Garmi director Tigmanshu Dhulia: People watch films like they are eating popcorn

Noted actor-dialogue writer Tigmanshu Dhulia has been in the news lately for his new directorial venture for SonyLIV - political thriller series, Garmi. Known for his work in Paan Singh Tomar, Saheb, Biwi Aur Gangster Returns and Gangs of Wasseypur, did you know Tigmanshu served as the casting director for Shekhar Kapur’s Bandit Queen and also wrote the dialogues for Mani Ratnam’s Dil Se..?

After serving in the industry for so long, does he think that the audience has evolved over the years? “Our society has changed, people are leaving behind the sense of what is good and what is bad. People’s aesthetics have changed as well. I can say our audience has grown. but it hasn’t evolved. In fact the level has gone down,” Tigmanshu said in an interview with ETimes.

Adding to that, the actor -director said, “At times, it is frustrating. I don’t know who am I making my content for? People don’t have patience. They watch films like they are eating popcorn, and I hate going to theatres now. They’ve turned the theatres into their living room - you lie down, you are given a quilt, there are people serving you coffee and nachos. You have no respect for the work in front of you... it takes me six minutes from my home to the cinema hall across the street and the last film I saw was Ghode Ko Jalebi Khilane Le Ja Riya Hoon and before that I saw Joker (Joaquin Phoenix’s Hollywood thriller). I want to go and watch films in the theatres, but I hate the crowd around me, as they talk on the phone while watching the film, I can’t take it.”

With Garmi being an OTT release, is the National Award-winning actor-director-dialogue writer now more focussed on digital platforms? “I will not say OTT was something I was looking forward to. But when the opportunity came and we realised the technology changed, I thought it is a good world to inhabit. Also in films, since you have limited time, you are only pushing the plot forward, you can’t nurture a character. At first, I was offered only to direct the first couple of episodes of web shows like Criminal Justice and Out of Love. But after that I jumped into The Great Indian Murder and Garmi, and I’m enjoying it a lot. Also on OTT, the creator has better control,” Tigmanshu elaborated.

Also read: Exclusive! Tigmanshu Dhulia on making Garmi: I wanted to revisit my first film, Haasil

The Garmi cast includes actors Vyom Yadav, Puneet Singh, Veeneet Kumar, Jatin Goswami, Pankaj Saraswat, Anushka Sharma, Ashish Virendra Chowdhary, Jatin Sarin, Deepraj Rana, Mukesh Tiwari and Disha Thakur. Meanwhile, Tigmanshu is also collaborating with Kamlesh Pandey and Iqbal Rizvi to work on Mughal-e-Azam director K Asif’s biopic.

Also read: Garmi review: Tigmanshu Dhulia's web series is like buckets of water pouring over a dull fire