‘Bipasha Basu is very excited’

Even after talking to him for an hour, you can’t get an insight into the man.

Amole Gupte, the writer and creative director of Taare Zameen Par, allows his mind to roam freely. A trained painter, writer and graphic artiste, Amole is reportedly going to act in a Vishal Bhardwaj film. Is that true? “May be,” is all he has to say. Nothing less, and nothing more.

Amole is known for the summer sessions for children. And, as much as the kids enjoy them, he enjoys them twice over. So, what are these sessions all about? What does this ‘mole frog’, as his kid friends call him, teach them? “Who? Me? Teach children? I learn from them. You look and listen keenly and you will know you have so much to learn from them,” says Amole. We put on our thinking caps and indulge in some guesswork on what he might be discussing with the kids. It is not difficult to gauge then that cinema and art must be the heart of these sessions. “Yes,” he confirms, “Art, fun and cinema feed these sessions. Audio visual art and theatre is all what happens here.”

It is Taare Zameen Par that catapulted Amole into the corridors of fame. And, he talks enthusiastically about it. But, before he says anything about the film, he clarifies, “TZP is not a Bollywood film. It is a reward of eight years of patience, of experiences and conversations with children by Deepa Bhatia, my wife, and me. We feel like we are the parents of the film. It is our baby.”
Amole is now working on two projects. But, he doesn’t want to give out the details so soon. “Through the film medium, I am trying to explore all factions of children. This time, I am trying to explore economic inequality,” he informs. Is there anything else he can share with us? “I will soon share the film,” he says jokingly.

And, the second film? “Well, it is about the severe passion for food,” he says. We try to probe further, and he tells us, “All I can say is that Bipasha Basu is very excited about this.” That is a probable hint that Bipasha would be seen in the film.

Coming back to TZP, does little Ishaan Awasthi’s role resemble Amole’s childhood? “Oh yes. Many episodes are exactly the way they happened to me. The absent note incident, a day out of school, being dazed, exploring the city, all that,” says Amole. And, what about getting into trouble with the folks bit? “Oh hell, yeah!” Amole laughs. “And, that’s the reason why it appealed to the audiences. It rings true because it comes alive on screen fuelled by real life.” If he treads a similar path, he will continue to experience success and fulfilment as always.

Related Posts :