It is not easy for first-time filmmakers to find backers for their scripts and films, more so when the subject is ‘unconventional’, which is another word for non-commercial. A debutant filmmaker found this the hard way some 20 years ago. Even after he began filming, his backers backed out, leaving him in a hole. Then, a miracle at Kumbh Mela saved him.
The director who had no takers for his first film
Much before he became a household name as Ramadhir Singh in Gangs of Wasseypur, Tigmanshu Dhulia made a name for himself as a filmmaker, telling rooted stories from the heartland. The film that introduced him to the world was the 2003 release Haasil, based on student politics in Allahabad. The film starred Jimmy Sheirgill and Hrishitaa Bhatt, alongside Irrfan Khan. However, there were no takers for the film. The film’s IMDb trivia page states that Tigmanshu Dhulia told in an interview that nobody wanted to produce this film although everyone liked the story. Dhulia's friends from theatre group stepped up and arranged money for him.
The miracle at Kumbh Mela
Having got the money from his theatre friends, Dhulia and his team went to Allahabad (now Prayagraj) to shoot it at the Kumbh Mela. The shoot needed to be timed just right because the fair is held only once every 12 years and the filmmaker said he was lucky to have generated the funds in time. Eventually, he was able to shoot the film’s climax at the busy mela, following which his fortunes turned. After he showed the climax to several producers, he got some support but that too delayed.
Tigmanshu Dhulia with Irrfan Khan
How Haasil changed Tigmanshu, Irrfan’s lives
Even after getting some backers, Dhulia had to struggle for two more years to get the film released. Jimmy Sheirgill and Hrishitaa Bhatt were both known faces in the industry at this point with Jimmy having appeared in Maachis and Mohabbatein, and Hrishitaa starring in Asoka opposite Shah Rukh. But Irrfan was largely an unknown commodity. Even though he had appeared in a handful of films and TV shows, he was not a familiar face. But Haasil changed that. The film released in 2003 and even though it didn’t do great business, Irrfan was praised. He even won the Filmfare Award for Best Actor in a Negative Role for his performance
Tigmanshu Dhulia also got more backers for his subsequent films, owing to which he could make Saheb Biwi Aur Gangster, a commercial success in 2010. In 2012, he and Irrfan reunited for Paan Singh Tomar and won National Awards for the film. Dhulia has since then gone on to direct other hits and critically acclaimed features.
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