'I don't worry about making my films accessible'

LENDING the mundane with the magical, the poems of Vinod Kumar Shukla weave a world of their own.

- SHREYAS PANDE

LENDING the mundane with the magical, the poems of Vinod Kumar Shukla weave a world of their own. The earthly sounds of Hindi are so rooted in his poems that it's difficult to imagine them in a different language. For instance, consider the titles of his poems translated into English by Arvind Krishna Mehrotra: 'Kabhi Ke Baad Abhi' becomes 'After then comes now', and 'Koi Adhura Poora Nahi Hota' becomes 'Nothing unfinished is completed'. Or take the title of his novel, 'Deewar Mein Ek Khidki Rehti Thi', which becomes 'A Window Lived in a Wall' when translated by Satti Khanna to English. It is difficult to retain the luminous essence of his words in a different language. Director Achal Mishra understands this struggle. The title of his newest film (streaming on MUBI), capturing Shukla at his home over two afternoons, is named after his poem 'Chaar Phool Hai Aur Duniya Hai'. Achal feels it is nearly impossible to render this in another language. "Arvind ji has translated a lot of his poems, but even he gave up with this one," he reveals. Interestingly, Achal first discovered the poet through Arvind's English translations before reading the original in Hindi. "His poems have become a part of my daily life now," says Achal. However, he never thought of making a film on the writer; it was a coincidence. Achal was visiting hi