Shekhar Kapur reminisces about Mr. India, says ‘the film is still alive’

Acclaimed filmmaker Shekhar Kapur has a glorious filmography to his name, starting from his directorial debut Masoom (1983). Among his other milestones as a director was the Anil Kapoor and Sridevi starrer Mr. India (1989). In a recent interview, the filmmaker got candid while remembering the late actors Sridevi, Amrish Puri and Satish Kaushik, saying that the film is still alive while the characters are gone. He also said that he will not be making Mr. India again.

He revealed that he does not feel comfortable in making Mr. India again, because of the fear of failure. According to him, he has never repeated a genre where his films, Masoom, Mr. India, Bandit Queen, Elizabeth, The Four Feathers, What’s Love Got To Do With It? are all from different genres. Shekhar fears that if he repeats a genre, he will fail.

He also revealed that he would turn to his imaginary 11-year-old self while making Mr. India, who would give him constant feedback which added to the playfulness to the film. He said that now the same playfulness would be lacking in the film.

The filmmaker also believes that the Mr. India universe is similar to the Marvel universe, with each character having an independent story. He says that different stories could be churned out of Calendar (Satish Kaushik), Miss Hawa Hawai (Sridevi) or Mogambo (Amrish Puri).

Shekhar’s recent release What’s Love Got to Do with It? - starring Shabana Azmi, Emma Thompson, Lily James, Shazad Latif and Sajad Ali, among others - is about a filmmaker, who documents her neighbour’s arranged marriage to a bride from Pakistan.