“I continue to be a student of cinema” MADHUSUDAN KUMAR

He is not only a sitar player but also a renowned painter. After producing a film called Kadambari 40 years back and publishing a fortnightly called Hi, Madhusudan Kumar is now all set to bounce back as a director with Kadambari 2.

You are all set to make the sequel to your own film Kadambari after 40 years. Why?

Kadambari is a cult film produced by me way back 35 years ago but I wanted the young people of today to relate to the film in their own way. Kadambari 2 will not be a sequel to Kadambari and it has been titled Kadambari 2 just so that people can relate to it. It has nothing to do with Kadambari

Kadambari starred Vijay Arora and Shabana Azmi. Vijay Arora is no more today. Will the second part also star Shabana Azmi in any role?

As I said earlier, Kadambari 2 has nothing got to do with Kadambari except the title and hence will star only new faces. It is about a boy who falls in love with a girl who he has not seen but has only heard her voice over the phone. The film which is a love story which deals with split characters of a boy and a girl. One track is happening in reality and the other is on phone. The film has various rasas like classical music. I have managed to bring on board a producer and also have zeroed in on the new girl to play the title role

Do you think that today’s generation will be able to relate to Kadambari?

Today’s generation will definitely relate to Kadambari, because today content is the king and they have an open mind. If it is made well, they will like Kadambari 2 or Don 2. I do not want to piggy ride on stars but make newcomers iconic by vesting them in well etched roles in my films. If we tell stories which are relevant, we will be able to create icons out of today’s new faces.

What else do you plan to do besides directing Kadambari 2?

I write the screenplay and dialogues of the film besides directing it and composing music for it. Lyrics have been written by the late Amrita Pritam and Pt Kiran Mishra. I am also planning to ask the veteran music director Pyarelal of the Lakshmikant- Pyarelal duo to supervise the music. I plan to launch my film with the recording mahurat with Shreya Ghoshal as the singer singing the song made immortal by Ashaji way back in 1974 based on  the raga Asavari

Why are you not producing Kadambari 2?

I have opted just to be the co-producer and do not want to produce the film as I want to concentrate only on the creative aspects of the making of the film

You have never directed a film. What gives you the confidence to plunge into direction?

I may not have directed a film but I have learnt a lot by interacting at various international film festivals with filmmakers both national as well as international like Satyajit Ray, Akira Kurasawa, Gulzarsaheb,Antonioni  and Michaelangelo. My gurus are Akira Kurasawa, Elia Kazen and Michaelangelo

You are also a painter and a sitarist. How do you multi task?

Because I play sitar, I also paint. Recently my paintings were brought by someone in Los Angeles. My ultimate calling is Cinema because I have learnt from people like Satish Bahadur and P.K. Nair who taught me what film appreciation is at the Pune Film & TV Institute way back in 1977. I consider myself lucky that I continue to be a student of cinema.

You continue to be a bachelor. Why?

I am married to art and I never intended to marry. I have always liked to live life on the edge and do not want her soul to undergo the kind of in security that I tend to undergo in life and hence I have preferred to remain a bachelor.

What next, after Kadambari and Kadambari 2?

In the last 40 years, I have written three different scripts. I am also working on a biopic on Ustad Vilayat Khan. Besides these, I am also toying with the ideas of making a historical film on twin brothers who were the epitome of martial arts and pioneers of Kalari Payattu in India