Cannes is talking about…Neeraj Ghaywan

Until last week, Neeraj Ghaywan was no more than Anurag Kashyap's trusted assistant director. But today, he is being looked upon as the fresh new voice of Indian cinema. Ghaywan's debut film Masaan (Crematorium) has already won the Filmmaker Award at the Sundance Lab, been chosen among the top films to be screened at the Un Certain Regard category in Cannes and is being released across France by Pathé, the biggest producers and distributors of cinema in Europe. Masaan's screening at Festival de Cannes 2015 received a five-minute standing ovation—and we hear this is just the beginning. Ghaywan spoke to Vogue just days before he flew to the French Riviera:

You were a successful MBA professional making a lot more money than most young filmmakers today. How did the shift happen?

I'm from Hyderabad; I belong to a middle-class Maharashtrian household and had to keep up with all the conventional expectations from the only son in the family. My first big job was with Tech Mahindra. It was a comfortable life, but I always found myself being drawn towards visually exciting work like making posters and videos. It is when I joined the film blog Passion for Cinema (started by Anurag Kashyap) that I understood how deep my connection with movies was. I was working and simultaneously editing the blog.

Did you always want to direct?

I used to spend time with Anurag [Kashyap] when I was associated with the blog and discuss films with him. I remember one day, I called him up from office and said I can't work here anymore. I was almost in tears. I even told him to be honest with me if he thought I did not have what it takes to be part of his world. But he said I shouldn't take short cuts. He immediately asked me to come assist him in Gangs of Wasseypur. The first question I asked him was how much my CTC would be. Anurag just laughed and said he'll pay my rent whenever I needed it. I hung up and I suddenly felt this weight off my body. I went back to my desk and immediately typed in my resignation letter and sent it out.

 
 
Stills from the film 'Masaan'.

How was your experience of assisting Kashyap in Gangs of Wasseypur?

At age 30, I was starting a new life, from scratch. We did 4am shifts and we'd wrap up shooting to 1am the next day. I couldn't feel my legs the first 10 days as I'd be running around lugging a printer from one corner to another. It was so strenuous that I thought someone was playing a prank on me. But slowly I started to understand how much I loved it. I was very good at research, so I volunteered to do it for all departments from costume to art. My corporate experience did come in handy here and I'd try and make myself as useful as possible. I was good with Excel so I'd keep continuity sheets and then I was also asked to be part of post-production. I'd feel so guilty about starting off so late in life, that I'd work with blinders on. There was no time to party!

Your first short film, Shor, was very well received. Did that make you confident about making your first feature?

A very good filmmaker and critic from FTII named Jaideep Verma told me this after watching Shor-'Passion is finite'. That line still haunts me. That was then that I decided I was ready to make Masaan. The story of Masaan was written during my corporate days when my roommate spoke to me about a whole community of people in Varanasi who cremate dead bodies. He said these people have no compassion towards their job. They are so used to dead bodies that they feel nothing towards them. I concocted a story right then and the idea haunted me for a long time. Then right before I stared work on Gangs I wrote a first draft to the film.

Walked the red carpet with team #MASAAN. For the screening of Sorretino's YOUTH! http://pic.twitter.com/OiwIbg3aEV

— Neeraj Ghaywan (@ghaywan) May 20, 2015

What is it about the story of Masaan that has brought it so much international attention?

These are three stories that meet at one point on the banks of Ganga. Masaan is about two very different brothers who are part of this community of people who cremate. It's also about a young girl who is a receptionist at a coaching centre and who has an affair with a student in a hotel room. And the third tale is about this girl's father who is an honest pundit, trapped between paying a bribe and being shamed because of his daughter. Everyone who has read it has come back with a positive response irrespective of where they come from.

Not everyone who assists successful filmmakers makes it to where you have. Are you nervous about being accepted by audiences?

I don't think so. I was nervous about making my first film and I've done that. Now I have to just watch it unfold. I'm thrilled about Cannes! There was a point in my life when my parents stopped speaking to me because I chose cinema. This is now an affirmation for all those tough times. Two days after saying yes to assisting Anurag [Kashyap] for Bombay Velvet, I backed out and told him that I want to make my movie. He kissed my forehead that day and said he was proud of me. Now all I want to do is start work on my next film.

Watch the trailer of Masaan.

Video: Youtube