I will love my haters more
Not very long ago, someone forwarded a website review of one of my films. I was thrilled on going through the venom spewed at me. I couldn’t believe the amount of hatred the writer nursed against me. Interestingly, he saw the film with much more intensity and seriousness than I had. He saw it with the sole purpose of raping it.
Similarly, on a visit to Pune Film Institute, I was amazed to hear the abusive, violent comments of one of the students against my work. I was amused but also felt sad for him.
Indeed, it’s fascinating to see how my films are bashed and bitched out. At the same time, there have been very deep attempts to analyse my films. Down the years, in fact, it has been highly entertaining to read interpretations of my films. This, I think, is as entertaining as a scene from Sholay when Thakur is seething with rage about the massacre of his family. Gabbar Singh merely chuckles, “De jitni gaali de Thakur. Jee bhar gaali de.” (“Thakur, curse me as much as you want. Curse me to your heart’s content”).
My films serve the role of Thakur’s family, my hate club is Thakur and I am Gabbar. Unfortunately, Veeru and Jai finished off Gabbar but my hate club cannot finish me.
I can understand people being bored or disinterested… but why hate? I don’t buy the theory that this hatred stems from some sort of great expectations from me. I have made so-called bad films more often than not during the last 20 years. If one of my films is “bad”, it’s no surprise. The reverse is true — I have surprised people once in a while with a so-called good film.
I am not generalising it, but my detractors’ hatred is aimed at me rather than my films. They feel I get away with murder. They think I am an absolutely callous and dispassionate filmmaker and yet I can continue to make “crap” day after day. My films always find several backers. As for my detractors, with all their passion and their wonderful stories, they can’t locate a producer to hear them out, let alone fund them. That’s why the venom. This is like the anger self-styled, law-abiding citizens feel about the success of the unscrupulous and the corrupt.
Once I was trying to meet a producer, who in my view was making crap films, compared to the script I’d written. For hours I used to stand outside his office, devising plans to make him place his trust in me. In a way, I channelised my anger with positive results.
When there is someone on the top and you feel he doesn’t deserve his success, learn from what he has achieved. Resentment and anger are futile. Believe me, it’s a waste of time to hate someone. At times, love will at least get you some good sex. After reading this many of you will hate me more than you already do... but don’t forget that I will love you more. Mwwaah.
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