‘I like to celebrate life’

Nonika Singh

When a film’s title incorporates the name of Prime Minister, preceded by an endearment, a question instantly raises its head... Is it an ode to Prime Minister Narendra Modi?   Celebrated filmmaker Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, in Chandigarh for a special screening of his latest directorial signature Mere Pyare Prime Minister, agrees the question is valid. 

But in the same breath, he also insists how his film is not political. “The use of the word Prime Minister is just a symbol of authority and applicable to any prime minister, not just the current one.” 

Also to those  who believe the film set in a slum of Mumbai takes up the issue of  sanitation and open defecation, he counters, “This is  no toilet film, but focuses on women’s safety and  hovers around  a single mother and a child, and deals with  how we as a society deal with a rape victim.” 

Positive note

Indeed, like all his films such as Bhaag Milkha Bhaag and Rang De Basanti, it is inspirational, and he promises to bring a tear and a smile on your face.  “I like to celebrate life with its pockmarks and flaws intact. I want you to walk out of the theatre feeling positive.”’ Pray how can the tale of a rape victim be inspirational? He ponders and says, “That is the point. We should stop victimising the victim. Undeniably rape is harrowing and not just violates a woman physically, but also psychologically. Yet there is life beyond rape.” 

A maker for whom direction is a very personal thing, not just lights, camera and action also explains, “Personal does not mean having borne it on one’s own skin, but how I relate to it at a personal level.”  However, to grasp his subject better, he did rent out a tenement in slums for a fortnight and as he puts it, “Till I could understand what it means to get into the line for a toilet, I would have not been able to write the film.”  

Rewarding experience

Interestingly the writer in Mehra works in many directions; as of now there are six subjects on his mind. “A writer can multi-task as mind can wander in many directions, but a director has to bear in mind the actors as also his crew.” At the end of the day, he finds both endeavours rewarding and fulfilling. Cinema for Mehra is not just entertainment; “Just as we eat to satiate more than hunger pangs, similarly a film goes way beyond the surface level purpose of entertainment.” 

Yes, at times what he wants to say may not resonate with viewers, as happened with Mirzya. He quips, “I allow myself the luxury to fail with each film. Success and failure are not just the two sides of the coin, but the same thing.” Of course, nothing deters him from looking ahead. 

Up next

In the pipeline is Farhan Akhtar-starrer Toofan. Before you jump the gun and question why another sports drama... he shoots back, “It is the story of a boxer, but the film is essentially an intense love story.” Having pioneered the trend of sports biopics, the last thing he would care to do is repeat himself. So any other real life story agitating his mind and he says, “Unless through that life I want to say something, unless that life is saying something  to me as Milkha Singh’s did, I wouldn’t  bother.” Milkha Singh is special so is Mehra’s bond with City Beautiful and Punjab.

Another story on Punjab may not be in the making right now. But his next production, Pal Do Pal, directed by Atul Manjrekar, will certainly be shot in Chandigarh with dollops of Punjabi flavour and fervour. Piggyback riding on social issues may not be on his agenda, but devoid of heart and soul, his films rarely are. A tear and a smile are not only what he promises, but also delivers!    

Word of praise

During the making of Mere Pyare Prime Minister, Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra not only spent time in slums, but also picked up child actors from the not-so-privileged background. Since the film pits National Award winning actor Anajli Patil with raw child actors such as Om Kanojiya, he reasons, “With children, experience in acting works against them.” As for Anjali, he is all praise, “She stays in her character and becomes the part.” 

nonikasingh@tribunemail.com