Celebrating cinema

“The best kind of criticism is a feeling of being with a companion. A critic is a friend who is talking to you about films and you can disagree with that person, but there is also a healthy exchange of ideas,” says Anupama Chopra, one of the most popular film critics in India, who has also hit the small screen with her show, The Front Row, on Star World.

Now, as the show is about to reach its one-year milestone, Anupama talks about the path that led her to become a celebrated critic.

Having started off as a film journalist, Anupama wasn’t new to the world of cinema. Her love affair began with the film industry first, and later with films.

“My first job out of college was to work for a magazine called Movie, which was one of the biggest entertainment publications in the late 80s. In those days, there were open sets and we could just walk in to watch artistes at work. It was so much fun — the chaos and the colour. It was just so seductive. I think I was seduced by Bollywood first, and then by cinema,” says an excited Anupama.

Finally, after finding her true calling, Anupama pursued film journalism at the North Western University and returned to become one of the few known female film journalists in the country. “Back then, I was fascinated by everything in the film industry, and now I am fully, completely, and wholly consumed by it,” she says.

From a journalist to a critic

The opportunity to review films on television first came in the form of a show on NDTV that ran for around four years. Speaking about the transition from being a journalist to a film critic, Anupama says, “I had reported on the industry for many many years before I started film criticism. I am still reluctant to call myself a critic.

To be a critic, one just requires a great body of knowledge and intellect, both of which I have. However, it took me years to become confident about voicing my opinion in public and trusting my instincts. As a critic, I would like to see myself as a film companion.

We don’t have to necessarily agree because movies are a very subjective passion. I can’t imagine people liking the movie I liked. But we can at least have an interesting animated conversation about the film.”

“It has been a very interesting transition and continues to be so because most critics around the world are also not interviewers. They are not engaged with the film fraternity. A film critic working for The New York Times does not interview movie stars. He is just involved in critiquing. Our jobs in India, on the contrary, are far more interesting, yet precarious,” she adds.

When asked if objectivity makes a critic’s job difficult, Anupama elucidates saying, “It is tough to critique the film of a person whom you share a personal rapport with. However, I believe that it does not affect my objectivity.

But I do feel awful on Thursdays after reviewing films, because I know how hard it must be for a filmmaker. If I watch a film, I have to report about what I see.” And what about her husband Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s productions? Pat comes the reply, “You can’t have any objectivity if you are that close to someone. Then it becomes personal.”

Showbiz success

Describing her experiences during her show, The Front Row, the Bollywood-crazy critic says, “I am a film journalist by training and to become a television host I had to learn everything on the job. My producers hand-held me and helped me put the show together. This one year has been fabulous.

The show has not just been about Bollywood. We have interviewed Hollywood icons like Will Smith, Robert Downey Jr, Jackie Chan, Robert Redford and many others. We also aired a brilliant coverage of the Oscars, Cannes and Toronto film festivals. The show has been a great learning curve for me. Moreover, we are now planning to make the show more interactive and ambitious.”

Anupama’s love for the industry does not end there. Apart from interviewing stars and critiquing films, she has also penned several books on Bollywood titled, First Day, First Show, King of Bollywood Shah Rukh Khan and The Making of A Classic — Sholay, for which she also received a National Award.

“I just have great affection and admiration for people who make movies. No matter what I say in my reviews, I believe that people in the industry are far far above me in every way because they can make movies and I can’t. I am just a fan girl on the front row,” she explains.

Speaking about the medium of cinema, Anupama says, “It is just so powerful because you tell stories that connect people from all over the world, irrespective of language or geography. There is something really primeval in the art of storytelling. Going back to the Stone Age, when the cavemen sat around the fire telling stories. There is something so fundamental about the art of telling stories that I am completely smitten with.”