{"id":21641,"date":"2025-11-22T20:28:36","date_gmt":"2025-11-22T14:58:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/justicenews.in\/?p=21641"},"modified":"2025-11-22T20:28:36","modified_gmt":"2025-11-22T14:58:36","slug":"unscripted-brilliance-vidhu-vinod-chopra-lights-up-iffi-with-wit-wisdom-and-cinematic-wonder","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/justicenews.in\/?p=21641","title":{"rendered":"Unscripted Brilliance: Vidhu Vinod Chopra Lights Up IFFI with Wit, Wisdom and Cinematic Wonder"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Goa\u00a0 (\u00a0 Justice News)<\/b><\/div>\n

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\u00a0The In Conversation session titled \u201cUnscripted \u2013 The Art and Emotion of Filmmaking\u201d at IFFI turned Kala Academy into a movie set today. An unforgettable cinematic celebration unfurled as renowned filmmaker and producer Vidhu Vinod Chopra took the stage, in a candid conversation with acclaimed screenwriter Abhijat Joshi. The conversation held the audience in a grip usually reserved for a Friday blockbuster.<\/p>\n

The session began with a warm felicitation as Dr. Ajay Nagabhushan MN, Joint Secretary (Films), honoured Chopra and Joshi, followed by Shri Ravi Kottarakkara, noted film producer, who presented both with shawls. Dr. Ajay expressed hope that Chopra would continue guiding young filmmakers with his trademark honesty. Ravi hailed Chopra\u2019s \u2018Parinda\u2019 as a \u201cgame-changing film\u201d that rewrote Indian cinema.<\/p>\n

A Filmmaker Who Creates from the Self
\n<\/b>
\nOpening the conversation, Abhijat Joshi reminisced about the very first day he met Vidhu Vinod Chopra, a November day he remembers vividly, a moment that eventually shaped films like \u2018Lage Raho Munna Bhai\u2019 and \u20183 Idiots\u2019. He then asked Chopra if his style had evolved from \u2018Parinda\u2019 to \u201812th Fail\u2019. Chopra\u2019s answer was as raw as it was revealing.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery film reflects who I am at that point,\u201d he said. \u201cI was angry when I made \u2018Parinda\u2019. You can see that violence in the movie. Today I\u2019m calmer.\u201d<\/p>\n

He added that \u201812th Fail\u2019 came from witnessing corruption around him. \u201cThe film was my way of saying let\u2019s be honest for a change. If I can change even 1% of the bureaucracy, that\u2019s enough.\u201d He also shared how watching \u20181942: A Love Story\u2019 in its newly restored 8K version made him emotional. It was a film, he said, he could not make today because he is no longer the same person.<\/p>\n

A Cinema of Conviction
\n<\/b>
\nJoshi affirmed that Chopra\u2019s greatest hallmark is his unwavering loyalty to his own conviction. \u201cHe never cares about a film\u2019s commercial fate, he values only its artistic fate,\u201d he said, before steering the conversation toward the creative processes behind \u2018Parinda\u2019 and \u201812th Fail\u2019.<\/p>\n

Chopra spoke passionately about preparation, vision, and the pursuit of visual truth. He elaborated on a famous shot from \u20181942: A Love Story\u2019, even singing the song soulfully as the audience cheered. He described insisting on real birds flying across the mountain ridge and how his crew scattered breadcrumbs to make it happen. Seeing that scene yesterday in 8K, he said, \u201cwas joy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Anecdotes that Filled the Hall with Laughter
\n<\/b>
\nWhat followed was a cascade of hilarious and heartfelt memories. Chopra recalled writing \u2018Khamosh\u2019 in a tiny one-room flat where he would shout dialogues and \u201ccut, cut!\u201d from the rooftop, terrifying neighbours. Joshi confirmed: \u201cVidhu can get as excited as a child when conceiving a film.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another crowd favourite was the story of Actor Jackie Shroff accidentally walking into the wrong apartment during rehearsals, waking up a startled woman, and handing her flowers. \u201cShe told everyone she dreamt Jackie Shroff visited her,\u201d Chopra laughed.<\/p>\n

The Music, The Madness, The Magic
\n<\/b>
\nSpeaking about \u20181942: A Love Story\u2019, Chopra narrated his fierce determination to collaborate with R.D. Burman despite those who claimed Burman\u2019s time was over. When Burman presented initial tunes, Chopra rejected them bluntly. \u201cI called it bullshit. I wanted the soul of S.D. Burman.\u201d Weeks later, came \u201cKuch Na Kaho.\u201d Chopra sang the melody onstage, receiving thunderous applause. \u201cThis song exists because I said that one word,\u201d he joked.<\/p>\n

Chopra also revisited his famous National Award story. He narrated how he expected \u20b94,000 in cash along with the award, only to receive an eight-year postal bond. His humorous recreation of his argument with L.K. Advani left the hall roaring. He also acknowledged Advani\u2019s later support, including helping him attend the Oscars.<\/p>\n

Voices Behind the Classics Join In
\n<\/b>
\nIn a heartwarming moment, Kamna Chandra, 92-year-old writer of \u20181942: A Love Story\u2019 and Chopra\u2019s mother-in-law, joined the conversation, along with producer Yogesh Ishwar. Kamna spoke of laboring over each dialogue and the emotion she felt watching the restored version. \u201cI felt like I\u2019ve done something in life,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Yogesh detailed the meticulous 8K restoration journey in Italy, cleaning the film frame by frame and remastering its sound. Chopra said the restored version \u201clooks exactly like what I had imagined.\u201d<\/p>\n

The session concluded with a lively Q&A, but it was clear that the true magic had already unfolded. The audience had travelled through decades of cinema, lived through the joys and absurdities of filmmaking, and witnessed the creative partnership between Vidhu and Abhijat that has shaped some of India\u2019s most beloved films.<\/p><\/div>\n

<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Goa\u00a0 (\u00a0 Justice News) \u00a0The In Conversation session titled \u201cUnscripted \u2013 The Art and Emotion of Filmmaking\u201d at IFFI turned Kala Academy into a movie Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":21642,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[15],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21641","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-punjab"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/justicenews.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Event-1-IFFI-2025.jpeg","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pe1HXo-5D3","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/justicenews.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21641","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/justicenews.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/justicenews.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/justicenews.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/justicenews.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=21641"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/justicenews.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21641\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21643,"href":"https:\/\/justicenews.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21641\/revisions\/21643"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/justicenews.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/21642"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/justicenews.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=21641"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/justicenews.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=21641"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/justicenews.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=21641"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}