20 Years of Page 3 EXCLUSIVE: "5-6 actresses turned down the film; most of the actors in the film didn't understand what I was making; my editor asked, 'Yeh film mein story bhi hai ya sirf party chal rahi hai?'" - Madhur Bhandarkar

“We have to be in the system to change the system” – This dialogue uttered by Vinayak Mane (Atul Kulkarni) to Madhavi Sharma (Konkona Sen Sharma) in Page 3 (2005) is simple and yet quite hard-hitting and relevant even today for journalists, 20 years later. Directed by Madhur Bhandarkar, this film was in real terms what we call a ‘sleeper hit’. It was released without much expectation and many were not even aware of the Page 3 culture. Yet, the film grew with each passing day, shocking the industry and trade. As Page 3 completed 20 years on January 21, Madhur Bhandarkar spoke exclusively with Bollywood Hungama about the film, his memories and a lot more.At the very beginning of the film, you have thanked Shatrughan Sinha. Why was that?Before Page 3, I directed Aan (2004), which starred him. I wanted to honour him as he encouraged me to make Page 3. He was one of the few ones to do so. For the same reason, I also thanked Raj Babbar.Suniel Shetty was also in Aan. Is this how you got him to do a cameo in Page 3?Suniel Shetty happened to be in Taj President where I was shooting a party scene. He learned that I was filming and he came to meet me. This is when I got the idea of having his cameo. It made sense since he’s a celebrity and hence, we could show that people take photos with him and his autograph. If you notice, he has appeared in casuals and not in party clothes as his cameo was a sudden decision. He was sweet enough to play himself. So, it's not like I planned the cameo or that he came specifically to shoot the scene.As per the IMDB trivia, Kareena Kapoor was the original choice and not Konkona Sen Sharma..I don’t want to name any one actor but the fact is that 5-6 actresses turned down the film. Some had issues with the fees, some had date problems and some had issues with the script. I made Chandni Bar (2001) and Satta (2003) which were hard-hitting flicks. With Page 3, they didn’t think the role was meaty enough as the protagonist was a rookie journalist who covered parties. They were of the opinion that she was not doing substantial. They came with the reference of Tabu and Raveena Tandon in Chandni Bar and Satta respectively. They were far stronger characters and they wanted something of that sort from Page 3. Also, they wanted to know who’d play their love interest. Also, many people didn’t understand what the concept of Page 3 was all about! And on top of it, they felt that the protagonist was one-dimensional and didn’t have an arc. What happens is that certain films are in the director’s mind. Hence, I don’t blame actors as they have a very myopic view. Very few actors understand the true essence of the script. And I was not ready to change the script. I wanted to make it my way. Honestly, 50% of the film was improvised and we thought of scenes and dialogues on the sets. My characters were defined but, on the set, we used to be like ‘Tu aise bol de, tu aise kar de’.How did Konkona Sen Sharma come on board?I am a very restless filmmaker. I want to make the film now as I’d lose interest after 4-6 months. Hence, I told my producer Bobby Pushkarna to make films with newcomers. I had seen Konkona in Mr & Mrs Iyer (2002). It was released in limited theatres. I had seen it on the big screen and I loved it. I called director Aparna Sen and praised her work. She told me, ‘If you can tell my daughter the same thing, she’ll be very happy’. Konkona then came on the line. She was pleasantly surprised to hear my voice. She said she was a fan of my work and expressed the desire to work with me.A year after this conversation, I told Bobby that we should consider her. He asked me her name and I said, ‘Her name is Konkona Sen Sharma’. He replied, ‘Itna bada naam hai’! He didn’t know about Aparna Sen but I told him to watch Mr & Mrs Iyer. I assured her that she looks like a journalist and a girl next door and that we can make the film in a stipulated budget with her. Bobby liked her performance though he had doubts as no one in Bollywood knew Konkona.Nevertheless, I called Konkona and told her that I had a role for her. She got excited and came down to Mumbai. We met and told her that I was making a film named Page 3. Her instant reaction was, ‘What is Page 3?’! I explained the concept, her character and the subject. 15-20 minutes later, she told me, ‘I am not understanding it’. But then she said, ‘I know you are a good filmmaker. I have seen Satta and Chandni Bar. I know you’ll make a good film. I’ll work based on your conviction’. She suggested that I should keep guiding her.How did you finalize the rest of the actors?This is also the time when Boman Irani’s Munna Bhai MBBS (2003) had just been released. I called and appreciated his work in that film. I then offered him the role and made it clear that I don’t have a big budget. In fact, I told this to every actor, ‘I don’t have a big budget’ (laughs)! Boman replied, ‘I know you are a good filmmaker’ and agreed to do the film.Atul Kulkarni, meanwhile, had worked on Satta and Chandni Bar with me. When I offered him the part, he replied, ‘Tujhe toh mana kar hi nahin sakta main’. Upendra Limaye has become big today after Animal (2023). But I was the one to give him a break in Chandni Bar. He was gung-ho when I asked him to play the cop in Page 3. He said, ‘Madhur, tere liye toh anytime’.I then called up Bikram Saluja, Suhasini Mulay ji, Soni Razdan ji, Darshan Jariwala, Kunickaa Sadanand, Kurush Deboo, etc. Basically, I assembled all my friends and told them that paisa nahin hai, chhoti film hai. Thankfully, they signed the film.How was the experience of shooting the parties?Well, it was like a party every night! Since we didn’t have a budget, we used to get access to five-star hotels to shoot the party scenes only after 10 pm. The hotel management reasoned, ‘Din mein corporate events chalte hai. Toh aapko access 10 ke baad milega’. Hence, all the party scenes used to be shot between 10 pm and 6 am. The actors used to be exhausted. When Konkona was in the foreground and was talking to Tara Sharma, we needed to show Soni ji, Kunickaa, etc. in the background. These actors used to be asleep in the van and we’ll wake them up at 2 am. They would then put up the make-up, do touch-ups, wear jewellery, etc. and give the shot. At times, they had no dialogues but they had to be there. At times, they are just going left to right or right to left. Hence, it was a challenging task.Some people joked ‘Teri picture ka naam Page 3 hai ya Pastry hai?’! I am being very honest but most of the actors also didn’t understand what was I making! They were wondering ‘Yeh humko har jagah party karwa raha hai’! We used to send the footage to the editor every day. He would scan the footage and tell my producer, ‘Yeh film mein story bhi hai ya sirf party chal rahi hai?’ (laughs). He got the National Award, by the way! Nevertheless, I knew how strong my subject was and how it would unfold.One of the highlights of the film is Manoj Joshi as the driver and how he and other drivers gossip about their masters...I had the scene in my mind but I shot it much later, after completing the principal shoot. Then one day of patch work was remaining. This is when I decided to shoot.Let me tell you how I got the idea. Once, I was at the Centaur Hotel, Juhu. I tried calling my driver but there was a network issue. So, I came walking towards my car. This is when I saw 8-9 drivers chit-chatting. I liked the visual of all these drivers, clad in white uniforms, discussing something as if ki panchayat chal rahi ho! We left and on the way, I asked the driver, ‘Kya baat cheet kar rahe the tum log?’. My driver was so enthusiastic that he told me that one driver was talking about his boss, an actor, who was having an affair with an actress. I asked him ‘Tune mere baare mein kya baat ki?’ (laughs)! He replied, ‘Aapke baare mein baat nahin ki’ though I didn’t trust him!Hence, I wanted a driver’s point of view, like what are they thinking when we are partying inside. After all, the driver is someone from whom you cannot hide anything. You might think that you can talk in English and he won’t understand but he does. At times, the drivers analyze your body language and understand where you want to go next!How did you sign Manoj Joshi for the role?I called him as I had worked with him in Chandni Bar and Satta. I told him, like I told others, that I don’t have a budget! I explained to him that he plays like the head of the driver. We shot his scenes in Film City by parking 4-5 cars. The rest of the actors were real drivers. I shot the scenes together and then spread them throughout the film. After watching the film, many people told me that they have stopped talking in front of the drivers (laughs)!Another scene that stands out is the funeral scene. It’s a bit funny but also very heart-breaking...It is inspired by a real-life chautha that I attended of a Bollywood celebrity. I don’t want to mention whose chautha it was. But I was shocked to see the mighty people of Bollywood discussing ‘Did you see my movie?’, ‘What is your plan for tonight?’, ‘Are you partying tomorrow?’ while the bhajan was being sung on the stage. Hence, I decided to have a funeral scene in Page 3.Page 3 is about homosexuality, paedophile, etc. and yet it got a U/A certificate and not an ‘A’ certificate...The Censor people were shocked to see the film but they loved it. Also, they knew I had made Chandni Bar and Satta and were aware of where I was coming from. Hence, they appreciated it and said that they wanted this film to be seen by everybody. They just mute or maybe delete 2-3 abusive words. That’s it.Also Read: EXCLUSIVE: Madhur Bhandarkar’s next to expose the untold scandals of the Wives Of Bollywood: “It’s like Page 3 on steroids”