We have lost our grassroots heroes, we need to make both real and mainstream cinema – Apoorva Singh Karki

You grew up in Nainital. Usually boys of North India dream of becoming heroes, how did you get the idea of ​​becoming a director?

I don't know, I loved being with the camera since childhood. My father worked in the forest department. He lived in Jim Corbett Park for many years. At that time he had a camera with which I used to take pictures of animals, edit them and post them. I was interested in it since then, when after 12th my father asked me what I want to do next, I said that I want to make films. Then father said then get started, father himself was fond of films so he supported me a lot, but it is not that there were no challenges. We are from a normal middle class family so resources are very limited. It took 14 years to direct the first film. I struggled a lot in Mumbai but I do not think about all that because this journey made me who I am. Like from 2009 to 2014 I left Mumbai because my health was not good and money was not coming, then I did not know that this preparation would change my life.

Interview: If we have to bring people to the theatre, we have to show their stories and heroes – Manoj Bajpayee

The realistic approach of your debut film ‘Ek Banda Kaafi Hai’ was highly appreciated, so why did you think of making a commercial masala film like ‘Bhaiya Ji’ instead of that kind of cinema?

I always wanted to make such a film. Every person comes to the industry for some purpose. Some call it hard hitting cinema. I always wanted to make mainstream cinema. I get goosebumps watching the hero's entry on the big screen. When people whistle and throw clothes in the cinema hall, it is a completely different story. I also wanted to make such a film and we have been watching Manoj sir (Manoj Bajpayee) since childhood. I used to wonder why I have not seen him in such a film till date, while this is his hundredth film, so I said sir you have to do this. I am bored watching other people in slow motion and when you do this, you will look completely new. Manoj sir had the story, he wanted to make it art cinema, but I said sir don't do this. I will do it my way and that's how the film started.

'Bhaiya Ji' also has the influence of South Indian cinema. By the way, these days only South Indian films are running in theatres. Was this the reason for making 'Bhaiya Ji' in that style?

I have been a big fan of South Indian films. As a child, I used to watch them dubbed on TV. I wanted to make a true commercial film that had no lack of depth and performance. Just because I made 'Aspirant' or 'Ek Banda Kaafi Hai', it doesn't mean I will only make those films. I will do that as well as this. I don't want to play it safe, otherwise I will get bored myself. As for the long run of South Indian films, it is just a matter of time. Trends keep changing. Things have changed after Corona. It is also true that our relatable heroes are missing. We have lost our down to earth heroes. We liked Amit ji's (Amitabh Bachchan) films because they were relatable to us. This is also a big reason why Singham, Pushpa and KGF were successful.

You have done both the films with Manoj Bajpayee. Do you want to direct any other actor?

I have been a huge fan of Ajay Devgn since childhood. He is a commercial star. He is Singham but he also does hard-hitting films like Zakhm or The Legend of Bhagat Singh, so I was a huge fan of his. There was a time when I used to keep tickets of his films in my diary so that today I can watch his film.