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Director Prakash Jha, who is ready with
yet another hard-hitting film "Apaharan",
says he had to interact with both cops and robbers
involved in the kidnapping industry in Bihar for it.
'Apaharan', though the subject deals with
crime, has a lot of social nuances. It is the story
of a tumultuous and complex relationship between a
father and a son set against this social backdrop,"
Jha told Bollywood Trade in an interview.
In the past too, Jha has made several films like
"GangaaJal", "Mrityudand" and "Damul" that used
cinema to bring forth burning social issues,
especially in Bihar.
Jha also defended his choice of actors - Ajay
Devgan and glamour girl Bipasha Basu. "Ajay is a
good actor. He is a good human being. He can
understand the parameters of the character very
easily," he said adding that Bipasha suited the role
of "an urban, Bihari, educated girl".
Excerpts from the interview:
After "GangaaJal" why "Apaharan"?
Well, I belong to Champaran where it is said that
professional kidnappings began. People being
kidnapped just for a bicycle as ransom! I kept
looking for a story that would express the deeper
sentiments involved. So I went to the prisons and
met some people who had been accused of being the
kingpins in the kidnapping industry. And, I also
spoke to some cops who have been handling such
cases.
Didn't the idea of this film develop at the same
time as your first active engagement in the
political process started? Were you inspired by this
experience?
No. While I was finishing "GangaaJal" I felt
it was the right time to work on the subject. I may
have picked up a lot of nuances of spoken words.
Some shades of characterisations have been
influenced by my encounters during electioneering.
My need to join the electoral politics was a
completely different experience, with a completely
different intention. Those experiences may get
directly related to my next film, which is "Rajneeti".
Do you see "Apaharan" as an extension of your
previous work - "Damul", "Mrityudand", "GangaaJal"?
How would you place "Apaharan" in that context?
I think somewhere right from my childhood, being
brought up in a zamindar's family, I reacted to the
situation around me. And at some point it must have
led to a lot of questioning. "Damul", "Mrityudand",
"GangaaJal" are films which are part of the ongoing
process of the changing social-political scenarios
in Bihar. These films deal with the caste factor,
the class factor, the market economy and the way it
has brought about various issues and changes.
And "Apaharan", though the subject deals with crime,
has a lot of social nuances. It is the story of a
tumultuous and complex relationship between a father
and a son set against this social backdrop.
This is your third film with Ajay?
Ajay is a good actor. He is a good human being. He
can understand the parameters of the character very
easily. He is very spontaneous and instinctive in
his expressions. That's what is so good about him.
He will never overdo or under-do a character. He is
consistent.
What's Ajay's character?
Ajay plays the role of Ajay Shastri who aspires to
become a police officer, which is his ticket to
power, respectability, enhanced social status and a
secure life with his childhood sweetheart Megha. And
he hopes it will make his father proud. Ironically,
he has a setback due to the choices made by his own
father who is a courageous man ruled by conscience
and principles.
What's Nana Patekar's role and how was it working
with him?
Great! It was wonderful working with him. He is
another honest person in the sense that there is
nothing hidden about Nana. His role is of the
self-proclaimed minority political leader - Tabrez
Alam. Nana has accomplished this role with lots of
conviction. The character is so complex that only
Nana could have accomplished this role. Fortunately,
Nana liked the script and slowly he got into the
character.
Bipasha in "Apaharan"?
She suited the requirement of my role. I feel she
has done good work and she is a very competent
actress. The kind of look that I needed for an
urban, Bihari, educated girl, I found it in her.
Only one song, "Aaoji babu", in your film?
"Aaoji babu" is not the so-called item
number, but is more of a scene underlining Ajay
Shastri's evolution in the new world he has entered.
It facilitates the narrative, giving a new dimension
to the protagonist's character. It's a soft, smooth,
melodious, slick and good-looking song.
Background score?
Wayne Sharpe has composed the background score. He
is from New Jersey, USA. In fact the process had
started three months back when I went to New York to
discuss various musical cues for the film. Later
Wayne came here prepared with almost 95 percent of
the film's music. After coming here, Wayne added the
Indian musical effects and vocals and synced the
music with the scenes.
Shooting in real setting in Satara?
The sort of energy I want to pack in my films cannot
come from the small, constrained atmosphere of a set
because I don't stay on a particular scene for long.
I need to keep moving out, to the streets, houses,
office, stations, schools, shops, bazaar.
So it's only natural and economical for me to look
for real locations and remodel them according to my
needs, putting up sign-boards, changing the paint
here and there, filling the road up with people from
the unit - the junior artists. |
