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Journalism of Courage
While growing up in Bhopal in the late 80s,Akhilesh Jaiswal,like most teenagers,was introduced to the sleazy world of soft porn. These were scandalous tales of tabooed relationships spun by an author called Mastram. Hidden away from the glare of teachers and parents,the books Yauvan Ki Barish,Jijaji Ka Pyar and other such titles would be surreptitiously exchanged among friends at a secret hiding place. As a 13-year-old,I used to wonder who Mastram really was and what he would have told his family about his profession, says Jaiswal,who also penned the Gangs of Wasseypur (GoW) script.
Years later,his curiosity has resulted in a 99-minute-long film titled Mastram,which is set to release later this year. I had forgotten about Mastram and it was only when I visited Dhanbad and surrounding areas to write the script of GoW that I saw these books being sold at railway stations for Rs 10. I rediscovered his writing but I dont know who he is. The movie is a fictional biography, says the debutant director,who found out that a number of Hindi authors used Mastram as a pseudonym to write erotica at that time. Now the target of the books is lower middle class people,as there is access to porn online, says Jaiswal.
The 32-year-old actor,too,is familiar with the written sexcapades of Mastrams characters and when approached for the role last year,he had no reason to decline the offer. When I joined theatre in Delhi,I was introduced to a variety of literature,even Mastram,and we used to have reading sessions just for fun. The beauty of the writing is not the sleaze,its the detailing. For instance,before the final act between two people,there will be rather long descriptions of the weather,the room and the characters, says Bagga,with a laugh.
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