Madhur Bhandarkar’s Corporate (2006), starring Bipasha Basu, Kay Kay Menon, Raj Babbar and Rajat Kapoor, completed 20 years on July 7, and is remembered for its subject, shocking climax, performances, etc. The music was a highlight, with the song ‘O Sikandar’ becoming quite famous around its release. The item number featured Payal Rohatgi and she also has a cameo in the film. She plays an actress, also named Payal, who agrees to sleep with Finance Minister Gulabrao (Vinay Apte). On Corporate’s 20th anniversary, Madhur Bhandarkar spoke exclusively with Bollywood Hungama about this sequence and a lot more.
Earlier in this interview, Madhur Bhandarkar claimed that Corporate was based on “70% truth”. We asked him whether the Payal Rohatgi track was also inspired by real-life incidents. The National Award-winning filmmaker laughed and replied, “Well, it was based on true rumours and things we had heard at that time. In the film, we show that the minister is a fan of Payal’s item songs. Both of them go to adjoining rooms, which are connected from the inside. I remember a lot of ministers telling me, ‘You have shown us in such bad light that now when I tell my wife I am visiting a five-star hotel, she asks me, ‘Woh Corporate waali five-star hotel mein toh nahin jaa rahe ho na?’”
Nevertheless, the film enjoyed very positive word-of-mouth. Madhur Bhandarkar said, “I never completed my schooling and I have always had that regret. However, after I made Corporate, big businessmen, entrepreneurs, CAs, etc. asked me, ‘Tumne MBA kahan se kiya hai?’ (laughs). I told them, ‘Maine matric bhi nahin kiya hai’!”
He added, “I was overwhelmed with the research material in hand. But my conviction was very strong. I was very clear that I wanted to make the film very real. I couldn’t have made it in a filmy manner. Many assumed that it would be like a typical Hindi movie.”
He also stated, “At the same time, though it is a very intense, verbose film, yet I made it in a very interesting manner. From the inside, I am a Gaiety-Galaxy type of a moviegoer! Hence, I wanted to keep it engaging. There was also a peon’s point of view.”
The scenes of the peons giving their version of what was happening raised a lot of laughs. In Page 3 (2005), Madhur Bhandarkar showed drivers speaking about their boss unabashedly, behind their backs, of course. Madhur Bhandarkar shared his inspiration behind these characters, “I was inspired by R K Laxman’s ‘The Common Man’ cartoons in The Times of India. Since childhood, that was the first thing I would check when I would get the newspaper in my hand. So, these characters were also the common men who shared their perspective.”
He also revealed another strong inspiration for Corporate’s principal plot of two companies at loggerheads, “During the cable TV days, I had watched Shyam Benegal’s Kalyug (1982). It has been one of my favourite films. It was a take on Mahabharat. However, there was also a corporate war shown in the film. It fascinated me. I told my writer Manoj Tyagi that ‘Kuch Kalyug jaisa banate hai’.”
Madhur Bhandarkar continued, “The biggest high for me was when Shyam Benegal saw Corporate (smiles). He called me and said, ‘Madhur, my God, what a fascinating movie you’ve made’! I confessed, ‘Shyam ji, I was inspired by Kalyug. I have seen it so many times that I have lost count’. He replied, ‘No, Madhur. That was set in a different era. You have set it in a contemporary world and you have got it so right’. He took the number of Bipasha Basu and commented, ‘She was seen as a glamorous girl and I never imagined she could underplay her part so brilliantly’. He also praised the performances of Raj Babbar, Rajat Kapoor, Harsh Chhaya etc.”
The post 20th anniversary EXCLUSIVE: How Payal Rohatgi’s scene in Corporate created PANIC among ministers’ wives; Madhur Bhandarkar reveals HILARIOUS aftermath: “They’d ask, ‘Corporate waali five-star hotel mein toh nahin jaa rahe ho na?’” appeared first on Bollywood Hungama.
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