Actor Rajat Kapoor thinks the clash between ‘Pathaan’ and the Assamese film ‘Anur’ is not a fight between regional cinema and Bollywood, but a clash between small and big-budget films.
Rajat Kapoor, widely known for his critical roles in different genres, is seen in a key role in Monjul Baruah’s ‘Anur’ which is getting released across Assam on January 27. ‘Anur’ also happens to be his first Assamese language film.
“It’s not a clash between regional and Bollywood cinema but small and big budget films. Even in Hindi, the kind of films in which I work and direct, always have this kind of problem,” Rajat Kapoor said, in a conversation with TheNewsMill.
Before getting released, ‘Anur’ had to struggle a lot and with the intervention of the Assam State Film (Finance and Development) Corporation, it finally got a few screens. Though the producer had booked the slot in April 2022, because of the arrival of big-budget ‘Pathaan’, ‘Anur’ was sidelined.
Now ‘Anur’ is being screened in 27 theatres.
“Actually, as it is a regional film, it has government support. But if you make a small independent film in Hindi, it has no support from that angle also. The fight is even worse. It exists between mainstream cinema and independent film anywhere. When you make an independent film, you know, that it’s not going to be easy,” he continued.
Rajat Kapoor is playing a retired IAS officer, Loshit Modliar in ‘Anur’.
On why did he choose to do an Assamese film with a lesser-known director, Rajat Kapoor said: “If the director is well known or lesser known, it doesn’t bother me. What matters to me are the script and the role that is being offered.”
“I think the script was a decent one and the role I had to play is a decent one. So, I said yes, when I was approached.”
Apart from Rajat Kapoor, Boloram Das, Jahanara Begum, Udayan Duarah, Bibhuti Bhushan Hazarika, Rajjashree Sharma and Bidya Bharati among others are seen in the film.
Rajat Kapoor, who has earlier acted in Bengali films, delivered his dialogues in Assamese in ‘Anur’.
“That was a little hard as it was not your language. So, I had to memorise the lines. With Hindi and English, I don’t have that problem… but with the new language, you can’t improvise much. That took a little bit of an effort but I could work around it,” he said.
‘Anur’ is based on a short story by Anuradha Sharma Pujaree. The story is about an aged widow who is a retired teacher living alone in the house built by her late husband and for whom the house and everything associated with it, are inseparable from the memories of her husband she carries through her lonely days and nights.
One day she comes across a trespasser who happens to be a widower and this suspicious intruder, through some happenings, comes across to her as a person whom she badly needs to break open the shell of her claustrophobic life, to whom she wants to confide her fear and desire.
The film is produced by Gopendra Mohan Das.
Speaking about the film, director Monjul Baruah said: “Anuradha Sharma Pujaree has always been one of the few Assamese writers I read for a nuanced understanding of the society I belong to. With my father’s death barely a month behind when I was contemplating a new project, the producer handed me a copy of a story by the novelist. I was stunned by the uncanny coincidence of the central character being a sensitive widow and my perception of my mother’s state of mind in the aftermath of my father’s death.”
“Suddenly Anuradha baideu’s that story made me empathize with several other widows of my acquaintance. I immediately felt connected to what I took as the subject of the story and so to speak I got hit by the idea of filming the story,” Baruah added.
