Madhur Bhandarkar speaks on <i>Traffic Signal</i>
Madhur Bhandarkar is back with his new film Traffic Signal. Expectations are high from the talented filmmaker after Page 3 and Corporate. Madhur in conversation with TWF correspondent Vickey Lalwani.
What
is
Traffic
Signal
about?
Traffic
Signal
depicts
life
on
the
streets
of
Mumbai
through
a
traffic
signal,
where
all
kinds
of
people
live,
survive,
jostle
and
yet
remain
human.
A
hard-hitting
film
that
exposes
the
underbelly
of
Mumbai.
In
a
day,
scores
of
people
go
past
multitudes
of
Traffic
Signal's
scattered
all
over
the
city.
People
sitting
in
their
vehicles
impatiently
wait
to
get
going.
Though
this
waiting
lasts
but
a
few
minutes
it
feels
like
a
lifetime
to
them.
However
unknown
to
them
there
thrives
an
industry
that
derives
its
livelihood
from
these
people
waiting
at
the
Traffic
Signals.
How
was
Traffic
Signal
conceived?
The
idea
was
first
conceived
when
I
was
walking
on
a
Tuesday
to
Siddhi
Vinayak
temple.
I
have
always
been
a
keen
observer
of
what
goes
on
the
roads.
As
I
was
making
Corporate,
I
thought
here
was
a
world
in
its
own
on
the
roads
of
Mumbai,
and
here
is
a
chance
for
me
to
do
something
totally
contrasting-
but
at
the
same
I
will
again
have
a
realistic
film
which
is
my
forte.
Did
you
shoot
mainly
in
Mumbai?
No.
It
was
not
possible
to
shoot
too
much
here.
Taking
permission
to
shoot
on
Mumbai's
roads
was
not
easy.
We
shot
more
in
Nitin
Desai's
studio
in
Karjat.
We
erected
half
a
kilometer
set.
It
took
a
month
to
erect
that
set
which
would
recreate
the
signal
feel.
We
had
a
salon,
Irani
cafÉ
and
the
main
signal
which
was
put
between
four
roads.
We
called
that
junction
as
Kelkar
Marg.
We
took
some
real
shots
also
to
match
the
set,
and
merged
them
together
in
the
film.
We
stayed
there
for
35
days.
I
shuttled
once
or
twice,
since
Renu
(wife)
was
five
months
pregnant
that
time.
She
also
came
there
once
or
twice.
Go
on.
We
took
some
BEST
buses
from
here.
And,
we
took
some
beggars
and
eunuchs.
Surprisingly,
the
beggars
and
eunuchs
knew
who
I
was.
They
had
seen
some
of
my
films.
The
eunuchs
initially
thought
that
I
had
called
them
to
dance
on
some
occasion.
Believe
me,
I
didn't
need
more
than
one
retake
with
the
beggars
and
eunuchs.
I
settled
them
down
for
a
day
or
two,
keeping
them
in
the
backdrop
of
some
of
the
scenes.
I
did
not
give
them
any
workshop
or
any
lines
to
learn
and
just
told
them
to
observe.
When
it
came
to
action,
they
were
spot
on.
That
simply
speaks
for
their
excitement
and
involvement.
Of
course,
I
paid
them.
How
can
you
have
a
film
on
Signal
without
beggars
and
eunuchs?
There
are
some
guys
who
are
not
beggars
but
have
acted
as
beggars.
Some
of
my
friends
came
on
the
set
and
gave
them
some
money.
They
thought
that
they
were
real
beggars.