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Journalism of Courage
A LOT can change in seven years. Ketan Mehta8217;s last screen outing was the 1997 dud Aar Ya Paar. Though critics came all daggers drawn, the barbs didn8217;t sting too much.
But come 2005 and more than a week after Mangal Pandey: The Rising, Mehta8217;s fate is still unclear. After a fabulous four day opening, the film has registered a drop. But Mehta isn8217;t worried and talks figures. 8216;8216;The first week collections have just come in and the film has done a business of Rs 19 crore only in India. It8217;s a landmark and historic opening. I think now all these trade people will shut up,8217;8217; he says.
Mehta concedes the point with a pinch of salt. His take is simple: a film of this stature on a national hero will start a controversy here and there. 8216;8216;What you are witnessing is an unprecedented stirring of emotion in this country. The film has broken all records. A little controversy is to be expected,8217;8217; he says.
MEHTA has walked this route before. Most of his films have started a debate. In his early 50s, Mehta studied economics at Delhi8217;s St Stephen8217;s College before going on to FTII. He arrived on the Indian film scene in the Seventies with an alternative view on life. Before that he made documentaries such as Coolies of Bombay Central and Madhya Surya.
His second film Bhavni Bhavai 1980 was a sardonic allegory of the caste system. Holi and Mirch Masala showcased his originality. Sardar told the untold story of Vallabhai Patel.
But then came the downhill. Or as popular industry opinion would have you believe, Mehta became commercial. Films like Oh Darling Yeh Hai India, Maya Memsaab, Hero Hiralal and Aar Ya Paar, were attempts that failed to put his point across.
But Mehta8217;s subject matters have always been interesting. Tell him that and he retorts, 8216;8216;Interesting sounds like an insult.8217;8217; The FTII graduate affirms that he approaches each film as an adventure and 8216;8216;gives it all my life and the excitement that it needs.8217;8217;
Mehta is clearly not one of those regular Bollywood filmwallah who just wants to make a film. Obsessive about detailing, he has been living with Mangal Pandey for over 17 years. Back then he wanted to cast Amitabh Bachchan as the sepoy.
Khan, who shared Mehta8217;s vision of Pandey as a long haired-handlebar sporting rustic fella, says, 8216;8216;Ketan knew Mangal so well that I just had to follow his instructions. That really simplified my job.8217;8217;
Though he stands on the fringe of Bollywood, Mehta feels he belongs to the film industry. 8216;8216;There8217;s amazing talent in this country and if we try we can make films of international quality. I want to see that happen,8217;8217; he says. His special effects company, Maya Entertainment Ltd with wife Deepa Sahi is a step in that direction.
While that8217;s a long term goal, Mehta isn8217;t willing to wait for another seven years to make a film. Coming up next is two sequels to Mangal Pandey. While Aishwarya Rai will star as Jhansi Ki Rani, Bachchan will become Bahadur Shah
Zafar. There8217;s also the germ of an an idea to make a science fiction in the interim.
Will any of these manage to make history?
