Vidhu’s mission on trial

This man, Vidhu Vinod Chopra, can go to any extent to fulfil his ambition. And his ambition doubles up, grows more intense, leads to heights never touched by ordinary filmmakers of his generation who, when other filmmakers are still talking about Kashmir and Kargil and their plans to make films based on them after the lofty promises made by the chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir, Farooq Abdullah, and his government, Vidhu has already gone ahead and made, almost completed his "ambitious, risky but adventurous film", Mission Kashmir. He has shot part of it in and around Kashmir amidst fear to so many lives belonging to his unit and created the Dal Lake and its surrounding near the lake in Film City just like he had dared to dry up the lake to build the entire city of Dalhouse to shoot the climax of 1942-A Love Story. One visit to the location and you will feel you are in Kashmir, in the Dal Lake, in the surrounding beauty and whatever is left of the beauty after the consistent ravaging by the monstrous militants who want Kashir (how can these men with no hearts, no conscience even when it comes to little innocent lamb-like-children take care of Kashmir, one of the greatest wonders of the world, even if they get a chance to rule Kashmir, to look after it, to care for it, to make it look like paradise again? How can they who have a hold on hell look after Paradise?)

Vidhu has gone through several hurdles during the making of Mission Kashmir but he has not started screaming yet. Beware of the day when he starts screaming because when he does his one mission will be the truth, the truth through. Cinema, society, the jawans who fought in Kashmir and Kargil and have been fighting continuously will be proud that they have a man like Vidhu to wake up every Indian to fight for what is right.

PS: Vidhu’s efforts to make Mission Kashmir would not have been what it is without the creative output of Nitin Desai, the award-winning art director, who seems to specialise in creating places which are very difficult for ordinary human art directors to create. Nitin can imitate God as a painter.

Vidhu’s film becomes all the more significant because of the three male characters in the story. There is Hrithik Roshan, the current heart-throb of the country, who was signed by Vidhu before he could make it as a superstar, Sanjay Dutt, who was still struggling to find a place for himself and Jackie Shroff who is playing the bad man for the first time. Vidhu wsa close to failure when he last made Kareeb. He believes an explosion of a hit this time. Men like Vidhu learn from mistakes. I am sure Vidhu has more than learned. He is a tough learner, a tough fighter, a very difficult to satisfy winner.

Ali Peter John