E NIWAS
Celebrity overnight!

Not much is known about the 23-year old shy guy from Hyderabad, who has made such an upfront impact with his hard-hitting political thriller, Shool. Reticent and boyish, E Niwas, or Shinu as his friends call him, is the second among three sons. The self-confessed Chiranjeevi devotee never dreamt that one day his name would be on the screen as director of a film which everyone from Amitabh Bachchan in Mumbai to the rickshaw-wallah in Bihar would rave about. The director, who speaks in halting English, thinks in Telugu and makes films in Hindi, talks about his least favourite subject - himself:

As Ram Gopal Varma’s protege were you scared you might go wrong with the execution of his script in Shool?
Being a director, he had his own vision of the story. As his assistant when I was chosen to direct Shool, I had to co-ordinate his vision with mine. When he narrated the subject to me, I told him it wasn’t something I could do justice to, that only he could direct the film. He clearly told me he had no vision in mind and that I should go ahead and do what I wanted. After we shot the first schedule in Motihari, Bihar, he saw the rushes. Ramuji said I had more than lived up to his expectations.

Ramu told me he’s completely satisfied with your work. Does all the praise make you feel confident?
(Laughs shyly) It makes me feel very good. But commercially Shool hasn’t done all that well. I keep getting very conflicting reports. But I’m happy with what I’ve done. I’ll try my best next time.

But you tried your best even this time?
But Shool didn’t prove itself commercially. The appreciation is all very fine. But finally the film has to prove itself commercially. Quite frankly, I had zero expectations from Shool. I just made the film the way I wanted to.

For a boy from Hyderabad, how did you decide to make a film about politics in Bihar?
First of all, I was very confident about the language. In Hyderabad we speak a lot of Hindi. Then there was my experience of working in Hindi films like Rangeela and Daud with Ramuji. I was in Mumbai for two-and-a-half-years. The language in Shool did pose some grammatical problems, but nothing more. We just retained the flavour of the Bihari lingo. Ramuji, writer Anurag Kashyap and I decided not to go overboard with the Bihari language. We didn’t want the film to look and sound too regional. I personally went to Motihari and Bettiah in Bihar, and spent time with the police personnel to get an idea of the law and order situation.

And what did you discover?
The corruption and violence in Bihar is very different from what we’ve depicted in the film. We’ve selected Bihar as the backdrop. But it could be any part of the country. But yes, when I narrated the subject to police officials in Bihar they mentioned some names of local politicians who they said behaved in the manner depicted in the film. I was shocked by the violence in Bihar. I didn’t want to put the same level of violence in Shool. My film concentrated on a psychological warfare between the hero and the politician.

It’s funny, but your villain Bachchoo Yadav never lays a finger on anyone in hero Samar Pratap Singh’s family
Correct. Some of my friends said as much, too. Because of Bachchoo Yadav the whole family goes down. But he isn’t directly involved. Manoj’s character led a very happy family before he was transferred to Bachchoo Yadav’s locality. It’s because of Bachchoo that the family suffers. However the real culprit is the political system. The damage that Samar Pratap Singh’s family suffers is implicitly triggered off by Bachchoo Yadav.

Your hero Samar Pratap Singh is shown being more violent than your villain Bachchoo Yadav!
He’s not being violent for the heck of it. Samar Pratap Singh is doing his job. He’s going by the book. He does go berserk towards the end. When he dresses as a cop to kill Bachchoo Yadav in the legislative assembly even though he’s suspended. That’s because in Patna where legislative sessions take place no one knows him or that he’s suspended. Dressed as a cop he gets easy access into the legislative assembly. As for Samar Pratap Singh being more violent than Bachchoo Yadav, I’m not happy with that. (Laughs). From the feedback I got I feel audiences wanted Bachchoo Yadav to suffer more. I’m satisfied with the way I shot the moral conflict between the cop hero and the politician-villain. But people aren’t satisfied with it.

In Shool you leave us with no hope whatever. Are you saying that idealists like Samar Pratap Singh are oddities in today’s world?
What I’m saying is, people like Bachchoo Yadav shouldn’t be born. If I remade the film I’d torture Bachchoo Yadav more.

Manoj Bajpai’s performance has become the most talked-about aspect of Shool.
Definitely. And Sayaji Shinde. It was Manoj who suggested Sayaji Shinde’s name. When we developed that character we were looking for a new actor to play the role. But when we met Sayaji he was on. I was helped by Anurag Kashyap in the casting.

I think Raveena Tandon is a revelation in Shool.
Right again. It was Ramuji who narrated the story to Raveena. She was very excited. We had some initial reservations about her, since she has a different kind of image. We decided to do a photo session with Raveena in cotton sarees to see if she could carry off the look we wanted for the housewife in Bihar. She was perfect. Throughout the shoot, she was completely committed to her character.

I feel Raveena’s character needed further fleshing out. Her pain is under-developed.
Under-developed? It was perfect! Her pain comes through. She’s a mute witness to her husband’s heroism and humiliation. I think her character works for me.

Do you feel Shool worked so well because of the authentic locations?
The subject demanded an authentic look. When we went to Bihar we had other expectations. What we actually saw was nothing like what we had imagined. It was very difficult to shoot in Motihari.

Oh God! Everyday crowds of thousands would gather around pelting stones, when Raveena arrived, even though it was Manoj’s hometown (Motihari)... Baap re! I’ve no words to thank the police officers for providing us with the bandobast. We shot on just the main outdoor locations in Bihar. The interiors could be co-ordinated anywhere. We shot the court room and the police station sequences in Hyderabad.

Do you plan to remain Hyderabad-based?
No. I plan to shift base to Mumbai. I’m working on my next project. Before it goes on the floors I’ll move to Mumbai.

This is going to be your film with Aftab Shivdasani?
Not with Aftab. We haven’t exactly decided on the hero. Aftab was suitable for what we were planning earlier. The story has now changed. We’re thinking of a different hero now. The film is going to be a mature love story.

After Shool you’re doing a love story to demonstrate your range?
What range? (laughs). After doing a realistic film I want to try out something different. All I can say at this juncture is, it won’t be a puppy love story. I’m working with Ramuji on the script.

Were you a major film buff from childhood?
Very much so. But I could never think beyond one actor. I’m a great fan of Chiranjeevi’s. As soon as his film was released I’d be the first to arrive at the theatre. I enjoyed all good films. But Chiranjeevi remained my abiding interest. My dream is to make a film with him. I told him that when Ramu shot a film with him and Urmila. That film was shelved after one schedule.

What was your reaction when you met Chiranjeevi for the first time?
Oh God! I told him everything, how much I worshipped him. He loved every bit of it. We became good friends after that. I still haven’t shown him Shool. He’s busy shooting for an English film. But I’ll definitely show him my film.

You’re the only member of your family who’s into movies?
Yes, I’m the first, and nobody else is interested. I’ve two brothers. The elder is married. The younger is a first-year student.

How much difference have you noticed in the filmmaking of Mumbai and Hyderabad?
In Mumbai everyone works at a very slow pace. In the South filmmaking is a speedy process. The stars down there are very disciplined. In Mumbai stars land up on the sets at 12 noon for a morning shift. They have a very different kind of attitude. In South every one is deeply committed to a project. No wonder films take several years to be completed in Mumbai! I can’t understand how directors can preserve the mood required for a film for so many years. Luckily I didn’t have to go through such traumatic experiences while making Shool. The film was wrapped up in six months. I’ve told Ramuji I’d like to make films in future at the same pace as Shool. He also believes in start-to-finish projects. I feel a director can’t remain fully committed to a subject for more than a year.

Is Hindi a problem for you?
I can speak the language, though may be not grammatically correctly. But I can communicate my ideas in Hindi. During Shool Anurag Kashyap and Manoj were there to bail me out if there was any difficulty with the language. With Ramuji I communicate in Telugu.

How much did Manoj help you during Shool?
He was there throughout the project. He and the actor Vineet Kumar from Patna helped in getting the Bihari accent right. Besides writer Anurag Kashyap was there from UP. I’d definitely like to work with Manoj again in a future project.

Since Shool was your first film was it a learning process for you?
Very much so. during Shool I learnt about camera angles and shot compositions. Luckily the whole unit co-operated. I didn’t face any teething problems on the sets. I just went on shooting what I wanted. Nobody questioned me about what I was shooting, and why. I learnt a lot during Shool. Serving as an assistant director to Ramu was a very different experience from actually calling the shots, handling the stars, etc. Hundreds of things could have gone wrong during shooting, and that too on realistic locations in a place like Bihar. Hundreds of people were on the location. We had to make compromises because of security hazards. But overall I got what I wanted in Shool.

How did you feel when Amitabh Bachchan showered the highest praise on you in an interview?
I was in Mumbai at the time. I was asleep when Ramuji called me up. He told me to read Amitabh Bachchan’s interview in the Times Of India. I was numb with happiness. The acclaim that I’ve got for Shool hasn’t sunk in, yet. All I can say is, hard work pays.

Subhash K Jha