Not just lights, camera, action
Vidhu Vinod Chopra is a brand in itself. We all know him through his amazing filmography where he donned many hats as a producer, director, businessman, and much more. But isn’t it exciting if a successful person tells you his story by himself? Collaborating with his close friend, Abhijat Joshi, he weaves the storyline piece by piece.
The story of a man from one of the many lanes of Kashmir who made his name for himself. All this happened because of his sheer willpower, his high ambitions, and the indomitable urge to make good cinema. Nothing comes easy, everything takes time. He tells us that what we call success involves a lot of learning and unlearning along with staying humble and keeping an open mind. This book presents Vidhu Vinod Chopra as a man with different personalities, in a good way. On one hand, he is a workaholic and too possessive about his work kind of a person and on the other hand, he cries happy tears when he watches beautiful pieces of other artists. This shows how passionate he is about cinema and artistry.
He shared how he loves to work with new, raw talent and gives them opportunities, which is not seen usually in this tightly regulated family-type industry. The reason he says is personal to him, he suffered from not getting enough breaks in his life and this is how he knows what goes into the mind of a struggle in the film industry. This book reeks passion, from making good cinema to leading a good life. He refers to a lot of films in his book which makes me feel like I don’t even watch films.
He is shown to be very grateful towards his first wife Renu. He never gets bitter about her and openly shares his journey with her and also about him as a director and producer.
The book feels like a conversation, an interview which often reminded me of ‘The Spy Chronicles”. The writing style made it more objective and interesting. To conclude, it is an inspirational book for anyone who is in the creative field or is trying to enter. It motivates people to never stop yearning, learning, and if everything goes right, earning. Be confident about your work.
ABOUT THE BOOK
Starting in Wazir Bagh, a small mohalla in Kashmir, Vidhu Vinod Chopra's life has been well and truly unscripted. Over the last thirty years, he has blazed a trail in Hindi cinema-even going on to direct a film in Hollywood. From someone who once released his student film though it was incomplete because he ran out of money and film stock, he now has the distinction of heading one of the key production houses in India, VVC Films. The company has made some of the biggest blockbusters in recent times. Not only is he a filmmaker par excellence, but he has also nurtured some of the brightest talents in the Hindi film industry, including directors Rajkumar Hirani, Pradeep Sarkar, and Sanjay Leela Bhansali.
In Unscripted, Vidhu Vinod Chopra speaks to his long-time collaborator and scriptwriter Abhijat Joshi about his exceptional journey. Engaging and illuminating, the book provides a glimpse into the mind, method, and madness of one of contemporary Hindi cinema's best filmmakers.
Unscripted by Vidhu Vinod Chopra with Abhijat Joshi is published by Penguin India and to order your copy click here.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Vidhu Vinod Chopra (born 5 September 1952) is an Indian film director, screenwriter, and producer.[1] His better-known films include Parinda, 1942: A Love Story, Munna Bhai film series (Munna Bhai M.B.B.S. and Lage Raho Munna Bhai), 3 Idiots, PK, Sanju, Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga, and Shikara (2020 film). He is the founder of Vinod Chopra Films and Vinod Chopra Productions.
Abhijat Joshi (born 1969) is an Indian academic and screenwriter particularly known for his work with Vinod Chopra Productions, as the screenwriter for Lage Raho Munna Bhai (2006), 3 Idiots (2009), PK (2014), and Sanju (2018). He is a professor of English at Otterbein University in Westerville, Ohio, since 2003.
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