Prakash Jha
GRILLED!

You are known as one of the youngest dynamic directors of “New Cinema”. What is New Cinema? Did it rise as a reaction to the total commercial cinema of the 60s and 70s?
Post-independence was an era of ~pure entertainment” movies. The Indian, “thinking-urban” audience was tired of being drugged, by the excesses of commercial cinema. May be, an aesthetic vacuum led to a portrayal of more humanist and realistic presentations.

Your first political documentary, Faces After Storm (1976), was based on the commercial riots in Bihar. Why did you choose Bihar as a backdrop?
May be, being a native, makes me identify more closely with their specific problems. I have been a witness to the feudal mind ever since I was a child.

Damul (1985) placed you firmly, within the “New Cinema Movement”. It won the National Award (Golden Lotus — 1986), as well as the Filmfare (critics’ choice) award, and was invited for competition to the Montreal, Chicago and Moscow film festivals. Comment.
Damul was brilliant and superb. It exposed the horrific Panha — the unending spiral of debt, caste conflicts, bloody massacres, village mafias, rape and the wretched zamindari culture burdening the poor. Its success lay in, probably, its stark exposure of feudal India. Parinati (1987), on the other hand, was based on a folk story in Rajasthan, which deals with the instant tragedy of human avarice, which, must, inevitably, lead to destruction. It was a powerful and tragic exposure of greed.

Before Damul, you made the hugely successful, light Hip Hip Hurray (1983) though with serious undertones. What do you think its success lay in?
It was a polished and sophisticated portrayal of a sports teacher’s journey into the students’ hearts, making them reach victory against a million odds. It was very well received, and was a soft, but firm statement in my evolution as a director.

But Bandish the Jackie Shroff-Juhi Chawla starrer flopped. Was it an attempt to align with the market forces?
Bandish was a mistake. I gave up somewhere in the middle of the film. Then, it was just a formality of getting over with it.

Dil Kya Kare made for compelling viewing yet, it too failed to set the cash registers ringing...
The ways of fate are indeed strange. It had a powerhouse of talent in Ajay Devgan, Kajol and Mahima Chowdhary, and yet, que sera sera —- whatever will be will be!

Mrityudand (1996) is your most successful film. This was your biggest leap from making small movies to a more-mass-oriented movie. It represented Middle Cinema, hard hitting, but with the right commercial package. Here, it seems, Prakash Jha, the director, has finally discovered the Midas Touch. A compromise or an evolution?
Mrityudand had a canvas of eight varied characters, each representing a particular kind of social mind, which evolves continuously. By that time, I had realised that stark and bizzare reality is not palatable to most viewers who come to see films for escapism and entertainment. Mrityudant, was a bridge — it taught me the language of commercial success. I made friendship with the market and was amazed at the huge success of the film nationally and internationally. Mrityudant was cathartic entertainment, a strong message, given in Bollywood style. Besides, all the eight characters were played by Bollywood’s top performers.

Tell us about your latest movie, Rahul — is it inspired by The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole?
No, not at all! Rahul is a movie from a child’s perspective. It’s love at its simplest. It’s topical and urban, and sets you thinking, as when wise words are dropped from innocent lips. It’s very much an entertainer, but has a set of emotional layers, an amazing point of view, of a four-and-a-half year old child and the little world around him. The child points out that life is not child’s play at all!

You’ve taken the risk of working with fresh faces...?
Jatin Garewal and Neha play the estranged parents, while Yash Pathak plays the central role of Rahul. Yes, they are all fresh faces, because, I do not want the audience to walk in with a set mind. It’s a totally different story, seen fresh, best with fresh faces. Also, it encourages new talent.

How was it, for an intense director like you, to be partnered, with the flamboyant Subhash Ghai for Rahul?
I was apprehensive, initially, making a film, for the showman. But my fears were totally unfounded. He never interfered in the shooting or the script, but was an immense help, whenever needed. Our decision to take fresh faces was also made together. Our alliance has been extremely enjoyable.

If there’s one thing missing in a Jha film, it’s a sense of humour...?
I think, my forte is intense drama and a precise, psychological portrayal of characters. It’s a breakaway from the idealism portrayed in the post-independence movies. I am not fond of imposing comedy without valid reasons. However, I am learning, and Rahul, does have some inherent comic relief.

Shekhar Kapur had once said, “In India, there’s no salvation outside commercial cinema.” Do you agree? Will serious cinema dissolve into commercial, or, may be, vice versa?
The coming years shall see the emerging blend of both the serious and the commercial. It is beginning to attract the new generation, who are tired of the same old recipe of Bollywood films.

Common opinion reveals the feeling that Bollywood has suddenly become a cover for mafia money. If so, what is the future of Indian Cinema?
The need of commercial presentation, the gloss, requires finance. Damul was made in Rs 14 lakh, but it did not possess any extravagance; it was stark and simple and real. Glamorous and foreign locations, opulence and extravagance require big budgets and big money. The infiltration of mafia money is nothing new. It’s everywhere and entertainment is big business. It will always attract even the already rich and famous to invest more. It’s a fatal attraction, but attraction nevertheless!

....While Rahul, shot in three months is all set for release, the director and technician just can’t stop the camera from moving, as it now focuses, on another issue-based movie — Gangajal. He reveals, tongue-in-the check, “While it has a strong social theme, there will be lots of music and action for the popular audience, too.”

Way to go Mr Jha! We wish you the very best!

Uma Ajmera