“You know what? Life really hasn’t changed… the proof? I still have to pay my rent,” says a laughing Neeraj Ghaywan when you ask him about how the success of his award-winning film Masaan has changed his life.
But, just as quickly he becomes serious. “There has been so much praise for the film, that I’m worried it’ll affect me… I’m what I am because of my humility but I’m scared that all this could get to my head,” he says.
Despite releasing in comparatively less theatres, Masaan has picked up tremendously. The industry’s top names — Shabana Azmi, Javed Akhtar and others have been praising Neeraj and he still feels like it’s a dream. “One of my best moments in this journey was after the film released...
“I got messages from many people, all telling me how different scenes from the film evoked memories from their own lives. If someone remembered the time they buried their father, then someone else told me about their love life. Since the characters were that real, everyone could connect to it,” he says.
Neeraj is still finding it difficult to adjust to the fame that Masaan has brought. “I’m a shy person and so when someone recognises me, I get uncomfortable. I don’t know how to handle it, so this does feel new,” he says. Which is why, after everything related to Masaan settles down, Neeraj wants to go on a break.
“I do want to go to some peaceful place so that I can get back to life, away from all the adulation. Look at Anurag Kashyap for instance, today he can’t shoot a single scene in a natural location without getting noticed… that’s what I want to avoid. I don’t want to lose the freedom of shooting in natural locales or through guerrilla shooting… so I need to get away,” he says with a laugh.
Masaan was released at a time when big films like Baahubali and Bajrangi Bhaijaan were battling it out at the box office, was that a bad release move? “We did think about the release date for quite a while, but we realised that every week there will be some film or the other that releases, so we went ahead with these dates. But, we didn’t envision that the two films would become such hits that even after the second-third week they would be running this well. But, we’re happy, our film is doing well despite being screened in few theatres... that’s all that matters,” he explains.
After gaining the attention of almost everyone in the country, how has Neeraj’s family reacted? “My parents are proud. Five years ago they weren’t talking to me because I left my corporate job to pursue films, but today they are extremely proud of me,” he says.
So what now? What does the future hold for Neeraj? “As of now I don’t have any idea. I need to take a break for that, but in the meantime I’m doing a few ad films that helps pay the rent,” he says.
