PRAKASH JHA

The return of the Native
Prakash Jha, once regarded as an icon of meaningful cinema, is back with Dil Kya Kare. The film, says the director, is another in his on-going attempt to bridge the gap between art and commerce, mainstream and parallel cinema...

Prakash Jha was once regarded as one of the leading lights of the meaningful, parallel cinema movement in India. But one day, he just upped and vanished, only to return five years hence, and plunge himself into the mainstream Indian cinema with two widely different films. The first, Bandish, unabashedly used every trick of the mainstream cinema trade, but people couldn’t stomach its blatant commercialism and the film flopped.

For his next, Jha chose a subject that was more “him”, a film on the dynamics of oppression against women. Mrityudand redeemed Jha’s dented reputation to a great extent. The taut, emotional-wringer may not have set the box-office on fire, but it represented a respectable marriage between art and commerce, between fact and fiction. Mrityudand used many of the overblown, over-used staples - like songs and dance and fantasy - of mainstream cinema and mated them with the muted realism of the parallel, “meaningful” cinema.

Says Jha, “I wouldn’t want to comment on Bandish because I was never with the film after a certain point of time. The end result, naturally, was disappointing for all concerned. But Mrityudand was another matter altogether. The film was a more coherent, focussed effort.”

What Mrityudand did, was prove that when presented with the opportunity, the icons of parallel cinema could also produce commercially viable films; films that did not offend one’s sensibilities even as they entertained. But it is also true that Mrityudand was a self-produced effort, and mainstream support in terms of finance was still forthcoming. This was one of the reasons that Prakash Jha had quit active filmmaking for most of the late 80s and early 90s in the first place.

It was then that Prakash Jha got a call up from the Devgans to make a film for them. The result is Dil Kya Kare, a film that may be regarded as Jha’s most “commercial” ever. So has Jha embraced commercialism with a vengeance? Jha bristles at the suggestion. “Whatever makes you think that?” he counters. “If by commercialism you mean the use of songs and big stars, yes, the film is commercial. But didn’t Mrityudand also use songs and stars to tell its story? It’s not what you use but how you use it that’s important.”

As a case in point, he points to the undercurrent of violence that ran through Mrityudand. “Except in the climax, Mrityudand has no scenes of graphic violence, yet violence was a palpable element of the film. But nobody called Mrityudand a violent film, did they?” he asks. “It’s the same with Dil Kya Kare. It has all the elements of popular cinema. And you have to use elements if you have to reach out to the widest possible audience.”

Inherent in that loaded statement is perhaps a suggestion that he - and other purveyors of parallel cinema - didn’t utilise many of these elements, which, therefore, brought the entire “meaningful cinema movement” to a standstill. Prakash Jha disagrees. “I did use songs in Hip Hip Hurray, didn’t I?

Moreover, I think the use of song and dance is dictated by the story. There is no point in forcibly using these elements if the story doesn’t demand it. And even when you use them, you have to ensure that they are done tastefully and don’t offend anybody.”

In any case, Prakash Jha argues, too much is being made of the use of song and dance in films. “I don’t see it either as a virtue or a vice. Didn’t Bimal Roy, Guru Dutt and K Asif use songs and dance in their films, too? And aren’t their films considered classics today?” he reasons.

Five years ago, when Jha had just returned from his self-imposed exile in Bihar, he had hinted at a certain “frustration at having to battle with the system constantly”. So has he made peace with the system, or has the system simply swallowed him? Jha says the battle cannot be conducted in isolation or even from the outside. “The fight against the system goes on. The goals remain the same but the means have to change,” he says. And, he is happy that directors like Govind Nihalani are also making mainstream films. “It’s a good start, and the audience can only benefit from their experience.”

Talking about Govind Nihalani, brings us to Ajay Devgan, the actor most preferred by directors of parallel cinema for their mainstream efforts. “This is my first film with him, so I can’t comment on his other works. But if you are looking for an actor who can deliver a certain level of mature, emotionally sensitive performance, I don’t think you’ve got to look beyond him,” says Jha.

Dil Kya Kare has been completed in double-quick time, all of eight months, a pointer that such miracles can be achieved even within the boundaries of commercial Hindi cinema, where the average production takes anywhere between 18 months to two years to complete. “Ideally, I’d have loved to complete the film in six months, but eight months is not bad for a project of this size and nature,” he agrees.

Jha refuses to comment on how the film has turned out, saying it would be too subjective. “But I can assure you that we have made a film that won’t insult you as a viewer. This is sincerely the best work we could have done,” he says. How sincere that work is will show when the film releases all over next week.

On the genesis of DKK

Prakash Jha, on how the theme evolved: “The beginning of Dil Kya Kare dates back to 11 years ago, when I adopted Disha. I often used to wonder about her background, and what would happen if her biological parents ever met me. I wrote a story based on these questions and filed it away.

After Mrityudand, I was looking for a subject on human relationships and I remembered the story I’d written. The story had immense potential to be transformed into a mature, emotional drama. I couldn’t think of anybody other than Ajay for the lead role. He loved my narration and even decided to produce the film himself.

Dil Kya Kare is about relationships, about accepting responsibility for one’s actions, about accepting the truth, no matter the consequences.

The film’s characters are life-like and human. It’s about today’s man, woman and child. It’s a mature film, and I’m sure people will enjoy watching it just as much as we’ve enjoyed making it.