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He is not a man who is overtly worried about what people have to say about his films. For him, films have to tell a new

and original story every time and this is what prompts him to dwell into the life of a bar girl Chandni Bar or a woman

politician Satta or a socialite Page 3 or the corporate world Corporate. Now all set to tell a tale of those living in the

streets and spending their time on a signal, he is ready with his third in the trilogy of life in Mumbai - ''Traffic

Signal''.

Over to Madhur Bhandarkar.

How is ''Traffic Signal'' shaping up?
Touchwood, it has been shaping up quite well. It''s a slice of life film with a lot of realism attached to it. It tells you about the

day to day activities that happen at a traffic signal and how lives of people around it are affected. It is about innumerous

vendors, beggars, eunuchs, etc. who live their life at a signal. And yes, let me put it on record that this is not a kind of film

which is overtly intense or dramatic. I would put it as a ''dark comedy'' since there is a lot of humor to it.

Dark comedy? Now that''s a news since one was led to believe that Traffic Signal would be a lot dramatic
I won''t say that there is no dramatic moment at all but 60%-70% of the film has humor to it. Also, there is no story in the

film. It is in fact about these 60 characters who have their world centered on the traffic signal. Everyone has their own life

and how each of them make it happen on the road is what ''Traffic Signal'' is all about. What you would see is an element

of beggar mafia and how people from the grassroots level to the top are involved.

There is no story in Traffic Signal.

So who are these characters in the film?
Kunal Khemu plays an interesting character here whose job is to collect money from people on the signal. We have

shown an entire process of how this money moves from one channel to second, from second to third, from third to fourth

and so on. Since there are people even at the top who get their share of moolah collected from the beggars, it makes for

an interesting premise. Then about Neetu Chandra, everyone is aware that she plays a Gujarati origin girl who sells

embroidery stuff on the pavements. Upendra Limaye who played the main villain ''Bapu'' in ''Shiva'' is someone who

does ''rangoli'' on the road. Now this is a spot where people are expected to put in money. Konkana Sen is another

interesting character in the film as she is a night walker who is always surrounded by 2-3 men when she is on her job.

There is this gay character who again sells himself on the streets and hence turns out to be Konkana''s competitor. Apart

from all these people there is Ranvir Shourey who is a drug addict. Then there are beggars, eunuchs and so many other

characters who find their bearings on the signal!

Sudhir Mishra sounds like an unusual addition to the film too.
Yes, he plays the main villain of the film and to think of it, he was very reluctant to be facing the camera. He continuously

asked me if it was really necessary of him to be a part of the film as an actor. But I was very adamant and wanted to him to

be there. It was sheer gut factor that was driving me to get him on board. Meanwhile, you would be surprised to know

that so many senior people from the industry called me and asked me about my choice. They said, "Why don''t you cast

me instead?" But on my end, I was sure that Sudhir was the man for the role.

One heard Konkana was reluctant too.
Oh yes, she was not really comfortable with an idea of catching the nuances of a prostitute who eats pan, chews

tobacco, uses foul language and the works. But once she was on, she was all there for the character. One has to look at

the kind of job she has done in the film.

Agar mujhe chote shehron mein

Corporate chalani hoti to main iska naam ''Business ka baazigar'' ya ''Dhandhe ka Baazaigar'' rakhta,

But how about the box office returns?
Well, if a film recovers 4 times or more than the budget of the film, it is considered a hit. In that sense my ''Page 3'' was a

hit along with ''Corporate'' that made a table profit and did good business on box office too. This is why it surprises me

when people come up and say ki ''Corporate'' cities mein to chali lekin interiors mein nahi? But my question is ki

bhai, what is so shocking about it? I never set out to make a film that would be lapped up in the interiors or would be

easily identified by them. It was a film for the cities and it did quite well there. Agar mujhe chote shehron mein bhi

picture chalani hoti to main iska naam ''Business ka baazigar'' ya ''Dhandhe ka Baazaigar'' rakhta, ''Corporate'' nahi! On

the other hands, for some films one hears that it ran in the interiors but not in the metros. It is such a two edged sword.

People don''t understand that a film finds its audience based on its subject. Well, I did have hits in the form of ''Page 3'' and

''Corporate'' and I can already see as ''Traffic Signal'' being third in line.

''Satta'' is probably your one film bearing your stamp, be it ''Chandni Bar'', ''Page 3'' or ''Corporate'', which didn''t make

money.
Yes, and incidentally it is my favorite film. People come and tell me that ''Chandni Bar'' is their favorite or ''Page 3'' is what

they liked most or ''Corporate'' had a maximum impact on them. But if you ask me, I find ''Satta'' to be my best work. In fact

even Late Pramod Mahajan, whom I met in a flight, told me that he really liked watching 'Satta'.

People tell me that they liked ''Chandni

Bar'', ''Page 3'' or ''Corporate''. But if you ask me, I find ''Satta'' to be my best work.

Well, the film did have Atul Kukarni''s character bearing resemblance to Mr. Mahajan.
Laughs Yes, people tell me that, in fact a lot of them feel so.

So how did ''Aan - Men at Work'' come into picture?
After ''Chandni Bar'' and ''Satta'', lot of people came and told me that after such women centric subjects, I should make a

man centric film. ''Aan - Men At Work'' was a result of that. But what happens is that sometimes when you are set out to

make a film, there is a lot of passion involved but you loose the vision later on. Moreover in those days, there were a lot

of cop films being made and hence ''Aan - Men At Work'' didn''t really stand out. But hey, one should appreciate

the kind of cinema that I am making. At least I don''t watch a DVD in the night, copy it and then come ready with a script in

the morning.

No one is accusing you of doing so.
But then there are so many film makers who actually do that. I at least strive to come up with something new, something

original. At least no one can accuse me of not trying out things; some give me credit for that. How many film makers are

there who do so much of research for their films? I did so much of that for ''Chandni Bar'' or ''Satta''. For ''Page 3'', I actually

attended so many Page 3 events, for ''Corporate'', I attended board meetings and met with so many top notch corporate

folks. For ''Traffic Signal'', I went to one of the densest slums around i.e. Dharavi in Mumbai. How many film makers would

actually do that? In the kind of time I have put up for ''Traffic Signal, I could have got 4 films on floor but at least I am not

into rehashing or remaking.

In the kind of time I have put up for

''Traffic Signal, I could have got 4 films on floor but at least I am not into rehashing or remaking.

There has been speculation around that ''Chandni Bar 2'' is in the making. Can you please set the matters to rest

once for an all?
No, ''Chandni Bar 2'' is not getting made. Not at least for 2-3 more years. Yes, I agree it is a good idea and it would be

interesting to take the story of bar girls forward from the stage when bars have been closed and they are back on streets.

But things haven''t even reached conceptualization stage. When an idea clicks and there are signs of any progress, it is

only then when I would think of continuing the story of ''Chandni Bar''. But till then there is absolutely nothing happening

on that front.

Coming to a tangentially different topic, are you by any chance thinking of doing a film with your mentor Ram Gopal

Verma?
No, not in near future. I am right now quite busy and concentrating on setting my production house ''Madhur Bhandarkar

productions''. There are 2-3 films in the pipeline that need all my attention and hence there is no question of getting

involved elsewhere.