When CS met director Sudhir Mishra, he was busy receiving congratulatory calls for Yeh Saali Zindagi. Sudhir, who has received critical acclaim for films like Dharavi, Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi and Chameli, is elated at his new-found commercial success. We caught up with this hatke director for some filmy gupshup:

Coming out trumps
Conceiving this film was a tough task. But when a waiter at Imran Khan and Avantika Malik's reception came up to me and said 'Mishra, picture acchi thi' I knew I had done a good job. Yeh Saali Zindagi is my tribute to all the women in my life. Women, who were individualistic, spirited, inspiring and would give you a slap if you irritated them too much. None of them were doormats.

So, it was kind of autobiographical. I always made films on stories I believed in, and I am elated that this time people have loved my film so much. After this film, I have realised the need for humour in a story. I will try to incorporate as much humour in all my coming films. It's time I took things a little less seriously.

Cinema aaj kal
It feels great to be a part of this generation of filmmakers as I can identify more with them. I feel far less lonely now (laughs). Amongst the new crop, I love directors like Anurag Kashyap, Dibakar Banerjee, Raju Hirani, Imtiaz Ali, Rajkumar Gupta, and Vishal Bharadwaj to name a few. You might think that I am very old as compared to them but let me tell you that I am as young as them in my head (laughs out loud).

It's also heartening to watch the changing tastes of the audience as it has made directors more creative and experimental. Today, the audience wants stories they can relate to. The films they watch reflect a modern confident India. It's a myth today that a woman dominated film doesn't work. A woman today is independent and has a far more exciting life than ever. I am glad that films made by young directors also have the softness to strike an emotional chord with people.

Filmy nostalgia
Well, I love films that have a personal stamp of the director. I watch all sorts of cinema, right from regional films to masala movies. My dad was a film buff. As a kid, I remember sitting on his lap and watching films. I have grown up on Charlie Chaplin, Satyajit Ray and Raj Kapoor. My dad and I used to watch a lot of western films made by Billy Wielder. My uncle was an action film fanatic. I recollect that from the age of four to ten, I must have seen every Dara Singh film!

Who: Sudhir Mishra
What: Talking about his passion for cinema