In fact, it was the most challenging. The shooting sequences were very tough.
Q/How is your cinema different from your father’s?
A/Mine is not too far from his. I like Anurag Kashyap, Sriram Raghavan and many from abroad, too. So, mine is an influence of all of them put together. I’m selfish and greedy to the extent that I write and make what I want to see first. If I like it, then I’m sure my audience will like it, too. I cannot play to the gallery and I cannot use formulae. Also, I’m lucky that I don’t have to worry about all that because I’m not producing my own films and not putting my own money. If an Aamir Khan’s film can fail at the box office, given his stature then, how can one really determine what drives the box office success? All we can do is to be true artists in ourselves.