he’s the one known for the grit and the grime that lace his works on celluloid. prakash jha, whose middle name should perhaps be ‘hard-hitting’, if his filmography is any indication, talks to Ravi Inder Singh about his upcoming "raajneeti"
You recently commented that characters in “Raajneeti” do not bear any resemblance to any politician, then why is the revising committee still taking time?
The movie absolutely has no resemblance with any political leader and moreover the movie is at the revising committee’s end only because they are yet to decide on its category. They still have to give it a rating – either ‘A’ or ‘U/A’.
Are there any such sequences that deciding the category is getting tougher?
Well, explaining everything with respect to every shot picturised in the movie wouldn’t be possible. Let’s just say that the revising committee would take decision on its category based on votes.
Between politics and films, which do you think has more influence on the masses?
I think it is films. In this film the central idea may hover around politics but it also focuses on politics within the family, interpersonal relationships, it’s about betrayal and deals with politics with respect to loyalty.
While selecting Ranbir Kapoor, was there ever a dilemma to choose someone more rugged or grittier?
Wow! You don’t know how rugged this guy is (laughs). Fortunately, there was no one in contention and just after “Saawariya” I had spoken to Ranbir about this role. In this film, Ranbir’s character studies abroad and is away from all the political influence that the family has. But once when he visits a function, circumstances are such that joining politics becomes inevitable.
Which was the most challenging scene to shoot in the film?
Every single scene was challenging. Whether a scene has four characters or four thousand, every scene is important. As a writer or a director you never keep anything that’s just functional, every scene has a meaning. There are seven huge characters in the film: Arjun Rampal, Ranbir, Manoj Bajpai, Ajay Devgn, Nana Patekar, Katrina Kaif – and each one needs to be justified. Finally what the audience likes is what I am waiting for.
Why do you think that the media misunderstood that this movie has been inspired by the first family of Indian politics?
The reason could be that Katrina is from England and she comes from abroad in the movie, also Katrina’s Hindi has a little bit of an accent. Similarly Sonia ji is also from abroad. It’s like putting two and two together, and once something of this sort happens, everyone starts talking about it. In my film Katrina is a normal girl who is shown to be in love with Ranbir. Now I can’t show the movie to the media, you’ll have to see it to believe it.
Through your film, do you intend to change the way people look at politics, or is it purely meant for entertainment?
I’m trying to change nothing. I do not have power to change anything. I have only sculpted a story on the present political system. What eventually you would draw from it is completely your choice.
You recently commented that characters in “Raajneeti” do not bear any resemblance to any politician, then why is the revising committee still taking time?
The movie absolutely has no resemblance with any political leader and moreover the movie is at the revising committee’s end only because they are yet to decide on its category. They still have to give it a rating – either ‘A’ or ‘U/A’.
Are there any such sequences that deciding the category is getting tougher?
Well, explaining everything with respect to every shot picturised in the movie wouldn’t be possible. Let’s just say that the revising committee would take decision on its category based on votes.
Between politics and films, which do you think has more influence on the masses?
I think it is films. In this film the central idea may hover around politics but it also focuses on politics within the family, interpersonal relationships, it’s about betrayal and deals with politics with respect to loyalty.
While selecting Ranbir Kapoor, was there ever a dilemma to choose someone more rugged or grittier?
Wow! You don’t know how rugged this guy is (laughs). Fortunately, there was no one in contention and just after “Saawariya” I had spoken to Ranbir about this role. In this film, Ranbir’s character studies abroad and is away from all the political influence that the family has. But once when he visits a function, circumstances are such that joining politics becomes inevitable.
Which was the most challenging scene to shoot in the film?
Every single scene was challenging. Whether a scene has four characters or four thousand, every scene is important. As a writer or a director you never keep anything that’s just functional, every scene has a meaning. There are seven huge characters in the film: Arjun Rampal, Ranbir, Manoj Bajpai, Ajay Devgn, Nana Patekar, Katrina Kaif – and each one needs to be justified. Finally what the audience likes is what I am waiting for.
Why do you think that the media misunderstood that this movie has been inspired by the first family of Indian politics?
The reason could be that Katrina is from England and she comes from abroad in the movie, also Katrina’s Hindi has a little bit of an accent. Similarly Sonia ji is also from abroad. It’s like putting two and two together, and once something of this sort happens, everyone starts talking about it. In my film Katrina is a normal girl who is shown to be in love with Ranbir. Now I can’t show the movie to the media, you’ll have to see it to believe it.
Through your film, do you intend to change the way people look at politics, or is it purely meant for entertainment?
I’m trying to change nothing. I do not have power to change anything. I have only sculpted a story on the present political system. What eventually you would draw from it is completely your choice.
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