"I was sidelined & abused for supporting Prime Minister Modi": Film director Madhur Bhandarkar

NewsBharati 24-Feb-2024 12:13:38 PM

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In a major development, film directors Madhur Bhandarkar, Vipul Shah, and Leena Yadav came together in a session at ABP Network’s annual summit ‘Idea of India’. Discussing about the topic, "Has Cinema Become Political Today", all three directors shared insights on it. However, during this interaction, Madhur Bhandarkar revealed that he was sidelined for supporting Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Madhur Bhandarkar and Vipul Shah also expressed their opinion about the Ram Mandir.

Madhur Bhandarkar said,

“I made films like Chandni Bar and Traffic Signal. I showed a lot of poverty and related issues. I have a very secular personality. I am friends with people of all religions - Hindus, Muslims & Christianity, all kinds of friends. Suddenly in 2014, I openly supported, very vocally, Mr Narendra Modi for the post of PM. Suddenly overnight, I was marginalized, sidelined, and got abused. I used to feel good when I used to make films. I go everywhere, Haji Ali, Ajmer Sharif. I am a proud Hindu. But when I supported him, I was suddenly considered as a communal.”

He added, “What is communal in Ram Mandir? When I attended the iftar party, no one spoke about how I became a staunch Muslim. When someone goes to the Ram Mandir, the faith in the country, then you should not look at it from that point of view. Those who were invited went there. I went to the Dubai temple for consecration. Now people have become selective. People have to see how everyone’s point of view is different in the industry. People often call them a ‘Bhakt’ whose point of view is not suitable to them."

Adding in the same context, Vipul Shah, the director of The Kerala Story said during this discussion,

“If I go somewhere for my religion, I am communal, what a ridiculous theory this is. This is a change. An atmosphere had been created that it was a shame to call oneself Hindu. But now such an atmosphere is there that it has become cool to say Hindu. An attempt is being made to combine it in one sentence that this is hyper-Hinduism. If someone else has the right to support a political party, why can’t I?"

Leena Yadav said,

“I don't think films can be made without politics. Any story you tell comes with its politics and every filmmaker reveals their politics in whatever story they tell. It's there in the way you frame your shots, it's there in the way a character speaks."