Thanks to Ajay Brahmatmaj who provided his detailed interview with Ashutosh Gowarikar to PFC.
AB: Where you spent your childhood. You belong to Mumbai or came here from outside. When you were introduced to cinema?
AG: I was born and raised in Bandra in Mumbai. I still live in same house in which I was born. I had no connection with film Industry. When I was in school then I never desired that I would become an actor. My father has been a police officer so he also had no connection with film industry. We used to live in a Bungalow owned by film star Kumkum ji. She had acted in Mother India and many other films. We knew her. Many stars used to come to her home.
I did a play when I was in 3rd standard. I played a sepoy in that play. I had no dialogue in that play but it was telecasted at Doordarshan also. But then this thought had not occured to me that I would be joining films or acting as a profession.
Later when I joined college, then during my B.Sc years, I started thinking about the different options, possible for me. College life gave opportunity to expand interest in extra curricular activities also and I applied to join, Folk dance, Chorus and plays etc and by chance I was accepted in every field. So during those three years I participated in so many things and a confidence was developed inside me that I could act.
Ketan Mehta ji had come to our college. He was searching for new actors to make his film Holi. He saw my acting and asked me if I wanted to do his film. I said,”Naturally, I would do it”. Only after doing Holi , it occurred to me that acting could be my profession. By chance I became an actor.
AB: You might have been watching films. How many films you used to watch every week or every month..?
AG: We had a good frequency of watching the films. Mother and father, both used to like watching the films. We used to watch atleast 2 films in a week. They used to decide which film should be seen on the basis of U or A certificate.
First film I saw was Aradhna. Rajesh Khanna used to wear Guru Shirt, with double buttons, in the films and I also got one such shirt. Second film was Ramanand Sagar?s Ankhein and I saw it around 14-15 times at the home of Kumkum Aapaa. There we used to see films on the wall through a 60 mm projector and you may remember the picturization of the song ? Ye Tara? in Swades. I had memories of watching films through projector. So films had been leaving a strong impact on me.
AB: Did you have preference for certain films? How you used to decide which films should be seen and which should be avoided?
AG: Mostly parents used to decide and if reports of a film were good then surely we used to watch that film.
AB: These days people say that public can smell, which film is good or bad? Was it same then also?
AG: Certainly this was there. I saw every film of Amitabh Bachchan but one film I did not go to watch and that film was Alaap.
See I am watching Suhag, Zanzeer, Imandharm, Trishool, Deewar and suddenly there comes a low profiled poster of Alaap showing Amit ji in different format and I am not interested in this film.
According to me same happened with Swades also. In the poster Shahrukh is sitting in a boat so audience like me would not have gone to see the film. I did not go to watch Alaap. Audience will be there like me today also who might have decided not to watch Swades after seeing Shahrukh sitting in a boat. They might have felt it was something different.
So according to me audience smell such things and they think whether they have to see such films or not? Now Alaap was a good film but there becomes a trend for an audience.
These days audience don?t ask questions. We used to ask questions about films. We were supposed to know four things.
Who is the hero?
Who is the heroine?
Who is the villain and who is the comedian?
If its mentioned on the poster that film has Dharmendra, Hema Malini, Mehmood and Pran then film should be wonderful. Because hero is wonderful. Mehmmod is comedian so there will be a full dose of comedy. Villain is strong. Now that thing is lost because mostly hero himself does comedy now. Villains have been changed now.
Earlier we used to know that because Pran is the villain so there should be an amazing villaingiri in the film. In this film he has played a dacoit so in next film he would play a murderer. Then villains used to do small crimes. Now villains can not be satisfied by killing someone and he has to sell the country now.
Earlier people used to see casting. Take example of Madhumati. Dilip Kumar, Vaijayanti Mala, Pran and Johnny Walker are there, means film w?d be good. Now that trend regarding film watching has been lost or perhaps we have come ahead along with the time.
AB: You did Holi in 1985. You focused on acting after that. You might have got opportunities.
AG: Certainly. I was enthusiastic that I had interest in acting and people used to say that I have little talent also. I had not taken any training in acting. I did not join any film school.
AB: FTII was there why you did not go there?
AG: FTII had closed the acting course by then. People were coming from NSD only. Roshan Taneja Saab had acting school in Mumbai. It did not occur to me that I should take systematic training of acting. After Holi, Amol Palekar took me in his TV serial Kachchi Dhoop. Later I got Mahesh Bhatt?s Naam and Sayeed Mirza?s Saleem Langde pe mat ro.
I thought,? I am getting projects continuously so I am certainly doing something. Now I can not take a break to go to film school or Delhi?. Then came a time when suitable films stopped coming to me. I was becoming typed in a certain kinds of roles only.
But I got to know about contribution of technicians in the films. Through acting I got to see many other processes associated with the film making. Then I developed my interest in direction.
AB: What were the criteria in those days to be a successful actor.
AG: I must tell you. Whoever comes in film industry, he comes here to become a hero. Even singers come here to become hero. They keep a dream that they could become a singing star like Kishor Kumar. See minutely singers of hindi films, you will find that they all may have glimpses of desires to become heros in the films. They have a style in their singing even. Give them roles and they will play those roles.
So some people become hero and some start playing character roles. Some go to TV and some become producers. After coming here in film industry everybody searches some position to stay here. Glamour world?s attraction is so strong that no one wants to leave the place. If acting is not working then people start doing other things. This has happened with me that?s why I am saying this. I will call them very clear minded people who got an understanding after 4-5 years of struggle that film industry was not for them and they went back and joined business or whatever and did progress there.
I meet people who went back to their old places but whenever they meet they don?t forget to ask that if there are some roles suitable for them. So everybody has his own experience.
AB: Kind of roles, you were doing then, were able to bring you money also? If I may ask you clearly what was the financial position then?
AG: You join banking and get a fixed salary. There is no certainty in film business. People celebrate here after getting the roles and not on getting the cheques. Roles are important than cheques here because through them only you can show your talent. When your position becomes bit strong only then you get courage to ask for money also. This is an unwritten rule of film industry.
AB: That means you also did not get money initially. But being elder son you might have some responsibilities?
AG: Ok you mean in those terms. I will call me fortunate that I got full support from my father. He said,”Do acting but take care of studies also. Finish the degree as its very important”.
I told him about Ketan Mehta?s offer to do a film with him. My father granted his permission and when after finishing the film I told him that acting w?d be my profession then he said,? O.K I am with you. But decide a time limit first. Say we decide for 2 years and you try for 2 years and I will support you but after that you will have to think about your profession. If nothing happens in acting then we have to think how your educational degree can be used?. So I had support from my parents. Perhaps because of their own liking towards films was the reason.
AB: Means it was a reputed profession to work in films?
AG: No.. film industry has its own good and bad charateristics.
They had said,? Go and follow the good things as that is better?. When first time I told them that I have got the role of a villain then they were bit apprehnsive and said,” No its not good? this rape etc” but then they understood that it was part of acting only. It was Indrajit film. I did not enjoy playing villain, as it had no shades and motivation. I could not get opportunity to do something like Pran used to do.
AB: So you became a villain also?
AG: It was funny. Whenever I used to go to get a role of a hero, people used to say why I didn?t try for villain as I lacked in softness which was necessary to play a hero and when I started searching roles of villain I was told that I was too soft to play villaneous roles. So I was moving here and there like a ping pong ball. Then I thought that they were telling me in polite manner that I was not talented enough. But I tried continuously and whatever roles I got I did. I was lucky that I got understandings of friends like Deepak Tijori, Aamir Khan and Shahrukh Khan. Deepak and Aamir gave me initial chances. Aamir suggested,? We should do a film but we should start it after 1 and half year only?.
In the mean time Deepak Tijori offered me Pehla Nasha. Baazi came after that.
AB: you continued acting after becoming director also?
AG: No, acting in films was closed for me. I started acting in serials. And reason was my failure in direction. Both my early films were flop films and my direction shop was also closed. When a film does not work then blame goes on director and hero comes later in this blame game. There could be many reasons behind the failure of films but people and producers had lost their faith in me. In the mean time I did “CID” serial on TV. Role was interesting. Then I did ?Wo?.
When my films were released then I had thought that I had made some great pieces of art. Audience could not understand my films.
There is fashionable to say that my film is 10 years ahead of its time and today?s audience could not understand it. When I think now then I clearly see my foolishness.
Why to make a film for future based audience?
Why not to make a film for today?s audience?
I introspected for one year and found that there were problems with me and my vision only. My scripts were lacking. Concepts of both the films were weak.
Many people said that if Aamir Khan was there instead of Deepak Tijori in Pehla Nasha then film could have worked. Then came Baazi and people said that if Sunny Deol or Akshay were there instead of Aamir Khan then film could have worked in action category.
Truth is films could not have worked in any case. Problem was not there with the actors and both had given good performances. I got the lessons and started thinking about new films.
AB: You decided to do new things or followed introspection and then reached to some conclusion?
AG: My arrogance was lost after the failure of early two films of mine. Arrogance had developed this idea that audience could not understand my films. Then I realised and started thinking that why and how big directors like Bimal Roy and V Shantaram made films? I started watching their films again. I tried to understand their films and many things were revealed to me.
AB: Please first tell me from where money had come for Pehla Nasha? How you arranged the money?
AG: Muhammad Raheem, Viral Shah and Deepak Tijori were the producers. Deepak had brought two of his friends. They showed faith in me and I broke their faith. They had thought that Deepak would be launched and their company would be established.
AB: Can I say that because you belong to Mumbai and had generated contacts during your acting days so you got relatively easy for making your first film?
AG: Certainly. I must tell you I was with Aamir Khan in Holi. I did Circus with Shahrukh Khan. I had competition with Deepak. I was student of Meethi Bai College and he represented NM college. We used to compete in inter college competitions. We started our journey together and grew further.
I was the original cast for ?Maine Pyar Kiya?. Suraj wanted the pair of “Kachchi Dhoop?. Later he thought I was a misfit and while Bhagya Shri was fine but I should be changed. Later Salman came in. We used to interact. I knew when Salman went to meet Suraj.
It became easy for all these reasons. I had not come in this line with a pre-concieved notion that I would become a director in future.
Direction is a technical medium. If one has to come in direction then he should learn direction from FTII Pune, Satyajit Ray Institute Kolkata, or from film schools of Delhi and Chennai. I had this benefit that due to my acting work I was able to learn though indirectly the basics of direction also. People who can not afford expenditure to study in a film school they should come to assist directors.
AB: You know very well that for a new person its very difficult to become even an assistant. Everybody asks what is the experience? Without beginning how experience will come?
AG: Some people reach directly to directors and say that they don?t know anything but they want to work with them. This will not do. You should know something atleast. Something you might have learnt. You might have read atleast something. There should be a passion towards films. One should be able to say that yes he knows Satyajit Ray, Shyam Benegal or contemporary filmmakers work as he has seen and read about them and understand their works. I don?t know the technique of directions but I understand films. One should watch and study the films of that director with whom he is going to meet. To assist is necessary as only then one can learn the technical process. Contacts will be developed and one will be exposed to difficulties of film industry. Its not necessary that all can get work as soon as they enter in film industry. So to enter in to the direction one must start as an assistant.
The film Madholal Keep Walking, releasing on 27th August,2010, is directed by Jai Tank. Staring- Subrat Dutta, Pranay Narayan, Swara, Ashok Mishra and many more. 
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