For most of us who follow celebrity journalism, there is voyeuristic pleasure to be gained from watching and knowing what’s going on in a celebrity’s private life. But there are others still who take great delight in knowing what goes on in a celebrity’s mind: his/her creative process and the makings of their cinematic oeuvre and journey. It is the latter, says film journalist, critic and author Anupama Chopra that would enjoy her latest offering: The Front Row: Conversations on Cinema, a coffee-table book that is an offshoot of the show she used to host with the same name. It  comprises Chopra’s televised interviews held between 2012 and 2014, with both Bollywood and Hollywood personalities, such as Aamir Khan, Shah Rukh Khan, Amitabh Bachchan, Kangana Ranaut, Will Smith, Martin Scorsese, and Johnny Depp, to name a few.

Over a telephone chat with the Business Line, Chopra tells us more about her creative process: the research that goes into her interviews, the experience of playing interviewer to the stars, and who the book’s intended audience is.

Speaking about the preparation that goes on prior to the interview, Anupama says: “I read up and watch their recent interviews, watch their most recent movies, acquaint myself with the genre their movies belong to.” And what about gossip, peer reviews of their works and media reports? Does she factor these into her questions to make the writing more engaging and current? “My interest in their personal lives exists only to the extent to which it shapes their careers and influences their work,” she adds.

Apart from Kangana Ranaut’s interview (close to the release of her movie Queen) which Chopra credits with having put the show “on the map”, one of her most memorable and revelatory interviews was the round-table discussion that took place on the show between Amitabh Bachchan, Farhan Akhtar, Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh.

But did Anupama’s day job as a film critic interfere with her interviews? Say, did any of the personalities she interviewed, who had happened to receive a poor review by her, air their grievances on air? “People who have come on the show have been very gracious,” she says. Rohit Shetty, jokingly, went as far as to say that he makes his movies for the “masses” and didn’t care very much for her review, she says.

And what about reviews after interviews, did the personal interaction have a bearing on her appraisal of their work? “It is very hard to disassociate yourself and the review from the interview. I have also known some of these personalities intimately. But in the end, one must speak the truth,” she says. “Integrity is of utmost importance,” she adds emphatically.

What about her husband, director Vidhu Vinod Copra? “Oh I never review his movie, that is a conflict of interest,” she rushes to correct me.

The episodes of the show are available online for free viewing. What does a book, consisting of the same, bring to the table? “The book serves as a time capsule. A collector’s item, it’s a curated version of my interviews and would prove interesting archival, research material for movie journalists and fans alike.”

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