Ratna Pathak Shah spoke to Brut at Cannes about not finding work, the demands of Bollywood stars back in the day and what makes her “deeply depressed” about the current state of affairs. Brut is the official media partner for Cannes Film Festival 2024. #Cannes2024
Category
🎥
Short filmTranscript
00:00This culture of hate, I cannot understand.
00:03This is not our culture.
00:06Where did this come from?
00:07I wasn't on Instagram, so maybe that's why I didn't get a job.
00:11That's also possible.
00:12I've been completely unemployed for a whole year now.
00:17Actor-director, theatre personality, Ratna Patak Shah,
00:20thank you so much for speaking to Brood.
00:22But the director part is very, very iffy, right?
00:26One or two plays, that's it.
00:28We'll still hold on to that tag.
00:30Do you think there's too much emphasis on how actors look today
00:34versus the craft of it?
00:35Yes.
00:37Simple answer, yes.
00:40But I don't know how to blame actors for that.
00:46Because these are the issues that are asked.
00:48This is the focus of the world.
00:50How many Instagram followers do you have?
00:52Are you getting work on that basis?
00:54I've heard that.
00:55I wasn't on Instagram, so maybe that's why I didn't get a job.
01:00That's also possible.
01:01I've been completely unemployed for a whole year now.
01:05So these are the kind of things that do seem to matter a lot.
01:08What to do also.
01:09Where will a person go to learn?
01:11If an actor wants to learn acting today, it's very difficult.
01:15You know, you've said in a different interview
01:18that the star culture was quite ugly in the 70s.
01:23And of the 50 odd years,
01:25how have you seen the industry change as far as culture is concerned?
01:30Much more professionalism.
01:32Much less hierarchy.
01:36That's one thing that I'm very, very happy to see.
01:39Could you expand on that?
01:41In the old days, I mean,
01:42actors would be treated in very different ways from the crew.
01:46Number one.
01:48Different kinds of actors would be treated very differently
01:51depending on their position.
01:53To a certain extent, it still exists.
01:55It's not like overnight everything's become hunky-dory.
01:58But there's less of it.
01:59There's less hierarchy visible on a set.
02:04Crew and cast is not two completely watertight compartments anymore.
02:10There's much crossover.
02:11Even in things like food.
02:14Completely different food for the crew
02:16and completely different food for the cast.
02:18Used to exist.
02:20And cast may be, depending on your status,
02:22what you're getting on a day of shoot.
02:25I mean, I've seen people throw their weight around
02:30and ask for a mango milkshake in the middle of a forest in Karnataka
02:35while shooting.
02:36This kind of real ridiculous stuff.
02:38And it used to be provided.
02:40And yeah.
02:41Otherwise, I'm going,
02:43I don't want to shoot. I'm not feeling well.
02:45All that would happen.
02:46So this kind of stupidity, there's much less of.
02:49And the more important thing is many more skilled people on a set.
02:53From dress dada all the way up to first AD.
02:58People know what they're doing.
02:59Less time is wasted, therefore.
03:01Tighter budgets, therefore tighter shoots.
03:04But there's another problem there.
03:08Because of this tight budget,
03:10working hours are ridiculously long.
03:13And for us actors, it's a 12-hour day.
03:17Before that, I mean, if you're a person who needs to get into hair and makeup before,
03:21then come before that.
03:23And then it's time to remove everything.
03:25And similarly for crew,
03:27come first, set up,
03:30remove everything at the end and then go.
03:32So it's like a 20-hour cycle on the ice.
03:34My goodness.
03:35And we're kids, so everything works out.
03:38But it's very difficult for me.
03:40I can't keep up.
03:42I'm absolutely...
03:45After about 7 o'clock, my brain stops functioning.
03:48But there's the push.
03:50I have to do it, I have to do it, I have to do it.
03:51Push, push, push.
03:52And since I have to do it in such a short time,
03:54the focus on quality decreases.
03:56Etc.
03:57So here are the big problems.
03:59To some extent, I'm getting the mood of the East India Company.
04:03That it's cheaper to make a film in India.
04:06Come here, make everyone work hard.
04:08And we're so many people.
04:10If you don't do it, they'll do it.
04:13Then no one's value remains.
04:15So these things affect people a lot.
04:20And I see this.
04:21Young people are getting burnt out so quickly.
04:23So quickly.
04:24So there's a burnout also in the film industry,
04:28which is creeping in.
04:29Of course.
04:30Not just in corporate or...
04:32Your industry, media.
04:34What will be your burnout level?
04:36If we're in this state, what about you?
04:39You're on 24x7.
04:41And that's not the way humans should function.
04:45I think we need some time for ourselves.
04:47We need time to think.
04:49Otherwise, what work will we produce?
04:52We'll just copy.
04:53And we're experts in that.
04:55Copy number one in India.
04:57So we've been doing that for so many years.
04:59Now we're doing something original.
05:01Because some people had time.
05:03They used to sit at home, think and write scripts.
05:07Today, they're asked to write three scripts in two minutes.
05:11And OTT is a beast.
05:14How do you mean?
05:15In this way.
05:16In the kind of demands that are made.
05:18The kind of time that is given.
05:20It's pretty tough.
05:22And it's coming all the way from the top.
05:25What are some of the misconceptions that people have of Bollywood?
05:27And would you like to clear that?
05:29It's not my job to speak for the film industry.
05:32But that it is a glamorous place
05:35is something that everyone should disabuse themselves of.
05:39A.S.A.P.
05:40There's very little glamour.
05:42It's a ten-minute job.
05:44Go to the ears, click a photo here, click a photo there.
05:46The job is done.
05:47The rest of it is extremely hard, painful, humiliating, depressing work.
05:55The waiting, the waiting that you have to do
05:59to get work on the set.
06:02To get work again.
06:04The kids who come to Bombay with the dream of becoming an actor.
06:08Looking at them, it feels good that they have come out with so much passion.
06:14Almost with a shroud over their heads.
06:16But it's such a difficult journey for these kids.
06:20It's painful, definitely.
06:21You grew up with different ideologies, exposed to different ideologies.
06:24How did that shape your opinion?
06:26We had discussions and fights almost non-stop in the house.
06:30And you see, that was a time, I'm talking about the 60s, 70s.
06:37When I was heavily influenced by all these things.
06:40And that was a time when we had just become independent.
06:46And there was a sense that we have to build this country.
06:51We have to create a language, particularly artistically.
06:57For the theatre, for film, for art, for discussion.
07:02And that was the interesting part of it.
07:04My mother was the president of the All India Women's Federation for a few days.
07:09Women from the women's federation used to come.
07:11Trade unionists used to come into the house.
07:14And my dad's fancy film friends would also be coming into the house.
07:17So, this whole mess, the mess that was created here, was very interesting.
07:23And it was civilized.
07:26The difference is that in those days, people used to listen to each other.
07:31They used to fight.
07:32But they used to fight over a topic.
07:34Thanks to Ma and her connections with writers and poets and actors and directors.
07:41It was always such a vivid kind of atmosphere.
07:46And that is what has made me truly Hindustani.
07:50I feel that a Hindustani is someone who accepts and celebrates diversity.
07:56That is it.
07:57I am a Hindustani essentially because I can live with many different ideas around me.
08:03And not have to hate any of them.
08:06This culture of hate, I cannot understand.
08:11This is not our culture.
08:14Where did this come from?
08:15This is a country that has welcomed people from all over the world.
08:19And has learned from everyone.
08:21Has taken something from everyone.
08:23This is our country.
08:25I am deeply depressed that we can give it up.
08:30What do you love, hate and tolerate about Mr. Shah?
08:34All in one?
08:35Love, hate, tolerate, all together?
08:37Or can it be different?
08:38It can be different.
08:39No, no. Love.
08:43His deep involvement with acting.
08:47I can love, hate and tolerate.
08:48All three in that.
08:50Largely love.
08:52Because it's a very special feature.
08:55Naseer really cannot be bothered with anything except the performance.
09:01And working towards the performance.
09:03It's an attitude that I have not seen in others.
09:08Literally, I am making this statement after some thought.
09:12I haven't seen this kind of focus in others.
09:16But it's hard also to live with.
09:18Ratna Patak Shah, thank you so much for speaking to Brood.