Politically correct

“While a lot of people have asked me this,the film is not a take on the Mahabharata. We merely used some characters (with our interpretation) and some of the story from the epic which seemed to be flowing into the context that we had,” he says,speaking about the film script. Rajabali who says that it was director Prakash Jha’s vision that bought about the script in the way it was presented feels that the similarity with the Mahabharata came into use quite early in the brainstorming sessions on the story that they had.

Having written scripts for Ghulam and The Legend of Bhagat Singh,Rajabali says that writing Raajneeti was not at all easy. “To use and accommodate so many characters from the epic,which seemed relevant to our story,was a tall order. And we had to invariably sacrifice a lot of interesting possibilities in the script. And that can probably lead to a disappointed audience. So a lot has to be thought about while writing a script for a film like this,” he says.

Jha himself was a great treasure trove of information,says Rajabali while the script was being worked out. Adding more he says,“He himself has been a part of electoral politics twice in a row,and is a keen observer of the political scenario of the country,so Prakash was a great source of information.”

Another striking aspect of the film as Rajabali corrects and points out is that the film doesn’t merely use politics as a backdrop,adding,“Electoral politics was the plot. Hence,it was important to bring it into the script in flesh and blood. Secondly,given that there aren’t many films made on politics in the country. It is difficult to compare the treatment here with other films. Most Hindi films that have tackled politics have used it as an excuse to get the drama going. Here we had to chart out the moves that politicians make to fight elections.”

The film that revolves around the hinterland politics has Prakash Jha at the helm of affairs. On Jha’s role Rajabali says that his understanding of issues in these regions is deep. “It was probably a reason as to why there was a lot of violence depicted in the film and it was also a reason as to why,we both,while working on the film’s script we worked on each others strengths to get the script right,” he says.

Charting his future course as far as film are concerned Rajabali is already working on the script of the film Aarakshan that is again directed by Prakash Jha. Adding further he says,“It deals with the issue of reservation in higher education in India. There’s another script that I am working on with Prakash but its still too early to talk about it. Outside that there is Sins of the Father being produced by Vipul Shah and directed by Dilip Ghosh that I am working on.”