To mark the historical impact of Indian cinema completing 100 glorious years, four Bollywood directors have come up with an unprecedented project named  “Bombay Talkies” to show what Indian cinema means to them. The collaboration film is divided into four parts and noted directors Anurag Kashyap, Dibakar Banerjee, Zoya Akhtar and Karan Johar are directing one part each. The film will be shown in Cannes Film festival this month.

Talking about his part of the film , in an interview with noted news agency Reuters,  Anurag Kashyap gave some candid answers . Read on for some excerpts :

Q: Is your film a tribute to Indian cinema?
A: Four filmmakers have made a film about what they think cinema is in their lives. My impact is about the impact of cinema when I was growing up in Benares and when I came here (Mumbai) and saw people standing outside Mr Bachchan's house. So it's about Indian cinema and (how) the stardom of certain heroes affects the north Indian middle-class boy. That was what Amitabh Bachchan did to them and that is what Salman Khan does to them now.

Q: How does this stardom affect these boys?
A: When we were growing up, Amitabh Bachchan brought us out of our small-town existence. Bachchan gave us a lot more options in life - he showed us you can be a cop, you can be this, you can be that. He was an embodiment of middle-class aspirations in tandem with (writers) Salim-Javed. He taught us to fight against injustice, which we took so seriously. All the fights I have had in the industry, you can blame it on him. He taught us to stand up against the system and be a rebel. He wasn't called the angry young man for nothing.

Q: What is it that has made his star appeal last?
A: It's the aura of the man. A man is endured by people who adore him, admire him, love him and worship him. He's endured so long because of his hardcore fans. For me "Bombay Talkies" is a film about fans and audiences. It's about what has endured our cinema for long - it's the audiences.

Q: What does 100 years of cinema mean to you?
A: It is going to survive much longer than we think it is. Where you are watching may change, the form of cinema might change, but cinema will stay. One hundred years means it's a healthy industry and that's something to celebrate. That's what we live for.

( The  excerpts from the interview are taken from http://in.reuters.com)

( Jyotishman)