Reflecting on his journey into filmmaking, Shekhar Kapur, the renowned filmmaker, recently disclosed that he had no formal training when he embarked on directing his debut movie Masoom in 1983. He said he now considers the lack of experience at the time a critical element in the film’s enduring impact.

Speaking to The Statesman on Monday, he said naivety and raw innocence are essential traits for any filmmaker as they fuel creativity and authenticity.

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“If I could,” Kapur said, “I would re-release Masoom. It wasn’t just my first directorial venture but also incredibly close to my heart. I was an accountant and knew nothing about making movies. Being naïve, innocent, and completely raw was the greatest lesson I could have had as a filmmaker.”

Masoom, starring Shabana Azmi, Naseeruddin Shah, Tanuja, Supriya Pathak, and Saeed Jaffrey, is a family drama that explores complex themes of love, loyalty, and betrayal within a family. The plot takes an emotional turn when the wife discovers her husband’s extramarital affair after the unexpected arrival of his son (played by Jugal Hansraj) from his past relationship.

Kapur is now preparing to bring a fresh vision to his classic with Masoom 2, which is set to be filmed from March next year onwards. This sequel will feature Azmi and Shah in the lead, alongside new a cast, including acclaimed actor Manoj Bajpayee and Kapur’s daughter, Kaveri. “The storyline is finalised. Although it differs from the original, it carries the same core values,” Kapur shared.

Kapur recounted a near-miss involving the Masoom 2 script, which he almost lost on a recent flight from Dubai. “It felt like destiny was looking out for me,” he said. “A flight attendant returned it with a note saying they loved the original Masoom and hoped the sequel would be just as good.”

The script’s close call seems to have added to the director’s determination to do justice to the much-loved classic.

Touching on modern trends, Kapur offered his insights into the growing use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in filmmaking. He shared an amusing anecdote about his cook, Nilesh, who presented him with a script draft for Masoom 2 — later revealing he had used ChatGPT to create it. Kapur admitted that the AI-generated draft was impressive, but he firmly believes that creativity demands human emotion and authenticity, something AI cannot replicate.

“If I can’t write a story myself, then who am I?” he asked.

Kapur continued to be cautious against over-reliance on AI as it would come in the way of creativity. “Dependence on AI makes a filmmaker lazy,” he stated. “Creativity is driven by the fear of the unknown, faith, love, fear, and hope — emotions that AI may define but cannot genuinely experience.”

For Kapur, authentic storytelling stems from lived experiences and emotional depth, the aspects he believes technology cannot capture. “What drives a human being are faith, love, fear, and hope. AI can define hope but cannot make you hope. AI can’t fall in love. If you don’t fall in love, how can you ever be creative? You have to be able to fall in love and fall out of it. One needs to feel the pain and not describe it. To make a great script you have to feel pain. To make a great film you have to feel pain. AI can’t feel the pain,” said the Bandit Queen director.

With Masoom 2, Kapur seeks to revisit the cult classic while challenging modern cinematic techniques, emphasising that true storytelling is as much about heart as it is about skill.