Every film has its own audience, not necessarily found in theatres: Srijit Mukherji

Mumbai, Jan 17 (PTI) Director Srijit Mukherjee says for him the definition of success is not the box office performance of a movie but the freedom to tell stories on his own terms.

The National Award-winning filmmaker, known for directing successful Bengali films “Autograph”, “Jaatishwar”, “Chotushkone” and “Gumnaami”.

In Hindi, he has directed Vidya Balan-starrer “Begum Jaan”, Taapsee Pannu-led “Shabaash Mithu” and “Sherdil: The Pilibhit Saga”, starring Pankaj Tripathi.

Despite a lukewarm response at the box office, both “Shabaash Mithu” and “Sherdil” were well-received upon their release on OTT.

“It (the OTT performance) shows that every film has its own audience, which may necessarily not be found in theatres. For me, the definition of success is the freedom to tell stories on your own terms. As long as I get to do that, I think I am successful,” the director told PTI in a virtual interview.

The 45-year-old filmmaker said he is proud of his filmography as it is made up of the cinema that he stands for.

“I think Sherdil’ is a film which I am very proud of, the cinema that I stand for or the cinema that I make and present, I think Sherdil’ is the prime example of that.

” Shabaash Mithu’ also had its moments. But Sherdil’ is a film I am proud of.”

Mukherji is currently gearing up for the release of his next series ZEE5’s “Jaanbaaz Hindustan Ke”, headlined by actor Regina Cassandra. The edge-of-the-seat thriller centres on Kavya, a woman IPS officer.

With the show, the director said, the team is trying to present a story through the eyes of a woman, which is a rarity in the male-dominated cop drama space.

“This was a conscious effort as we often see web shows that deal with male cops, but in reality, there are a lot of brave, efficient and dedicated female officers as well.”

The director said he wanted to have a woman officer at the centre of the story without underlining that fact.

“The moment you try to underline that a woman is doing all these things, you are doing her a great disservice because then it becomes self-defeating. So, there is no separate underlining of the fact that a woman is at the centre of such acts of bravery because the moment you underline it, the implicit assumption is they are not supposed to, which I don’t think is correct.”

Mukherji’s brief to Cassandra was to retain her accent as the show’s story travels through various parts of the country.

“I wanted a very diverse sounding series, where people spoke their natural accent and that is what she did. I also focused and emphasised on physical fitness. So she worked out regularly and did all her stunts with safety precautions,” he said.

As a filmmaker, Mukherji said he feels inspired to chronicle stories about nationalism and patriotism.

“I feel inspired to tell stories about themes like nationalism and patriotism. It gives me an adrenaline rush. Since the audio-visual medium is powerful, be it cinema or OTT, it also sends out messages to audiences and people of the country. Everyone has their own definition of nationalism and jingoism, I have mine. I can’t pinpoint where and how I draw a line (on how much to show),” he added.

Also featuring Barun Sobti, Mita Vashisht, and Sumit Vyas, “Jaanbaaz Hindustan Ke” premiered on ZEE5 on January 26 in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu languages.