Want to create a new star now, a brilliant actor: Subhash Ghai on 50 years in cinema

Subhash Ghai says he is still learning as cinema changes across theatres, OTT and AI. As he marks 50 years in films, he is looking ahead to a big musical with new actors and a fresh idea of storytelling.

In Short

• Subhash Ghai's films defined Hindi cinema with grand stories and music
• He now embraces new tech like OTT, reels and AI in filmmaking
• Ghai stresses the unique impact of theatre on film experience

For a generation of Hindi film audiences, Subhash Ghai's cinema was an event. His films came with sweeping stories, unforgettable music, towering emotions and stars who seemed larger than life. From Karz and Ram Lakhan to Saudagar, Khal Nayak, Taal and Pardes, Ghai understood the grammar of the big-screen Hindi film perhaps as instinctively as anyone.

His films also became defining chapters in the careers of actors he worked with - Sanjay Dutt, Madhuri Dixit, Jackie Shroff, Anil Kapoor and others. Yet, five decades into his journey, the filmmaker insists he is still a student.

"Every day is special," Ghai tells India Today Digital in an exclusive interview over a call. "Technology is changing, the format is changing. In cinema and the audio-visual industry, every day there is a discovery. We have to tell the story this way now, in a small format, on mobile, in micro formats. So from my journey for the last 50 years as a filmmaker, from the very big screen to what is happening around the world with the latest students, I have to wake up every time with a new student-ship in me to learn," he explains.

That openness explains why Ghai is not dismissive of OTT, reels or AI, despite being one of Hindi cinema's most unabashed believers in the theatrical experience. He says he is currently learning about AI and filmmaking himself. "How can I ever be averse? I have to love today. The only thing I can do is educate people about the difference between the big screen, AI screen and small screen," he says.

For Ghai, the theatre still offers something that no other format can replicate. "In theatre, we close all the doors, we put off the lights and you're seated in one seat. You have to concentrate on the story. If the story is working, you're connected for two or three hours. And then you hear the massive claps, whistles and tears. Cinema becomes an event," he adds.

That belief in the theatrical experience also feeds into Ghai's work as an educator. At Whistling Woods International, the institution he founded, cinema is not just taught in classrooms but experienced and debated through events such as its annual three-day Celebrate Cinema festival, which begins on Wednesday. This year, the festival is centred on the 'Impact of Big Screen Cinema', a theme that closely mirrors Ghai's own belief that there is a fundamental difference between watching a film and experiencing it in a theatre.

"Our students are aspiring to understand the importance of storytelling on the big screen," Ghai says, explaining the idea behind the three-day celebration. The festival brings together screenings, discussions and conversations around different aspects of cinema, with themes changing every year - from poetry and music to cinematography and, this year, the impact of the big screen. "The theatre is a big cinema. It is an event. This is not just watching," he says.

That belief is also reflected in the way he continues to engage with young filmmakers at Whistling Woods International. Its annual cinema festival, he says, is an attempt to make students understand the craft and impact of big-screen storytelling. His own inspiration came from celebrated English filmmaker and editor David Lean.

"He was known for picturesque cinema. He would entertain people through his larger screen, larger lens, to make you feel that you are in that world. If you are in the desert, you are in the desert; if you are in the snow, you feel the snow. That is our effort - to create a filmmaker who understands storytelling for the big screen," he says.

But Ghai, popularly known as the 'Showman of Bollywood' is equally aware that the audience for whom he made his biggest films has changed. "People have been educated," he says of the explosion of mobile internet and global access to content. He adds, "People want to know new stories. People want to connect with different cultures, languages, people and the way they live in the world."

He sees that as an opportunity for the new generation rather than a threat to traditional cinema. "I encourage every student to pick up their own stories, their own ideas and make their own films. Do not follow anyone. Follow your guts, follow your stories, follow your thoughts and make a mark for yourself as a storyteller, whatever the format is," he goes on.

So what happened to the filmmaker who once represented the very definition of commercial Hindi cinema? Ghai believes the economics of filmmaking have fundamentally altered. "In the '80s, '90s and even up to 2010, the independent filmmaker was free to make the film they wanted. Today, films are financed by investors and corporates. They look at figures and data. Earlier, talent was valued on a talent basis. Today, talent is valued on the basis of figures," he says.

It is one reason he has not been rushing back to the director's chair. His last directorial remains Kaanchi: The Unbreakable (2014). Ghai says what he misses is the sense of collective ownership that once existed on a film set. "We had a huge mutual love and mutual respect. We used to collaborate with each other. Everybody used to feel the film belonged to me - even the spot boy, cameraman, sound person. Today, everybody is working on his payment. His payment is more important than his work. The atmosphere is not that way," he says.

And yet, Ghai is not interested in simply recreating his past. Even when it comes to actors he has worked with - Sanjay Dutt, Madhuri Dixit, Jackie Shroff and Anil Kapoor - he sees them as belonging to a generation that shared his values. His gaze remains firmly on what comes next.

"I would like to make a very big film with a new artist because I want to make my own film. I want to make my own musical. I don't want the pressure of stars," he says.

And what does he want that film to say? Ghai talks about a story that can trigger a "spiritual revolution" among young people - a film that is entertaining, musical and perhaps even divine, but where "spirit and spiritualism matter much more than money and power."

For now, that seems to be the filmmaker's idea of a comeback: not another Khal Nayak or Taal, but something he hasn't made before.

"I want to create a new actor, a new star, a new brilliant actor for the industry," Ghai says, adding, "I have to work with a 25-year-old young guy, a young girl, and create a new director on the screen. That gives me ecstasy."

That could just be the most revealing thing about Subhash Ghai at 50 years in cinema. The Showman isn't looking backwards. He is still looking for his next show.

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