Gulzar's Maachis, the film about Punjab's years of militancy, has turned 30, and its director says it was a record of its time rather than a political statement. He was speaking to Variety India, The Times of India reported.
The film follows a young man, played by Chandrachur Singh, who is drawn into extremism and loses everything along the way. Tabu plays the woman he leaves behind, and her longing is carried by Lata Mangeshkar's song "Paani Paani Re". Jimmy Shergill also starred.
"It reflected the truth of those times"
"It is one of my most important films. I wouldn't call it a political film. It reflected the truth of those times," Gulzar said. "Cinema can only go this far and no further. We overestimate the power of cinema to change lives."
He added that Maachis was more rooted in the politics of its time than his other films. "So many lives, so many families get destroyed in the violence of separatism," he said.
On Tabu
Speaking about Tabu's short role, Gulzar compared her to Jaya Bhaduri. "Like Jaya, Tabu ushered an era of acting. She is not just unique, she is also very intelligent and sensitive. I would say she is the best actress I've worked with," he said.
Maachis and Hu Tu Tu
Asked about Hu Tu Tu, the political film he directed after Maachis, Gulzar said he had originally planned a different film for producer R.V. Pandit, based on a novel by Krishan Chander. Had he made that one, he said, the question of repeating himself would not have come up. He added that although Hu Tu Tu shared the tone of Maachis, he did not think Maachis was as political a film as Hu Tu Tu.
Why it matters
Gulzar's comments draw a line between showing a troubled period honestly and changing it. By his own account, Maachis made "a wide impact" because it showed what separatist violence did to ordinary families, not because it took a political side.