Ghaath

Betray and bedamned
Betrayal is one of the most cruel sins man can commit. Some of the greatest human beings, saints, martyrs and fighters for freedom and peace for man have been betrayed by their own people for a few pieces of silver (Jesus Christ), for a wallet packed with crisp notes, people with their minds mauled by values which go against those great men whose lives are a

We went from one schedule to another, going faster. We didn’t even realise that we were going faster than we had planned. We are all very happy with the thriller that the film has shaped out to be. It is my baby and I can still say that I have made a film that will create a new genre of the thriller. The kind no one has tried in Hindi films before,” the always excited Aakash says

blessing to mankind but are ruthlessly misunderstood and cut short only to be remembered when the values they stood for, fought and even gave up their lives for, are remembered. At times when man is in trouble, when crisis makes him crack, when he is slapped in the face, when all that he has built on the basis of his false and wicked values come crashing down like a beautiful house caught in one of the most devastating earthquakes ever.

History is full of story of betrayals, all kinds of betrayals which cause great damage to the growth and movement of humanity which unfortunately has still not reached a stage where it can be called human. History tells us any number of stories of men who have been betrayed by their own loved ones and by their own followers. History has stood witness to men being canonised and made saints and treated like the chosen ones of God and then one day stoned, the same men symbolising all that is great in man, stoned, strangulated and stripped for reasons which they later realise were crimes and sins committed on their part. And they don’t know how to ask for punishment. Betrayal demands punishment and gets it. There is no way out. In the list of the millions of stories of betrayal will also go the most gripping and thrilling story of betrayal, the story of K Bhagyalakshmi Picture’s Ghaath.

It was Manoj Bajpai who was then basking in the glory of his outstanding performance and success as Bhiku Mhatre in Ram Gopal Varma’s Satya for which he won all the awards in the country, including the National Award, which inspired the writer in Neeraj Pathak (he was one of the writers in Subhash Ghai’s Pardes), to call him “a collector of awards”. Manoj had decided to play safe with success because it had come to him after a great deal of struggle. He didn’t want to do any and every role. He was playing very choosy. His rejection of a number of roles also gave him a new name - Manoj “arrogance” Bajpai for sometime. But say what people wanted to, Manoj stuck to his guns and frustrated any number of filmmakers who were “dying” to make films with Bhiku Mhatre and not with Manoj Bajpai. Manoj went through Neeraj’s script and was stunned. He was given to believe that good writers were no longer made, that they had turned into fossils of the past and that writing a perfect script had become a job which only men who had gone out of their minds did for a living. Manoj fell for the script instantly. He had a series of meetings with Neeraj to sought things out so that there could be no hitches once they started, the making of the film.

Manoj was so carried away by Neeraj’s script that he didn’t even realise that to make a film you needed a good director, a good producer, a good music director and a whole lot of talented technicians, an entire team willing to work with one spirit. He had no problems. The script was a gold mine. Any producer would snatch it. The popularity of Bhiku Mhatre and Neeraj’s perfect script were temptations enough to go for some of the biggest names. But they wanted to make a good film more than a big film. They wanted to make the film in peace, they wanted to make it without any interference, without any hassles. For the director they chose the ever-energetic dynamo of ideas, Aakash Deep in whom they saw all the fire, all the inspiration to go ahead and make a “burning” film like Ghaath, a memorable film, a film which would be remembered for long. Aakash who had directed a flimsy film called Miss 420 earlier knew he had to take Ghaath seriously. “I saw the chance of a lifetime in this script. It had all the makings of a thriller with a difference and I don’t say that as a cliche. It was just the kind of film I wanted to make. I had seen Manoj and the world had seen Manoj as Bhiku Mhatre and I felt it was a great privilege to be one of the first few directors to direct a gifted actor like Manoj. We had a very understanding unit who was ever willing to do anything to make the film, a good film. Heading the team was Kumar Mohan the editor of `Complete Cinema’, the trade journal. He had seen all kinds of films and passed judgement on them. Now he knew it was his time to make his kind of film and wait for the people to pass judgement on him and on his film. We knew we had to slog it out if we had to be a slave to a good film, a good thing to be. And we vowed that we would have nothing come in our way, no obstacles, no “nakhre”, no “rukawat ke liye khed hai”. We went from one schedule to another, going faster. We didn’t even realise that we were going faster than we had planned. We are all very happy with the thriller that the film has shaped out to be. It is my baby and I can still say that I have made a film that will create a new genre of the thriller. The kind no one has tried in Hindi films before,” the always excited Aakash says.

Ghaath, according to Aakash is also the kind of film whose story has to be kept a secret, just has to or there is no film. A secret that is almost sacred. If you give one an idea it leads to another and all the ideas get upset. We are trying to form a link, a tight link which if it crumbles at any point, breaks the thrill of making Ghaath. The thrill is in keeping the chain of events together. The chain is what a little of the film is all about, a strong chain, a strange chain, a human chain which is the most powerful chain. . A little crack in the chain, a little chink could stop Ghaath being what we wanted it to be,” Aakash says.

Producer Kumar Mohan whose first effort Ghaath is, as a producer, says he has been playing with different ideas but he knew this was the biggest and the most difficult. Ghaath is one film Kumar Mohan will really be looking forward to. It is giving him sleepless nights already. “This film would certainly not have been possible without the co-operation of Manoj Bajpai, the man who in a way gave life to it. The interest taken by Manoj is something I will never be able to thank him in thought, word or deed. Tabu who can never go wrong has once again proved that she can only go right. Ravi Dewan’s thrills are mind blowing. Ravi strikes back with one thrill after another after giving action a break for some time. Anu Malik is going to prove that he has reched his peak and has still peaks and peaks to conquer. Kumar Mohan and Aakash are also privileged to have some of the best performers in Om Puri, Anupam Kher, Mukesh Tiwari, Tinnu Anand, Makrand Deshpande, Irfan Khan and Sachin Khedekar what a collection of artistes , artistes whose names are enough to imagine the kind of a film this team with the courage to face every challenge they have faced are out to make - brilliant is just one word that comes to mind. Soon there will be many more when the film is released.

Incidentally, Raveena Tandon too loved the subject so much and agreed to make a special appearance in the film without any ego. Aaakash’s wife Sheeba sizzles in the film. Kumar Mohan and Aaakash have also seen to it that the film doesn’t lack in anything that is good for a good film. Lyrics by Sameer (some of the most meaningful lines written by him in recent times) have been tuned by Anu Malik and Ravi Dewan, the action director is another “hero” another highlight of the film, according to Aaakash. “A thriller with a difference demands thrills with a difference and I have given the best I could create to the film, my best in all my years as a fight director. You will see the results for yourself,” Ravi says.

A film made by a young team of men and women with so much passion and with the challenge to win cannot be betrayed. They can not, because their film is the kind of film that we need now when the kind of films, most of the films we are making, are made only for the money, the money and nothing else. Quality is king. A film like Ghaath can not be betrayed, be damned.Beware, betrayal, do not come anywhere near this young team. They are on a rampage.

APJ