No place for gangster films in Bollywood: Saurabh Shukla

Actor-director Saurabh Shukla, who has acted in several gangster films, says such films are not being made in Bollywood anymore as dons do not exist the way they used to a decade ago.

"You tell me where the gangsters are now. When we did 'Satya', gang war was a reality in Mumbai's underworld and its ripples felt. Society has changed, people have changed and with these the gangsters have ceased to exist the way they had been in the past. "A number of movies on Naxalite movement had been made in Bengali by stalwarts 30 years back.

But those films have been reduced to academic and passing interest as film subject now," Saurabh told here today. Saurabh, who began his film career with Shekhar Kapur's 'Bandit Queen' (1994), essayed the role of gangster Kallu Mama in the Ramgopal Verma classic gangster movie, 'Satya'.

He also jointly wrote the script with Verma. In town for the staging of his play "Two to Tango, Three to Jive" at the Vodafone Odeon Theatre Festival, the NSD graduate said he was happy to be associated with Oscar winning film 'Slumdog Millionaire' and hopes 'Barfi' also has a similar luck.

"In 'Slumdog Millionaire', we got Oscar and now 'Barfi' is beckoning. 'Barfi's journey to the Academy awards can make my association more significant," said Saurabh.

In 'Barfi', Saurabh plays ACP Kishan Bedi, a police officer from Darjeeling, who constantly chases Ranbir Kapoor's character throughout the film.

"Slumdog won eight Oscars. But before that I watched the shooting of Attenborough's 'Gandhi' which won as many Oscars. So you can say I had been thrice associated directly or indirectly with films having gone to Oscars," he said.

"Anurag had put his soul in 'Barfi'. But will celebrate if it wins the Oscar race in foreign language category, and even if it doesn't, that will not take away the humane appeal from one of the finest movies in recent times," he said. Saurabh, who has liked Bengali director Rituparno Ghosh's films 'Bariwali' and 'Abohoman', said he wants to be part of his future projects.

"I had also wished to meet the late Badal Sircar, one of the doyens of theatre movement in the country, but I am unlucky," he said about the creator of the Third Theatre movement, who died last year. Coming to 'Two to Tango, Three to Jive', directed by him, Saurabh said its focus is male mid-life crisis which leads to attraction to other women and addiction to smoking and alcohol as one starts ruing over things he failed to achieve in life. The six-day festival, showcasing the very representative of recent productions in the country, will continue till November 30.