00:00This culture of hate, I cannot understand.
00:03This is not our culture.
00:06Where did this come from?
00:07I wasn't on Instagram, so maybe that's why I didn't get a job.
00:11That's also possible.
00:12I've been completely unemployed for a whole year now.
00:17Actor-director, theatre personality, Ratna Patak Shah,
00:20thank you so much for speaking to Brood.
00:22But the director part is very, very iffy, right?
00:26One or two plays, that's it.
00:28We'll still hold on to that tag.
00:30Do you think there's too much emphasis on how actors look today
00:34versus the craft of it?
00:35Yes.
00:37Simple answer, yes.
00:40But I don't know how to blame actors for that.
00:46Because these are the issues that are asked.
00:48This is the focus of the world.
00:50How many Instagram followers do you have?
00:52Are you getting work on that basis?
00:54I've heard that.
00:55I wasn't on Instagram, so maybe that's why I didn't get a job.
01:00That's also possible.
01:01I've been completely unemployed for a whole year now.
01:05So these are the kind of things that do seem to matter a lot.
01:08What to do also.
01:09Where will a person go to learn?
01:11If an actor wants to learn acting today, it's very difficult.
01:15You know, you've said in a different interview
01:18that the star culture was quite ugly in the 70s.
01:23And of the 50 odd years,
01:25how have you seen the industry change as far as culture is concerned?
01:30Much more professionalism.
01:32Much less hierarchy.
01:36That's one thing that I'm very, very happy to see.
01:39Could you expand on that?
01:41In the old days, I mean,
01:42actors would be treated in very different ways from the crew.
01:46Number one.
01:48Different kinds of actors would be treated very differently
01:51depending on their position.
01:53To a certain extent, it still exists.
01:55It's not like overnight everything's become hunky-dory.
01:58But there's less of it.
01:59There's less hierarchy visible on a set.
02:04Crew and cast is not two completely watertight compartments anymore.
02:10There's much crossover.
02:11Even in things like food.
02:14Completely different food for the crew
02:16and completely different food for the cast.
02:18Used to exist.
02:20And cast may be, depending on your status,
02:22what you're getting on a day of shoot.
02:25I mean, I've seen people throw their weight around
02:30and ask for a mango milkshake in the middle of a forest in Karnataka
02:35while shooting.
02:36This kind of real ridiculous stuff.
02:38And it used to be provided.
02:40And yeah.
02:41Otherwise, I'm going,
02:43I don't want to shoot. I'm not feeling well.
02:45All that would happen.
02:46So this kind of stupidity, there's much less of.
02:49And the more important thing is many more skilled people on a set.
02:53From dress dada all the way up to first AD.
02:58People know what they're doing.
02:59Less time is wasted, therefore.
03:01Tighter budgets, therefore tighter shoots.
03:04But there's another problem there.
03:08Because of this tight budget,
03:10working hours are ridiculously long.
03:13And for us actors, it's a 12-hour day.
03:17Before that, I mean, if you're a person who needs to get into hair and makeup before,
03:21then come before that.
03:23And then it's time to remove everything.
03:25And similarly for crew,
03:27come first, set up,
03:30remove everything at the end and then go.
03:32So it's like a 20-hour cycle on the ice.
03:34My goodness.
03:35And we're kids, so everything works out.
03:38But it's very difficult for me.
03:40I can't keep up.
03:42I'm absolutely...
03:45After about 7 o'clock, my brain stops functioning.
03:48But there's the push.
03:50I have to do it, I have to do it, I have to do it.
03:51Push, push, push.
03:52And since I have to do it in such a short time,
03:54the focus on quality decreases.
03:56Etc.
03:57So here are the big problems.
03:59To some extent, I'm getting the mood of the East India Company.
04:03That it's cheaper to make a film in India.
04:06Come here, make everyone work hard.
04:08And we're so many people.
04:10If you don't do it, they'll do it.
04:13Then no one's value remains.
04:15So these things affect people a lot.
04:20And I see this.
04:21Young people are getting burnt out so quickly.
04:23So quickly.
04:24So there's a burnout also in the film industry,
04:28which is creeping in.
04:29Of course.
04:30Not just in corporate or...
04:32Your industry, media.
04:34What will be your burnout level?
04:36If we're in this state, what about you?
04:39You're on 24x7.
04:41And that's not the way humans should function.
04:45I think we need some time for ourselves.
04:47We need time to think.
04:49Otherwise, what work will we produce?
04:52We'll just copy.
04:53And we're experts in that.
04:55Copy number one in India.
04:57So we've been doing that for so many years.
04:59Now we're doing something original.
05:01Because some people had time.
05:03They used to sit at home, think and write scripts.
05:07Today, they're asked to write three scripts in two minutes.
05:11And OTT is a beast.
05:14How do you mean?
05:15In this way.
05:16In the kind of demands that are made.
05:18The kind of time that is given.
05:20It's pretty tough.
05:22And it's coming all the way from the top.
05:25What are some of the misconceptions that people have of Bollywood?
05:27And would you like to clear that?
05:29It's not my job to speak for the film industry.
05:32But that it is a glamorous place
05:35is something that everyone should disabuse themselves of.
05:39A.S.A.P.
05:40There's very little glamour.
05:42It's a ten-minute job.
05:44Go to the ears, click a photo here, click a photo there.
05:46The job is done.
05:47The rest of it is extremely hard, painful, humiliating, depressing work.
05:55The waiting, the waiting that you have to do
05:59to get work on the set.
06:02To get work again.
06:04The kids who come to Bombay with the dream of becoming an actor.
06:08Looking at them, it feels good that they have come out with so much passion.
06:14Almost with a shroud over their heads.
06:16But it's such a difficult journey for these kids.
06:20It's painful, definitely.
06:21You grew up with different ideologies, exposed to different ideologies.
06:24How did that shape your opinion?
06:26We had discussions and fights almost non-stop in the house.
06:30And you see, that was a time, I'm talking about the 60s, 70s.
06:37When I was heavily influenced by all these things.
06:40And that was a time when we had just become independent.
06:46And there was a sense that we have to build this country.
06:51We have to create a language, particularly artistically.
06:57For the theatre, for film, for art, for discussion.
07:02And that was the interesting part of it.
07:04My mother was the president of the All India Women's Federation for a few days.
07:09Women from the women's federation used to come.
07:11Trade unionists used to come into the house.
07:14And my dad's fancy film friends would also be coming into the house.
07:17So, this whole mess, the mess that was created here, was very interesting.
07:23And it was civilized.
07:26The difference is that in those days, people used to listen to each other.
07:31They used to fight.
07:32But they used to fight over a topic.
07:34Thanks to Ma and her connections with writers and poets and actors and directors.
07:41It was always such a vivid kind of atmosphere.
07:46And that is what has made me truly Hindustani.
07:50I feel that a Hindustani is someone who accepts and celebrates diversity.
07:56That is it.
07:57I am a Hindustani essentially because I can live with many different ideas around me.
08:03And not have to hate any of them.
08:06This culture of hate, I cannot understand.
08:11This is not our culture.
08:14Where did this come from?
08:15This is a country that has welcomed people from all over the world.
08:19And has learned from everyone.
08:21Has taken something from everyone.
08:23This is our country.
08:25I am deeply depressed that we can give it up.
08:30What do you love, hate and tolerate about Mr. Shah?
08:34All in one?
08:35Love, hate, tolerate, all together?
08:37Or can it be different?
08:38It can be different.
08:39No, no. Love.
08:43His deep involvement with acting.
08:47I can love, hate and tolerate.
08:48All three in that.
08:50Largely love.
08:52Because it's a very special feature.
08:55Naseer really cannot be bothered with anything except the performance.
09:01And working towards the performance.
09:03It's an attitude that I have not seen in others.
09:08Literally, I am making this statement after some thought.
09:12I haven't seen this kind of focus in others.
09:16But it's hard also to live with.
09:18Ratna Patak Shah, thank you so much for speaking to Brood.
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