By Jilawatan

Now that designer Sabya-sachi Mukherjee is over with the couture week, he’s taken a week off. Unlike fellow fraternity members, his work now is of a more filmi kind – he’s started work on his first directorial venture. “It’s one of my priorities at the moment,” said Sabya. He began writing the script from August 1.

There are two parallel stories and he’ll work on the one which appears stronger in the discussion stage. He says, “It’s all in my head right now. I’m going to take a week off from work and start it with my writer.” He refuses to give the writer’s name, saying, “It wouldn’t be fair on her. She’s quietly writing two other films too, besides this one. I don’t want to upset her apple cart.”

As to the cast, Sabya insists it’s undecided, even as the names of friends Vidya Balan and Rani Mukerji do the rounds. But, he says, “I still don’t know if Vidya is there in the film. I’m very strict about my casting. If I think she doesn’t fit the role, she doesn’t fit. And I think Rani and Vidya both understand that. We are not friends because of what we can do for each other.” But, he’ll know soon enough if he’ll work with Vidya in his maiden venture. “There are two narratives. One of them will have Vidya and the other might not have. But, both films will be as vocal as I am about the socio political issues plaguing the country,” he says.

But, hadn’t he initially planned to make a dark love story? “The dark love story flew out of the window,” he says nonchalantly. It’s the changing socio-political fabric of the country that has got him hooked. “It’ll be a movie that makes you want to react,” he says. The Ayn Rand kinds? “I can’t really say. You know, if I ever wrote an autobiography, it’ll be like that movie – “Albert Pinto Ko Gussa Kyon Aata Hai.” Perhaps my movie will be like that and may be called “Sabyasachi Ko Gussa Kyun Aata Hai!”” he says.

But, despite its seemingly serious theme, Sabya says that he plans to make it a visual delight, though people should not expect any reference to the world of fashion in it. “Just because I’m a designer, people assume it’ll have good clothes. Shayad is mein ache kapde dekhne ko hee nahi mlienge aapko. It’s a movie that’ll reflect all that you feel bad about in the society.” Even though he says it’s neither like “Udaan” or “Devdas”, he does add, “It’ll be a strong, intense film, but one that’ll make you want to change things around. People should sit in a coffee shop and discuss it. I started the khadi movement singlehandedly in my workshop without the government. Just like that, I want people to start talking about issues. I don’t want to be a preacher. Even if 10 people come (I hope more will come) to watch the movie, they should go out thinking – let’s make a change. It’s not a coming of age film, but one that makes one want to make changes around.”

But the designer himself doesn’t plan to make an appearance. “Perhaps if there is a farmer in the film, I’d do that role,” he says.

At the moment, his only focus is his writer. He says, “Today all the big studios are in a mess, because they are clueless. Big star ko le rahe hain, Sabyasachi ko le rahe hain, Rahman ko le rahe hain – fir movie kyun nahi chal rahi hai? Because they are not paying the most deserved – the writers. A good story can sell a movie. Nothing else can. Money should be paid to the writers. The distributors’ system has affected the industry adversely. They’ll say is mein Mallika Sherawat ka scene laga dijiye, waterfall de dijiye, thoda sex daal dijiye … movie chal jayegi. Today, you can’t plant such things. A lot of people must have watched “Ram Teri Ganga … ” to see Mandakini under the waterfall. But today you can’t call the audience just for that. They have easy access to pornography. Sex cannot sell a film, an idea can.”
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