Desert Rose
Pratim D. Gupta
Jack Nicholson got his nose slashed in Chinatown because his Jake Gittes was “a very nosy fellow”. Abhay Deol gets a gash on his forehead in Manorama because his Satyaveer Randhawa has a phata kopal.
Navdeep Singh’s directorial debut is an intriguing tribute to Roman Polanski’s cult noir thriller and not another copy-paste job. Even if he didn’t have Abhay watching a scene from Chinatown on TV, those who have seen the original would know where the difference lies. Just like in Zinda, where Sanjay Gupta conveniently bypassed the incest angle when copying the Korean film Old Boy, Navdeep keeps stressing the mother plot to stay away from Chinatown’s “she’s my sister and my daughter” premise. And it is there, in that last half-an-hour, when things tumble out of the box, that he loses grip on what till then was a fine piece of old-school film-making.
Satyaveer aka SV (Abhay) is a failed writer who hasn’t kept a single copy of his only detective novel Manorama even though only 200 of them have ever been sold. One of them is read by Manorama (Sarika) who finds enough in the pages to appoint SV as a private eye to follow her husband (irrigation minister Rathore played by Kulbhushan Kharbanda) and freeze-frame him in compromising positions.
Before you know it she is dead and SV, still recovering from his second honeymoon romp with his wife (Gul), is in the middle of his first case. Add his malpua-eating saala sub-inspector Brijmohan (Vinay) and Manorama’s fishy roommate Sheetal (Raima) to the proceedings and the small desert town of Lakhot in Rajasthan comes alive.
But then what you see is not what you get. Staying true to the genre, Navdeep spins his yarn like a veteran, sprinkling clues and characters judiciously. Well-paced, superbly shot and laced with sharp dialogues, Manorama is quite a watch till the backstories start getting too heavy and do not stack up on closer scrutiny.
Each member of the ensemble cast, including the two goons who keep roughing up SV is well cast. Effectively controlled, Abhay shows great potential as the reluctant sleuth who gets dragged into a bloody mess. Gul Panag is quite brilliant. Playing the sloppiest of characters, that of the nagging wife, she mixes warmth and humour. And yes, she and Abhay share what must be the most passionate Bollywood screen kiss in a long time. Another high point is the extended Raima-Abhay interplay across the aquarium. Vinay Pathak is, as usual, infectious.
You may have to dig “six feet under” to rearrange the storyline chronologically but even then Manorama is recommended.
Friday, September 21, 2007
Friday, August 3, 2007
Review: Gandhi My Father
Tryst with destiny
Pratim D. Gupta
August 15, 1947: As the whole country rejoiced at their newfound independence, one Indian was more interested in the sweets that were being distributed and not the flags with them.
That was the “tryst with destiny” of Harilal Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, a streetside beggar by the time Nehru was announcing India’s arrival to the world.
As a father-son story, Feroz Abbas Khan’s Gandhi My Father is not very different from Ramesh Sippy’s Shakti but it is the historical backdrop which turns everything upside down. In fact, there is so much of shock value in the going-ons that Khan (also the writer) has to deliberately jam the brakes on the pace to help the audience soak it all in.
The inner angst of Junior Gandhi — that’s what Harilal was called in Phoenix Settlement in South Africa — was so deep that he would try to change his future by changing religions as fast as he changed his clothes and appearances. But it was the past he couldn’t rid himself of. “Mera itihas lambi hai aur bhugol gol,” he cries in despair.
Thanks to a father who would “define the meaning of independence and then set its parameters”, Harilal was lost in his lineage. As years passed, he kept getting tonked around back and forth from South Africa to India and internally things got so bitter that at one point of time he says: “Whenever I fail, he (Gandhi) succeeds.”
But interestingly, they would both come back to each other from time to time looking for redemption. Harilal would first seek Gandhi’s permission, then his money and then even his identity. He almost tells himself: “I’m Gandhi’s son; how can I cheat?” Gandhi, on the other hand, realises that he could have done so much more for his elder son but cannot take out time to do so. In a telling scene, he asks Harilal to come back to him but, as the train rolls out of the station, he has to leave him there.
Yes, producer Anil Kapoor is right — this is a story that had to be told. And told with the responsibility that Feroz Khan brings on board. You can feel an overtone of Mahatma Gandhi’s insensitivity towards his son but the director never screams it out. Because he comes from a rich background of theatre, Khan’s script tends to become episodic in parts. But the stage-to-screen switch works with the stress on physical acting by the main players. Feroz also uses close-ups of on-lookers to great effect.
Harilal is Akshaye Khanna and not the other way round. Letting go of his familiar dimpled chuckles, Akshaye sinks into the role seamlessly. And the scene when he comes shivering home to his dead wife looks set to become one of the finest pieces of acting in the history of Indian cinema.
Darshan Zariwalla is so effective as Gandhi that you never miss Sir Ben Kingsley, which is quite an achievement. Even Shefali Shah and Bhoomika Chawla are knockouts as the ladies caught in the middle. Another hero of the enterprise is cinematographer David McDonald who uses natural lighting and colour schemes to great effect.
The silhouettes stay with you and so does the lingering question: Was Gandhigiri a fool-proof
formula?
Pratim D. Gupta
August 15, 1947: As the whole country rejoiced at their newfound independence, one Indian was more interested in the sweets that were being distributed and not the flags with them.
That was the “tryst with destiny” of Harilal Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, a streetside beggar by the time Nehru was announcing India’s arrival to the world.
As a father-son story, Feroz Abbas Khan’s Gandhi My Father is not very different from Ramesh Sippy’s Shakti but it is the historical backdrop which turns everything upside down. In fact, there is so much of shock value in the going-ons that Khan (also the writer) has to deliberately jam the brakes on the pace to help the audience soak it all in.
The inner angst of Junior Gandhi — that’s what Harilal was called in Phoenix Settlement in South Africa — was so deep that he would try to change his future by changing religions as fast as he changed his clothes and appearances. But it was the past he couldn’t rid himself of. “Mera itihas lambi hai aur bhugol gol,” he cries in despair.
Thanks to a father who would “define the meaning of independence and then set its parameters”, Harilal was lost in his lineage. As years passed, he kept getting tonked around back and forth from South Africa to India and internally things got so bitter that at one point of time he says: “Whenever I fail, he (Gandhi) succeeds.”
But interestingly, they would both come back to each other from time to time looking for redemption. Harilal would first seek Gandhi’s permission, then his money and then even his identity. He almost tells himself: “I’m Gandhi’s son; how can I cheat?” Gandhi, on the other hand, realises that he could have done so much more for his elder son but cannot take out time to do so. In a telling scene, he asks Harilal to come back to him but, as the train rolls out of the station, he has to leave him there.
Yes, producer Anil Kapoor is right — this is a story that had to be told. And told with the responsibility that Feroz Khan brings on board. You can feel an overtone of Mahatma Gandhi’s insensitivity towards his son but the director never screams it out. Because he comes from a rich background of theatre, Khan’s script tends to become episodic in parts. But the stage-to-screen switch works with the stress on physical acting by the main players. Feroz also uses close-ups of on-lookers to great effect.
Harilal is Akshaye Khanna and not the other way round. Letting go of his familiar dimpled chuckles, Akshaye sinks into the role seamlessly. And the scene when he comes shivering home to his dead wife looks set to become one of the finest pieces of acting in the history of Indian cinema.
Darshan Zariwalla is so effective as Gandhi that you never miss Sir Ben Kingsley, which is quite an achievement. Even Shefali Shah and Bhoomika Chawla are knockouts as the ladies caught in the middle. Another hero of the enterprise is cinematographer David McDonald who uses natural lighting and colour schemes to great effect.
The silhouettes stay with you and so does the lingering question: Was Gandhigiri a fool-proof
formula?
Thursday, August 2, 2007
Interview: Salman Khan
Salman Khan. Shirtless, yet cloaked in mystery. Bad boy, yet a box-office hero. A boy who refuses to grow up, yet a man who looks hopelessly in love. A troublemaker, yet a rockstar. The enfant terrible of Bollywood is both this and that. That’s why he remains such a big draw as Prem in Partner 17 years after he burst on to the scene as Prem in Maine Pyar Kiya.
Director Rajkumar Santoshi once said, “If Salman would have been serious about his career, he would have been the biggest star ever.”
But Salman had other ideas. He chose to live life on his own terms, which meant living on the edge. Constantly. From the jungles of Mawad in Rajasthan to the streets of Mumbai, he would keep doing things that are just not done. And yet, the paying public kept giving him some of the biggest openings in Bolly history.
Why? “The audience also loves bad boys and Salman is an unapologetic bad boy,” says trade analyst Indu Mirani. “His films are always entertaining and he is invariably good in them. Also, Salman chooses roles that take his bad boy image forward.” But always with a seeti-taali twist.
Often it doesn’t matter what role Salman is playing. We have seen girls cosying up to their boyfriends in the darkness of theatres but going “oooh” every time Salman goes topless and “aha re” every time Salman goes teary.
“He is a complete rockstar,” says Partner director David Dhawan, who has worked with Salman on many hits like Judwaa and Mujhse Shaadi Karogi. “He is any director’s dream and he can give you whatever you want. Also no one can improvise as much as him.”
There is another Salman, swear his close friends. The one the outer world will never get to see, they add. The one Govinda had appealed to when the out-of-work minister was desperately seeking a role. He was promptly given Salaam-e-Ishq and Partner. And let’s not forget how Salman Khan was the one who recommended his friend for the role of Prem in Maine Pyar Kiya when he was being offered a career by Sooraj Barjatya.
He is the one so many Bollywood stars turn to in a crisis. “He behaves like a don but is really a darling,” says a leading lady.
With two Salman Khan releases — one with good ol’ David Dhawan and the other his first English movie — within a month, Pratim D. Gupta chats up the man...
A Salman Khan release this Friday after so long… How were your Partner(s) in crime?
Very good… (Brother) Sohail (Khan) as producer, David (Dhawan) as director and my brother Govinda as Partner. It’s the best place to be in — it’s like the extension of my home.
Govinda says his family will always be grateful to you because you gave him work…
Don’t believe him. He had spaced out his film work because he wanted to work on his constitution. When we read the script of Partner, we knew it had to be Govinda. So it’s not like I gave him a new lease of life or anything.
What was it like being in the same frame as Govinda?
Scary… (pause). He is too good. No one will look at me (smiles)… No, we aren’t competing with each other. We are partners… Govinda is just mad. He would not eat anything the whole day and then hog at night. He has the most unhealthy diet in the world.
Why did you sign an English film like Marigold?
Only because of Willard (Carroll)... He is the most genuine and straightforward guy I have met. He wanted to meet me for 15 minutes and he ended up in my house for the next four days. Also, Marigold is a simple love story and I really liked the narration. I play the Prem of Maine Pyar Kiya, 17 years later. If I did it in Hindi, people would have found it unbelievable. So Marigold is the first English film that I have done.
But you, of all the stars around, have never aimed to conquer the west or anything…
(Pause) I still don’t belong to that world… I feel I still have a lot to do in our Hindi film industry. So this is not an act of crossing over at all. Even if the film does very well or becomes a blockbuster I would continue to work here… I have approached the film the way I do my films here. It’s a love story and that too a musical one. It reminds me of Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam…
Would you have done the film if it was shot outside India without any Indian connection?
I would do it. But only if it was Willard Carroll… otherwise I am not very sure… Willard wrote the dialogues just like the way I speak in real life. He would even sit with my father (Salim Khan) for suggestions. My dad, you know, is the best scriptwriter ever. So it was like a family thing.
Is there a difference in the working methods of the Hollywood crew as opposed to what you are used to in Bollywood?
Well, they are more organised in their work. They go about film-making as a process. Here the movie is sold even before it is made. So that is the difference. The work gets easier and simpler for them because they go step by step. Otherwise we are all people, human. They speak in English and we speak in English (smiles).
What do you have to say about your first phirang heroine Ali Larter?
When she first came to Mumbai, she hated me. We met at this restaurant called Olive and she hated the way I was being treated as a star. I would enter the place and 10 people would come across and greet me. She sat there and sulked. I told Willard, what perfect casting! Because in the film too her character is arrogant and hates all things Indian initially. But then the ice broke. We got along very well.
You play a choreographer in Marigold. How would you rate yourself as a dancer?
I dance a little better than Ajay Devgan and a little worse than Hrithik Roshan (laughs). But they always create steps for me which are easy enough. If they are complicated my fans can’t copy them, you see. But in Marigold, since I was the dance director, I had to work really hard to know all the steps.
Will you do more Western productions or maybe crossover films like Marigold?
No chance at all. Hindi films rock! First let me capture here, then I will think about Hollywood (smiles).
It’s said that very few people understand Salman Khan. Do you agree?
(Long pause) Whatever the press writes about me is just fine. They can write as many lies as they want. (At the) End of the day they feed their children, take care of their families, educate their children… from the salary they draw. If they are okay about that I am okay with that too. It’s fine. It’s like social work for me. If you are writing shit about me and you are writing something which is not true about me and supporting your families with it, I am fine with that kind of shit written about me. And if they want to do it at my cost, they are more than welcome. (Silence).
Finally, everyone’s talking about you getting married soon. What is the official news?
You tell me, dude! You have got me married so many times. I have no problem, just that my fans get worried every time (smiles).
Director Rajkumar Santoshi once said, “If Salman would have been serious about his career, he would have been the biggest star ever.”
But Salman had other ideas. He chose to live life on his own terms, which meant living on the edge. Constantly. From the jungles of Mawad in Rajasthan to the streets of Mumbai, he would keep doing things that are just not done. And yet, the paying public kept giving him some of the biggest openings in Bolly history.
Why? “The audience also loves bad boys and Salman is an unapologetic bad boy,” says trade analyst Indu Mirani. “His films are always entertaining and he is invariably good in them. Also, Salman chooses roles that take his bad boy image forward.” But always with a seeti-taali twist.
Often it doesn’t matter what role Salman is playing. We have seen girls cosying up to their boyfriends in the darkness of theatres but going “oooh” every time Salman goes topless and “aha re” every time Salman goes teary.
“He is a complete rockstar,” says Partner director David Dhawan, who has worked with Salman on many hits like Judwaa and Mujhse Shaadi Karogi. “He is any director’s dream and he can give you whatever you want. Also no one can improvise as much as him.”
There is another Salman, swear his close friends. The one the outer world will never get to see, they add. The one Govinda had appealed to when the out-of-work minister was desperately seeking a role. He was promptly given Salaam-e-Ishq and Partner. And let’s not forget how Salman Khan was the one who recommended his friend for the role of Prem in Maine Pyar Kiya when he was being offered a career by Sooraj Barjatya.
He is the one so many Bollywood stars turn to in a crisis. “He behaves like a don but is really a darling,” says a leading lady.
With two Salman Khan releases — one with good ol’ David Dhawan and the other his first English movie — within a month, Pratim D. Gupta chats up the man...
A Salman Khan release this Friday after so long… How were your Partner(s) in crime?
Very good… (Brother) Sohail (Khan) as producer, David (Dhawan) as director and my brother Govinda as Partner. It’s the best place to be in — it’s like the extension of my home.
Govinda says his family will always be grateful to you because you gave him work…
Don’t believe him. He had spaced out his film work because he wanted to work on his constitution. When we read the script of Partner, we knew it had to be Govinda. So it’s not like I gave him a new lease of life or anything.
What was it like being in the same frame as Govinda?
Scary… (pause). He is too good. No one will look at me (smiles)… No, we aren’t competing with each other. We are partners… Govinda is just mad. He would not eat anything the whole day and then hog at night. He has the most unhealthy diet in the world.
Why did you sign an English film like Marigold?
Only because of Willard (Carroll)... He is the most genuine and straightforward guy I have met. He wanted to meet me for 15 minutes and he ended up in my house for the next four days. Also, Marigold is a simple love story and I really liked the narration. I play the Prem of Maine Pyar Kiya, 17 years later. If I did it in Hindi, people would have found it unbelievable. So Marigold is the first English film that I have done.
But you, of all the stars around, have never aimed to conquer the west or anything…
(Pause) I still don’t belong to that world… I feel I still have a lot to do in our Hindi film industry. So this is not an act of crossing over at all. Even if the film does very well or becomes a blockbuster I would continue to work here… I have approached the film the way I do my films here. It’s a love story and that too a musical one. It reminds me of Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam…
Would you have done the film if it was shot outside India without any Indian connection?
I would do it. But only if it was Willard Carroll… otherwise I am not very sure… Willard wrote the dialogues just like the way I speak in real life. He would even sit with my father (Salim Khan) for suggestions. My dad, you know, is the best scriptwriter ever. So it was like a family thing.
Is there a difference in the working methods of the Hollywood crew as opposed to what you are used to in Bollywood?
Well, they are more organised in their work. They go about film-making as a process. Here the movie is sold even before it is made. So that is the difference. The work gets easier and simpler for them because they go step by step. Otherwise we are all people, human. They speak in English and we speak in English (smiles).
What do you have to say about your first phirang heroine Ali Larter?
When she first came to Mumbai, she hated me. We met at this restaurant called Olive and she hated the way I was being treated as a star. I would enter the place and 10 people would come across and greet me. She sat there and sulked. I told Willard, what perfect casting! Because in the film too her character is arrogant and hates all things Indian initially. But then the ice broke. We got along very well.
You play a choreographer in Marigold. How would you rate yourself as a dancer?
I dance a little better than Ajay Devgan and a little worse than Hrithik Roshan (laughs). But they always create steps for me which are easy enough. If they are complicated my fans can’t copy them, you see. But in Marigold, since I was the dance director, I had to work really hard to know all the steps.
Will you do more Western productions or maybe crossover films like Marigold?
No chance at all. Hindi films rock! First let me capture here, then I will think about Hollywood (smiles).
It’s said that very few people understand Salman Khan. Do you agree?
(Long pause) Whatever the press writes about me is just fine. They can write as many lies as they want. (At the) End of the day they feed their children, take care of their families, educate their children… from the salary they draw. If they are okay about that I am okay with that too. It’s fine. It’s like social work for me. If you are writing shit about me and you are writing something which is not true about me and supporting your families with it, I am fine with that kind of shit written about me. And if they want to do it at my cost, they are more than welcome. (Silence).
Finally, everyone’s talking about you getting married soon. What is the official news?
You tell me, dude! You have got me married so many times. I have no problem, just that my fans get worried every time (smiles).
Interview: Akshaye Khanna
He cried. At a private show of Gandhi My Father, with father Vinod Khanna, Akshaye Khanna cried. A decade after he debuted with Himalay Putra, the son has risen. He was romantic in Taal, endearing in Border, engaging in Dil Chahta Hai and sinister in Humraaz... and yet, as Anil Kapoor puts it, “totally underutilised”.
Gandhi My Father was what the good doctor had ordered for Akshaye. As director Feroz Abbas Khan says, the role of Harilal — estranged son of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi — needed an actor and not a star. “And while Akshaye is definitely a star, we wanted the actor in him to come out,” says Feroz. “Right from the auditions to the sets, we realised that the lesser the star Akshaye became, his character became stronger and stronger.”
While Akshaye has always been promising, his choice of films has been far from satisfactory. Watching him admire Mallika Sherawat’s assets with a wig almost falling over his nose in an inane sex comedy like Shaadi Se Pehle was quite a torture chamber experience — for him and us.
But even in the mediocre material that has come his way, Akshaye has tried to bring a method to the madness. “You can hear his brain ticking all the time,” says Salaam-e-Ishq maker Nikhil Advani. “As an actor, he gives a director so many options in the same scene. He is one of the best we have.”
As Akshaye says in a chat with Pratim D. Gupta, the greatest of actors make mistakes. We hope Akshaye’s made his share and Gandhi My Father proves to be the turning point.
Your producer and your biggest fan Anil Kapoor says that Akshaye Khanna was born to play Harilal. Your comments...
(Laughs) That’s very sweet of him. The way I see it all the casting in the film has been done keeping in mind who suits the characters the best. Not just me, even Gandhi and Kasturba.
But Gandhi My Father is definitely not just another film you have done...
No, definitely. There’s something really special. Something that has exceeded my expectations. I was floored by the script but the film has turned out to be even better. I feel fully charged about Gandhi My Father. It’s really, really something to look forward to.
What made it special? The historical backdrop or the human relationships?
I feel it is the relationship between Harilal Gandhi and Mahatma Gandhi. No one knows about this story, yaar. What a beautiful story! What a moving story! Very few people even know about the existence of Harilal Gandhi.
The general feeling is that Harilal was so overawed by his father that he wasted his own life. How do you look at him?
I know people feel that just because Harilal had a troubled relationship with Mahatma Gandhi, he was weak. No. That’s not true. He was a tremendously intelligent, a man with very strong character. He had a mind of his own. How many people know that Harilal was Mahatma Gandhi’s right-hand man in South Africa? He was the first Satyagrahi. He went to jail so many times. Harilal was the first person to use fasting as a weapon for justice. He was the man who taught Gandhi that fasting can be used to fight against injustice.
Isn’t Gandhi My Father pitched as a family film rather than a historical account?
Yes, because here we are dealing with emotions that can never be dated, can never be irrelevant. What is the essence of the story? As my director (Feroz Abbas Khan) says it beautifully: “Here is a boy looking constantly for Bapu and confronting Mahatma.” Now, those are basic family values.
History is in the background. Freedom struggle, all that, is used as a backdrop. What is in the front is the story of a family. The sacrifices that all the great leaders of that time made was not just about going to jail. Families were ruined, relationships were affected. Now that you and me are talking here in a free country is because of those sacrifices.
You did not do any other film during the making of Gandhi My Father. Did you feel responsible for the job at hand?
Instantly. No two ways about it. I have never ever come across this calibre of writing. It just stunned me. There was no question about not doing it. The entire team just approached this film in such a way... the whole focus came from a place of honesty, of truthfulness. Just tell the story, that was the idea.
As far as research goes, since Harilal is not a known figure, my job became easier than Darshan Zariwala or Shefali Shah. Their responsibility was far greater. Because no one knows how Harilal looked, how Harilal talked, I just had to capture the essence of the man, the spirit of the man. Feroz gave me some material and said, it’s enough, just read it a couple of times and then just go with the script.
It’s said that everyone in Bollywood wanted to do this role, including Aamir Khan. Does that put extra pressure on you?
Why should that put pressure on me? My work is already done. It is canned. It is ready to be shown the world over. I can’t do anything more. And I do not feel that I could have given any more effort. There is no sense of regret or the feeling that I have left one stone unturned. I have really given everything to this role. Now we just want as many people as possible to be aware of the film and, hopefully, like it. Now if someone wanted to do my role, well, I can’t do anything about it.
After doing films like Gandhi My Father, is it difficult to get yourself to do such inane Bollywood romcoms?
Every film requires its own approach. I don’t approach my films as being unimportant or less important. When I am on the sets and doing my work, all the films are same to me. I have to be in the moment and I have to do my job to the best of my ability. To me there is no distinction. But the media and the public have their own point of view and rightly so.
You certainly can do better than Shaadi Se Pehle and Aap Ki Khatir...
All actors make decisions and choices which are part of their work. That does not mean that you choose not to work in certain kinds of movies. I did those films out of choice. Why should I be shy of it? If I made choices which ‘x’ number of people think have been bad choices, I accept it. I embrace it. But I have made that choice and I have gone wrong. And sometimes I have been right.
You pick the greatest actors in the world. They have all gone wrong. They have done films which have not done justice to them, which have disappointed their fans and well-wishers. That is the nature of the business. I am not Einstein. Hopefully those mistakes will become less but I will continue to make my choices. I am not coming from a space where I should be ashamed. I am not trying to run away from my work.
Will you do more Western productions or maybe crossover films?
After this I am not thinking of anything. Three of us — Anil, Feroz and me — are just going mad. It’s like we are delivering a baby. And when delivering you can’t think about anything else apart from the baby.
Gandhi My Father was what the good doctor had ordered for Akshaye. As director Feroz Abbas Khan says, the role of Harilal — estranged son of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi — needed an actor and not a star. “And while Akshaye is definitely a star, we wanted the actor in him to come out,” says Feroz. “Right from the auditions to the sets, we realised that the lesser the star Akshaye became, his character became stronger and stronger.”
While Akshaye has always been promising, his choice of films has been far from satisfactory. Watching him admire Mallika Sherawat’s assets with a wig almost falling over his nose in an inane sex comedy like Shaadi Se Pehle was quite a torture chamber experience — for him and us.
But even in the mediocre material that has come his way, Akshaye has tried to bring a method to the madness. “You can hear his brain ticking all the time,” says Salaam-e-Ishq maker Nikhil Advani. “As an actor, he gives a director so many options in the same scene. He is one of the best we have.”
As Akshaye says in a chat with Pratim D. Gupta, the greatest of actors make mistakes. We hope Akshaye’s made his share and Gandhi My Father proves to be the turning point.
Your producer and your biggest fan Anil Kapoor says that Akshaye Khanna was born to play Harilal. Your comments...
(Laughs) That’s very sweet of him. The way I see it all the casting in the film has been done keeping in mind who suits the characters the best. Not just me, even Gandhi and Kasturba.
But Gandhi My Father is definitely not just another film you have done...
No, definitely. There’s something really special. Something that has exceeded my expectations. I was floored by the script but the film has turned out to be even better. I feel fully charged about Gandhi My Father. It’s really, really something to look forward to.
What made it special? The historical backdrop or the human relationships?
I feel it is the relationship between Harilal Gandhi and Mahatma Gandhi. No one knows about this story, yaar. What a beautiful story! What a moving story! Very few people even know about the existence of Harilal Gandhi.
The general feeling is that Harilal was so overawed by his father that he wasted his own life. How do you look at him?
I know people feel that just because Harilal had a troubled relationship with Mahatma Gandhi, he was weak. No. That’s not true. He was a tremendously intelligent, a man with very strong character. He had a mind of his own. How many people know that Harilal was Mahatma Gandhi’s right-hand man in South Africa? He was the first Satyagrahi. He went to jail so many times. Harilal was the first person to use fasting as a weapon for justice. He was the man who taught Gandhi that fasting can be used to fight against injustice.
Isn’t Gandhi My Father pitched as a family film rather than a historical account?
Yes, because here we are dealing with emotions that can never be dated, can never be irrelevant. What is the essence of the story? As my director (Feroz Abbas Khan) says it beautifully: “Here is a boy looking constantly for Bapu and confronting Mahatma.” Now, those are basic family values.
History is in the background. Freedom struggle, all that, is used as a backdrop. What is in the front is the story of a family. The sacrifices that all the great leaders of that time made was not just about going to jail. Families were ruined, relationships were affected. Now that you and me are talking here in a free country is because of those sacrifices.
You did not do any other film during the making of Gandhi My Father. Did you feel responsible for the job at hand?
Instantly. No two ways about it. I have never ever come across this calibre of writing. It just stunned me. There was no question about not doing it. The entire team just approached this film in such a way... the whole focus came from a place of honesty, of truthfulness. Just tell the story, that was the idea.
As far as research goes, since Harilal is not a known figure, my job became easier than Darshan Zariwala or Shefali Shah. Their responsibility was far greater. Because no one knows how Harilal looked, how Harilal talked, I just had to capture the essence of the man, the spirit of the man. Feroz gave me some material and said, it’s enough, just read it a couple of times and then just go with the script.
It’s said that everyone in Bollywood wanted to do this role, including Aamir Khan. Does that put extra pressure on you?
Why should that put pressure on me? My work is already done. It is canned. It is ready to be shown the world over. I can’t do anything more. And I do not feel that I could have given any more effort. There is no sense of regret or the feeling that I have left one stone unturned. I have really given everything to this role. Now we just want as many people as possible to be aware of the film and, hopefully, like it. Now if someone wanted to do my role, well, I can’t do anything about it.
After doing films like Gandhi My Father, is it difficult to get yourself to do such inane Bollywood romcoms?
Every film requires its own approach. I don’t approach my films as being unimportant or less important. When I am on the sets and doing my work, all the films are same to me. I have to be in the moment and I have to do my job to the best of my ability. To me there is no distinction. But the media and the public have their own point of view and rightly so.
You certainly can do better than Shaadi Se Pehle and Aap Ki Khatir...
All actors make decisions and choices which are part of their work. That does not mean that you choose not to work in certain kinds of movies. I did those films out of choice. Why should I be shy of it? If I made choices which ‘x’ number of people think have been bad choices, I accept it. I embrace it. But I have made that choice and I have gone wrong. And sometimes I have been right.
You pick the greatest actors in the world. They have all gone wrong. They have done films which have not done justice to them, which have disappointed their fans and well-wishers. That is the nature of the business. I am not Einstein. Hopefully those mistakes will become less but I will continue to make my choices. I am not coming from a space where I should be ashamed. I am not trying to run away from my work.
Will you do more Western productions or maybe crossover films?
After this I am not thinking of anything. Three of us — Anil, Feroz and me — are just going mad. It’s like we are delivering a baby. And when delivering you can’t think about anything else apart from the baby.
Feature: Ray music in Wes Anderson film
Pratim D. Gupta
Anu Malik’s Chhamma chhamma was used by Baz Luhrmann in Moulin Rouge. A.R. Rahman’s Chhaiyya chhaiyya was used by Spike Lee in Inside Man. Even Shankar Jaikishen’s Kya mil gaya found its way on to the soundtrack of The Guru. But what Wes Anderson has done for his new film The Darjeeling Limited is sure going to make us a whole lot more proud.
Steely Dan may have openly offered its services for the soundtrack of The Darjeeling Limited but Wes Anderson, the maker of such neo-classics like The Royal Tenenbaums and Bottle Rocket, has gone ahead and used soundtracks from films by Satyajit Ray and Merchant Ivory for the film. This is indeed the first time Ray’s music is being used posthumously by a Hollywood production (Fox Searchlight is backing The Darjeeling Limited).
So, the first trailer of the movie, starring Adrien Brody, Owen Wilson and Jason Schwartzman, is out on the Net and the promo takes off with the Charulata theme before going off to songs — Strangers and This time tomorrow — by the British band The Kinks.
In his interviews, Anderson has admitted that he has always been a big Ray fan. “My main knowledge of Indian films is Ray’s films.... Ray’s work has been an enormous influence on the movie I am making in Rajasthan,” he said in an interview. “His films have inspired all my other movies, and I should dedicate the movie to him.”
The Darjeeling Limited, in fact, was shot almost entirely in India — mostly in Rajasthan — although it never quite made it to Darjeeling. The film revolves around three American brothers who take a trip together to India after the death of their father and disappearance of their mom. Mayhem ensues when they get kicked off a train.
While the film releases in the US on September 29, The Darjeeling Limited will first open at the New York Film Festival a day before. That’s often been a good omen for an Oscar takeoff with The Queen, Good Night, and Good Luck and Mystic River all kicking off in the same festival. The movie, which stars Irrfan in a cameo, will also participate in the Venice Film Festival.
Anu Malik’s Chhamma chhamma was used by Baz Luhrmann in Moulin Rouge. A.R. Rahman’s Chhaiyya chhaiyya was used by Spike Lee in Inside Man. Even Shankar Jaikishen’s Kya mil gaya found its way on to the soundtrack of The Guru. But what Wes Anderson has done for his new film The Darjeeling Limited is sure going to make us a whole lot more proud.
Steely Dan may have openly offered its services for the soundtrack of The Darjeeling Limited but Wes Anderson, the maker of such neo-classics like The Royal Tenenbaums and Bottle Rocket, has gone ahead and used soundtracks from films by Satyajit Ray and Merchant Ivory for the film. This is indeed the first time Ray’s music is being used posthumously by a Hollywood production (Fox Searchlight is backing The Darjeeling Limited).
So, the first trailer of the movie, starring Adrien Brody, Owen Wilson and Jason Schwartzman, is out on the Net and the promo takes off with the Charulata theme before going off to songs — Strangers and This time tomorrow — by the British band The Kinks.
In his interviews, Anderson has admitted that he has always been a big Ray fan. “My main knowledge of Indian films is Ray’s films.... Ray’s work has been an enormous influence on the movie I am making in Rajasthan,” he said in an interview. “His films have inspired all my other movies, and I should dedicate the movie to him.”
The Darjeeling Limited, in fact, was shot almost entirely in India — mostly in Rajasthan — although it never quite made it to Darjeeling. The film revolves around three American brothers who take a trip together to India after the death of their father and disappearance of their mom. Mayhem ensues when they get kicked off a train.
While the film releases in the US on September 29, The Darjeeling Limited will first open at the New York Film Festival a day before. That’s often been a good omen for an Oscar takeoff with The Queen, Good Night, and Good Luck and Mystic River all kicking off in the same festival. The movie, which stars Irrfan in a cameo, will also participate in the Venice Film Festival.
Interview: Shefali Shah
Rohini Hatangadi won a BAFTA for Best Actress for her performance as Kasturba Gandhi in Sir Richard Attenborough’s Gandhi. Filling the shoes of Ba for the latest Gandhi film — Gandhi My Father — will be Shefali Shah. The actress who was in town earlier this year to shoot for Rituparno Ghosh’s The Last Lear, tells Pratim D. Gupta about the “challenge of a lifetime”.
It’s said that everyone in the cast had to go through many rounds of auditions. What about you?
That was the best thing. (Director) Feroz (Abbas Khan) at the very initial stage of scripting just wanted me to play Ba. It had to be Shefali, he said. Uma Da Cunha, who was casting for the film, told me that I was to do an important film and that it should be exclusive. Meaning I can’t work for any other film at that time.
That initially meant you couldn’t do Waqt opposite Amitabh Bachchan, being directed by your husband Vipul Shah?
Yes, I was asked to choose between Waqt and Gandhi My Father. Eventually things got settled because Vipul and Feroz are good friends. We could work out the dates. I still don’t know which film I would have gone for if I were to make that choice.
What did playing Kasturba Gandhi mean to you?
I was thrilled. It was a role any actor would die to do. I was really honoured to have been offered to play Kasturba Gandhi.
Does it put pressure on you that Rohini Hatangadi is synonymous with Kasturba Gandhi?
No... there’s no pressure. It doesn’t matter if I am better than her or she was better than me. All that matters is whether I have been able to be honest to Ba. There was never any competition. In Gandhi My Father it is finally about what a tragedy Ba went through. As a performance Rohiniji did a very good job.... But the way I see it, I do not want to be appreciated. People have to feel her pain.
Having been Ba, what, according to you, is the real origin of this pain?
The way I see it is that two men chose their own paths and followed them and the only person who got torn in between was Ba. So for Gandhi My Father to work, I believe that the audience must feel the pain that Ba depicts.
Mother to Akshay Kumar in Waqt. Mother to Akshaye Khanna in Gandhi My Father. You are making it a habit to play old women...
It is always difficult to play age. Because there is always a fear of looking caricaturish. What was easy about Waqt was that I had to play a definite age. In Gandhi My Father, I had to play the entire range from 20-25 years till she dies. And that is a very big journey. Any woman in her 30s or 40s is very different when she is in her 50s. Physically you can still adopt certain manners like talking slowly or walking with a hunch. But there are small details like I found out that my grandmother had the same voice when she was younger. You can’t really pinpoint how to go about playing age. If you hit it right, you are lucky. I know people who evaluate and research and do all sorts of homework. As for me, I go by my gut feeling. I can’t enact it, I have to feel it.
Do you think Gandhi My Father will do good things for your career?
The work I am doing now is some of the best work I have done so far. I have never done regular films. You look at Satya and Monsoon Wedding... both are benchmark films. Now, besides Gandhi My Father, there is Rituparno Ghosh’s The Last Lear. All these are incredibly special films. And you can add Subhash Ghai’s Black & White and Rakeysh Mehra’s Dilli 6 to that list.
Why isn’t your husband Vipul Shah writing something for you?
He doesn’t owe it to me (laughs). You probably write films for Amitabh Bachchan. Otherwise it would become self-centred showreels. If there is something worthwhile he will definitely offer it to me. I wouldn’t cast myself if I am making a film.
It’s said that everyone in the cast had to go through many rounds of auditions. What about you?
That was the best thing. (Director) Feroz (Abbas Khan) at the very initial stage of scripting just wanted me to play Ba. It had to be Shefali, he said. Uma Da Cunha, who was casting for the film, told me that I was to do an important film and that it should be exclusive. Meaning I can’t work for any other film at that time.
That initially meant you couldn’t do Waqt opposite Amitabh Bachchan, being directed by your husband Vipul Shah?
Yes, I was asked to choose between Waqt and Gandhi My Father. Eventually things got settled because Vipul and Feroz are good friends. We could work out the dates. I still don’t know which film I would have gone for if I were to make that choice.
What did playing Kasturba Gandhi mean to you?
I was thrilled. It was a role any actor would die to do. I was really honoured to have been offered to play Kasturba Gandhi.
Does it put pressure on you that Rohini Hatangadi is synonymous with Kasturba Gandhi?
No... there’s no pressure. It doesn’t matter if I am better than her or she was better than me. All that matters is whether I have been able to be honest to Ba. There was never any competition. In Gandhi My Father it is finally about what a tragedy Ba went through. As a performance Rohiniji did a very good job.... But the way I see it, I do not want to be appreciated. People have to feel her pain.
Having been Ba, what, according to you, is the real origin of this pain?
The way I see it is that two men chose their own paths and followed them and the only person who got torn in between was Ba. So for Gandhi My Father to work, I believe that the audience must feel the pain that Ba depicts.
Mother to Akshay Kumar in Waqt. Mother to Akshaye Khanna in Gandhi My Father. You are making it a habit to play old women...
It is always difficult to play age. Because there is always a fear of looking caricaturish. What was easy about Waqt was that I had to play a definite age. In Gandhi My Father, I had to play the entire range from 20-25 years till she dies. And that is a very big journey. Any woman in her 30s or 40s is very different when she is in her 50s. Physically you can still adopt certain manners like talking slowly or walking with a hunch. But there are small details like I found out that my grandmother had the same voice when she was younger. You can’t really pinpoint how to go about playing age. If you hit it right, you are lucky. I know people who evaluate and research and do all sorts of homework. As for me, I go by my gut feeling. I can’t enact it, I have to feel it.
Do you think Gandhi My Father will do good things for your career?
The work I am doing now is some of the best work I have done so far. I have never done regular films. You look at Satya and Monsoon Wedding... both are benchmark films. Now, besides Gandhi My Father, there is Rituparno Ghosh’s The Last Lear. All these are incredibly special films. And you can add Subhash Ghai’s Black & White and Rakeysh Mehra’s Dilli 6 to that list.
Why isn’t your husband Vipul Shah writing something for you?
He doesn’t owe it to me (laughs). You probably write films for Amitabh Bachchan. Otherwise it would become self-centred showreels. If there is something worthwhile he will definitely offer it to me. I wouldn’t cast myself if I am making a film.
Interview: David Dhawan
With Partner raking in a cool Rs 42 crore in its first weekend, across 900 screens worldwide, director David Dhawan’s off to just chill in Goa. But tell him how the film is doing great business in Calcutta (the eight shows a day in the first week went up to 10 shows a day in Week Two at the plexes) and he warms up to a chat. Here’s what the Baap of Comedy had to say to Pratim D. Gupta on what could well be the biggest Bollywood hit of the year so far.
Did you expect Partner to open so big?
I definitely expected the film to open big, but this big I had no idea. Kab kis film public ko kitna pasand aa jaaye kya pata (smiles)? But you know people were waiting for a while for a film like this. When the promos first came on, one could feel that people were eager to see Partner. But they have totally loved the film in the theatres. Now it’s almost become a family film, which wasn’t the idea initially.
How do you bring out the best in Govinda?
Uska mera toh magic hai. Arrey, we have done 16 films before Partner. Only I know how to use Govinda. I know him that well. Also, he’s performed in the film.
You’ve worked with Govina after so long. Did you find any changes?
I found him to be better. Baat toh wohi hai but he has become a little easy, a little subtle. Woh loudness chala gaya hai. He has got a hang of today’s acting. The best thing is that he stays in character throughout the film.
Judwaa, Biwi No. 1, Mujhse Shaadi Karogi, Maine Pyaar Kyun Kiya and now Partner... your record with Salman is incredible too...
(Laughs) Yes. Salman is very different from Govinda. He is very good looking and dances superbly. His dancing is more today’s dancing, unlike Govinda’s. That’s why I put that scene where they dance to Just chill and Sarkailo khatiya. Both were from my films.
Were you conscious about who to give more footage?
Nahin, nahin woh scene ke hisaab se... Both are friends of mine. So that was never a problem. Also, Govinda is playing an underdog. That guru-chela thing had to come out.
Why did it take so long to cast them together?
These things happen on their own and they should be allowed to happen like that.
So is the sequel Tom & Jerry really on?
Nothing like that. Abhi toh picture release hua hai. We haven’t really thought about a sequel, to be honest. See, there has to be a script which takes it beyond Partner. Only then will I make another film with them, not for the sake of doing it.
What’s next then?
I have four to five projects in hand but I want to start something with Govinda immediately. I can’t wait to do a solo film with him.
Did you expect Partner to open so big?
I definitely expected the film to open big, but this big I had no idea. Kab kis film public ko kitna pasand aa jaaye kya pata (smiles)? But you know people were waiting for a while for a film like this. When the promos first came on, one could feel that people were eager to see Partner. But they have totally loved the film in the theatres. Now it’s almost become a family film, which wasn’t the idea initially.
How do you bring out the best in Govinda?
Uska mera toh magic hai. Arrey, we have done 16 films before Partner. Only I know how to use Govinda. I know him that well. Also, he’s performed in the film.
You’ve worked with Govina after so long. Did you find any changes?
I found him to be better. Baat toh wohi hai but he has become a little easy, a little subtle. Woh loudness chala gaya hai. He has got a hang of today’s acting. The best thing is that he stays in character throughout the film.
Judwaa, Biwi No. 1, Mujhse Shaadi Karogi, Maine Pyaar Kyun Kiya and now Partner... your record with Salman is incredible too...
(Laughs) Yes. Salman is very different from Govinda. He is very good looking and dances superbly. His dancing is more today’s dancing, unlike Govinda’s. That’s why I put that scene where they dance to Just chill and Sarkailo khatiya. Both were from my films.
Were you conscious about who to give more footage?
Nahin, nahin woh scene ke hisaab se... Both are friends of mine. So that was never a problem. Also, Govinda is playing an underdog. That guru-chela thing had to come out.
Why did it take so long to cast them together?
These things happen on their own and they should be allowed to happen like that.
So is the sequel Tom & Jerry really on?
Nothing like that. Abhi toh picture release hua hai. We haven’t really thought about a sequel, to be honest. See, there has to be a script which takes it beyond Partner. Only then will I make another film with them, not for the sake of doing it.
What’s next then?
I have four to five projects in hand but I want to start something with Govinda immediately. I can’t wait to do a solo film with him.
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