The most influential film in my life was 'Guide': Madhur Bhandarkar

A famed director who is turning actor soon, Madhur Bhandarkar is very choosy when it comes to his favourite films. “I like all kinds of films but when it comes to the most influential film in my life, I would undoubtedly pick up Vijay Anand’s Guide. I think I have seen it at least 40 times, be it in on Doordarshan, video cassettes, VCDs or DVDs; I still continue to be fascinated by the artistic beauty of it,” he says.

The Dev Anand and Waheeda Rehman starrer broke many taboos decades back and gave India a film to be proud of. “At a time when just family films used to be made, it was a brilliant take by the director and was very much ahead of time. Be it Marco, Rosy or Raju, the characters in the film are wonderfully etched out and credit goes to timeless performances by the cast. Everything about the film was mind-blowing,” he adds.

His favourites also include great films like Guru Dutt’s Pyaasa, Mrinal Sen’s Mrigaya and Mani Ratnam’s Nayagan. “Guru Dutt has left an indelible impression on my mind with his films especially Pyaasa. The relationship among Guru Dutt, Waheedaji and Mala Sinhaji was brilliantly scripted and it was a remarkable take on society. And what beautiful songs,” he adds.

By the time Mithun Chakaraborty was famous with his cult following, Madhur had not come across his stint in Bengali cinema. “When I saw Mrinal Sen’s Mrigaya, I could hardly believe that this is the same man who acts in those masala potboilers. What a flawless performance!” And then there was Mani Ratnam too. “I sat down to watch Nayagan with a South Indian friend who was translating all the dialogues for me,” he ends.