Click to play videoNew Delhi: He gave India two of its most lovable screen characters, brought Mahatma Gandhi – once imprisoned in textbooks – back into our homes and hearts, and remained the ever humble ad-filmmaker, who turned editor and then filmmaker that he started off as.
And those are just some of the reasons that make director Rajkumar Hirani worthy of the CNN-IBN Entertainer of the Year honour.
“For a filmmaker, the maximum happiness comes when he learns that his film is not only doing well, it received in a fashion that the whole nation seems to be loving it,” says the open-faced, affable filmmaker.
Hirani's father wanted his son to become a doctor, but the ambitious man – with stars in his eyes – chose to tread a less-taken path.
He made a dream debut as director with Munnabhai MBBS in 2003, where a lovable gangster with a heart of gold gave the country his very own jaddoo ki jhappi.
In 2006, Hirani revived Satyagraha for a cynical India and made Father of the Nation smile once again. India’s favourite divine fools - Munna and Circuit – returned after a hiatus of three years with a very important companion, and the old man with little round glasses and a walking stick once again became the focus of a mass movement.
The gentle and affable Hirani took Bapu to the box office and brought him into modern relevance.
“I think it (Satyagraha) worked in times that were much more turbulent and if it could work then, it can work now,” he contends.
Hirani's vision is not preachy or heavy with social messages. He just believes that the best solution for India's problems are Indians themselves.
A few roses, a few kinds words, combined with the idealism of the greatest Indian of all - and presto! India can change.
Lage Raho Munnabhai was packaged as a lighthearted film but it held up a mirror to society. Its characters were ordinary, yet managed to sufficiently move the audiences.
It was after Lage Raho… that forgotten word called ahmisa (non-violence) suddenly became fashionable.
“I still don’t know how long the impact would last, it’s been five months now and it’s still happening. It’s been quite a surprise for me that cinema can actually bring in some kind of a change,” says Hirani.
The director has yet another first to his credit. Munnabhai will go down in history as perhaps the first Bollywood film to be remade by Hollywood.
(For updates you can share with your friends, follow IBNLive on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and Pinterest)
More on IBNLive Right Now
TOP NEWS
MOST SHARED
PHOTOGALLERY
