A leading producer-director is now planning to shoot his 'Mumbai' film completely away from Mumbai. "That way it's a win-win situations. We get all the stars and crew to focus completely on our project and we avoid any trouble."
But the first director to actually move out of Mumbai would be Sudhir Mishra. In what could be considered a first for a Bollywood filmmaker Sudhir Mishra has decided to shift base from Mumbai to Delhi.
This is the first time that a filmmaker from Mumbai has actually taken the decision to move away from the headquarters of Hindi movie-making and be active from another city.
Reasons the avant-garde director, "Why not? Why is it not possible to make films out of Delhi? I find myself the atmosphere in Mumbai getting progressively non-conducive to concentrated creativity. I feel isolated in Mumbai.
Everyone in the industry either belongs to either a film family or an empire. You're either this one's grandson or that one's grandfather. In Mumbai I keep forgetting I've a distinguished family background. My grandfather was the chief minister of Madhya Pradesh.
In Mumbai I feel vulnerable and anonymous. All my friends and relatives are in North India specially Delhi.I'd be in a much more comfortable frame of mind in Delhi. "
Sudhir says he has as many as six homes in Delhi to live in. "Although I've a fabulous home on Madh Island in Mumbai I find myself getting lonely here. I've no wife or children. I want to go back to my roots. I want my family and friends to take over my life, look after my home and finances while I make movies."
The first of Sudhir Mishra's post-relocation films would be a Delhi-based thriller. "I want to shoot a thriller in the Delhi winter. I want the mist and the fog that covers North India during winter time. I want those visuals of only car headlights being visible in the fog. You can't get that in Mumbai."
Sudhir is confident he can make films from Delhi. "Half of our film industry is shooting in Delhi. Recently Imtiaz Ali shot Love Aaj Kal and Rensil d'Silva shot Kurbaan in Delhi. I'm sure I can shoot films in Delhi.It's not as if I'm giving up Mumbai. I'll spend a part of the year in this city. I love Mumbai too much to abandon it."