'THESE WERE STORIES I'D SEEN FOR REAL

'My film will not only be a reminder for all of us who have gone through these hellish two years, but also a reference point for future generations and for the four-five year olds who would have forgotten everything by the time they grow up.

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His is a name that immediately brings to mind hard-hitting, true-to-life films like Chandni Bar, Page 3, Traffic Signal and Fashion. Madhur Bhandarkar is now gearing up for the premiere of his next film, India Lockdown, at the International Film Festival of India that flags off in Goa from November 20.

A gung-ho Bhandarkar tells “The beauty of this film is that the characters seamlessly merge into each other to present a cohesive picture of India during the first few weeks of the first lockdown.”

The idea of India Lockdown must have come to you when you were locked in your own home during the lockdown?\

Yes, during the first lockdown.

I was reading a lot, watching the news on TV, listening to what was happening around me, it was heart-wrenching!

Everyday there was a new calamity, a new story.

That’s when the idea of making a film on how the lockdown was affecting different segments and strat as of society came to me.

I was fascinated by the idea of documenting the lockdown, the first 30-40 days.