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I vividly remember my first interaction with Madhur Bhandarkar when he was gearing up for the release of Corporate. Six years, quite a few films and several conversations later, one thing that has always held true for Madhur Bhandarkar is the sheer positive outlook that he brings with him. Always in a cheerful mood regardless of the work pressure he may be facing due to his film commitments of the tense situation he may be in due to certain unsavoury controversies in life, the man has never stopped smiling.
Currently in a holiday mood and looking forward to making some big announcements at the start of next year, Madhur is in a retrospective mood as he looks back at 2012 that saw him finally realising his dream of telling the tale of Heroine and then also getting acquitted of the rape charge that was haunting him for nearly a decade.
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“Well, of course it has been a great feeling and I would first and foremost say thanks to God. I have stayed strong all this while just due to my belief in God. This is the reason why I have always said that I am God’s blessed child,” Madhur brings on a smile here, “Obviously nothing would have been possible if not for my family which always stood by me. My friends, relatives, brothers, they have always been there since 2004 when the ordeal began.”
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However if one felt that he would be seen laughing away to glory after the feeling of being set free, that was not the case to be. Instead, it was a sigh of relief that one could clearly sense, hence proving it once again that beneath the status of a celebrity, he was a normal human being after all who was clearly disturbed by the happenings in his life and was not looking at a new phase ahead which didn’t have place for any blemishes from the past and was only looking ahead for a blossoming future.
“To survive eight and a half long years in such a situation is a very big thing but that never unfazed me or demoralised me,” he reminisces, “On the contrary my career has seen a huge jump, be in terms of box office success, critical acclaim or the National awards that came in. Otherwise you know, people do get demoralised or feel dejected since things like these are expected to hamper your growth and lower your morale. However I fought it out to get this all cleared. Ultimately this is over and all is well that ends well!”
Still, from the time the case was filed against him till as good as the recent times when he was acquitted, it is obvious that Madhur must have realised his true friends and acquaintances, especially from the industry. Has this been a learning curve in his life as a professional as well?
“See one thing is there that I would be very honest and precise about. I have never tried to sit down and analyse who is there with me or not. Industry equations keep changing all the time. When I started my career, my first film Trishakti was a disaster. It just came and went with a whimper. My whole perspective changed there and then. I don’t have any friends in the industry and I am absolutely in my own world. I have created my own brand of cinema and am very happy with it.”
Joginder Tuteja tweets @tutejajoginder
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