Reworked out of a shelved documentary on illegal sex-horror films in the lower depths of Bollywood, ‘Miss Lovely’ starring Nawazuddin Siddiqui, is a startling piece of cinema that explores a sordid tale of betrayal and doomed love. The film is an ode to renegade filmmaking that flouts genre conventions to conjure up a world that very few of us have access to. Director Ashim Ahluwalia himself is surprised by the excitement the film has generated worldwide, from being an official entry to Cannes and Toronto to winning numerous Best Film awards.
“For the West, Indian cinema is either Satyajit Ray or Bollywood. ‘Miss Lovely’, on the other hand, is a mix of so many different genres, with a storytelling style and atmosphere that is pretty wild. It sometimes moves like a novel with multiple characters and side stories. I didn’t expect people to react to it so enthusiastically.” The ‘A’ certification doesn’t matter for this director either.
“The story does take place in the dark, lower depths of the industry, so this is not the kind of space that we usually depict in our films. It is a very adult film that explores sexuality and violence and the things that people do to each other when they are struggling to make it in a city. I’m happy that the Censor Board didn’t ban it and, instead, eventually opted to grant it very few cuts.”
‘Miss Lovely’ is all set for a January 17 release.
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