Preview
Pukar
A clarion call to challenge, to capture and crush the enemy

He is like a one man army who has fought many wars, won most, lost some but has never given up, never surrendered, never let the enemy get the better of him. He has never let any force crush his amazing ambition. Any other man in his place would have given up in the face of some of the most dangerous obstacles and odds he has faced but this young man has made his ambition an adventure and his weapon to fight fear. His fearlessness, in fact, has become a legend in the industry, a major saga. Boney Kapoor is one producer who has founded his own school of filmmaking and there has rarely been a man who has taken so many risks, fought so many wars and survived with his head held high, refusing to surrender, refusing to bend or bow or break. Success has spurred him on, failure has given him double the evergy to spare no effort to aim at something higher, something more ambitious, something that no ordinary producer can dream of. This time it is Boney Kapoor at his ambitious, adventurous and daring best. He has made Pukar, his do or die effort. That’s the spirit when he makes every film but that spirit has reached its peak with Pukar, one of the most talked about films in recent times, a film that is like fire, a fire which can both burn and glow.

And with Boney in all his never-say-no and never-say-surrender spirit is Rajkumar Santoshi, the director who has made a place and a class for himself within a decade, a decade with films like Ghayal, Damini, Barsaat, Andaz Apna Apna, Ghaatak and China Gate which has proved that he is a major force to reckon with, undoubtedly and unanimously acclaimed as one of the most dynamic directors of our times, a director who knows the hows, the whys, the whats, the whens and the what nexts of filmmaking right from the time he branched out as a full-fledged filmaker after some tough training with Guru Govind Nihalani. Every film he has directed has been a mission for him, but Boney Kapoor’s Pukar is the greatest and the most challenging. Two young men with one daring mission, leaving no stone unturned, joined by an entire force who have been inspired to follow them, to believe in them, to have faith in them and keep that faith intact throughout the making of the film is just a little of what can be said about the making of Pukar, making a film like going to a major war, led by two young leaders who never say never, who never know what fear is, what losing is, because they know that they are leading a force in a battle which they are out to win.

Boney Kapoor becomes serious and sometimes even a light subject for discussion everytime he starts making a film, throughout the making of the film and towards the end of the film when it is time for him to face judgement. It has happened with films like Hum Paanch, Woh Saat Din, Roop Ki Raani Choron Ka Raaja, Prem, Loafer, Judaai and Sirf Tum. It is happening now with Pukar, one of the most eagerly awaited films, awaited by Boney’s admirers and critics alike because Pukar and the money, the effort and the time that has gone into the making is something that has rarely happened in recent Hindi film history.

The director in Rajkumar Santoshi goes into a passionate love story against the backdrop of war, espionage, treason, human emotions at all levels and action like never before. “It is sheer passion, call it junoon to make a film like Pukar. The canvas is challenging and the challenge chilling. Now when I have finally completed making Pukar, I can hardly believe that I have made the film. It is a dream come true and so many nightmares overcome. It was like making three big and ambitious films at the same time. I don’t know how I found the energy and the enthusiasm to make a film like Pukar. It has taken time but a film like Pukar with its backdrop and with an eye for perfection and striving for excellence all the time could not be made like a quickie. I have made the film and I know all that has gone into the making of what is going to be the most talked about film. A film like Pukar has to pass through all kinds of fire to make it what it is. A film like Pukar would not have been possible without the sheer passion almost bordering on the madness of a producer like Boney Kapoor. I decided to make Pukar for Boney because I knew only a producer with guts of steel and an all-consuming love for cinema and the will to win all or lose all in his effort to strive for excellence could make a film so vast, so difficult, so delicate. The film gained in many ways with Bharatbhai Shah joining Boney as the co-producer. The man is a sheer blessing to any film. He has been the man behind several big films during the last ten years. He has supported me too but what he has done for Boney’s Pukar is something no ordinary man can do. Today Bharat Shah the name is enough to give any film a class and standing of its own in the making of film entertainment. Boney himself was enough to make a gigantic film like Pukar. So, with Boney and Bharatbhai together you can imagine the freedom that a director like me could get to do what I want. It is the sheer adventure and passion of these two men and the inspired work of the cast led by Anil Kapoor, Madhuri Dixit, Danny Denzongpa and Om Puri and some seasoned and talented artistes that could make a film like Pukar possible. To sum it up, I can say in all humility that Pukar is a passionate effort at excellence which can be seen, felt, touched and even lived by the audience in every scene,” Rajkumar Santoshi says. According to Boney Kapoor: “It is my do or die film, a film in which I have put all that I have and all that I am today at stake. We as a team have gone all out to make something that not many can have the heart to do. And I believe that anything daring done according to the dictates of the heart can not fail. That is my strong belief. There are times when you find you are going wrong or even slightly wrong. This is one time when I felt that we were going right all the way. I hope all goes right at the box-office too. They have to or... You can imagine our fate, the fate of the industry.”

To put the story of Pukar in Boney’s words: “When the dreaded international mercenary Abrush is trapped by the army in a valley near the border. He retaliates by kidnapping a minister. Even as Abrush starts negotiations with Col Hussain for a safe passage the Col sends in his crack team of para commandos led by Major Jai Rajvansh to storm Abrush’s hide out and rescue the minister. The mission is cloaked in secrecy till a traitor falls in the clutches of Abrush and becomes an agent. Almost all the commandos are killed in cold blood. Jai survives with two other brave commandos. They continue their battle against Abrush against all odds and capture him.

A series of bloody scuffles take place and Jai emerges triumphant.

But falls into trouble of another kind. There are two girls in love with him. There is Anjali who loves Jai since her childhood. And there is Pooja. Jai falls in love with Pooja at first sight. He is ignorant and innocent of Anjali’s maddening love for him. He tells Anjali about his love for Pooja. Anjali retaliates like a wounded tigress. Abrush and his followers take advantage of this love triangle. They try to use Anjali to seek revenge on Jai and put him out of their way for good. Will the wounded tigress, Anjali, fall for the enemy’s devilish designs? How far will she go in her desire to hurt Jai? She loved Jai once. Will she destroy him now? Jai is in all kinds of mental trouble. The man who was a hero is branded a traitor now. Will Pooja the girl he loves stand by him in his hour of crisis? How will Jai fight back to redeem himself? What will be the fate of Abrush?

These are some of the questions whose answers lead to one man’s clarion call to challenge, capture and crush every traitor, all the enemies of the country both within and without.

Namrata Shirodkar and Anjan Shrivastava play other key roles. AR Rahman’s music is at its best as usual, an added advantage, a plus point. There are other major highlights never tried in Hindi films before — a major film to lead the millennium which has just begun — with hope.

APJ