'Vishal Bhardwaj is lying'

Vishal is lying!'

Rahasya director Manish Gupta insists that the Talvar producer did, in fact, seek the Talwars' consent, something VB has denied

Subhash K Jha

When a film is based on a real-life incident, one of the most obvious questions a producer will be asked is if he has secured consent from the parties concerned. The same question was put to Vishal Bhardwaj, whose production Talvar, based on the Arushi-Hemraj murder cases due for release soon. He replied in the negative, saying, "We have not taken the permission. Through this film, we have shown the investigations of the police. The CBI did the investigation, followed by a probe by one more CBI team. So there are three versions and we have tried to show that with as much honesty as we could." But director Manish Gupta, whose film Rahasya was based on the same case, isn't buying it. He insists that the producer, did, in fact, seek the Talwars' permission before starting work on the film and makes some more revelations...

Excerpts:

Vishal Bhardwaj says he didn't seek the Talwars' permission before producing Talvar?

Vishal is lying. The Talwars have given him permission in exchange for an undisclosed amount of money. Also, Vishal has portrayed the Talwars as absolutely innocent in the film, which was the Talwar's primary condition while giving Vishal the rights to their story.

How do you know this?

Mrs Vandana Talwar (Dr Rajesh

Talwar's sister-in-law) had given the same offer to my producers and me at our office in Malad in May 2014 after we kept a special screening of our film for her. We had been asked to do so by the Bombay High Court following the Talwar's petition against our film.

What was her reaction to your film?

After viewing my film, Vandana handed us two booklets written by her, that describe how the Talwars are completely innocent and how the police, CBI and the judiciary botched up their case. She said, We want a film-maker or author to bring our true story to the world, to show the world that we are innocent and how we've been wrongly implicated. If you could incorporate these true details of our case in your film, we'd support your film.'

Your reaction to her offer?

I refused her offer. She then pressed hard for a stay order on my film in the Bombay High Court. For 11 months, the Talwars fought this case against our film Rahasya employing the best lawyers in Mumbai. Who was funding them?' I wondered. Our lawyers' bill had gone up to '45 lakh which was borne by my film's producer and distributor. The Talwars' lawyers' bill would have been close to '1.5 cr since their lawyers had been working very hard and round-the-clock on this case for 11 months.

Who was paying their legal bills?

You tell me! A middle-class dentist couple who've been in prison and unemployed for six years... Could they afford to spend so much time, energy and money in fighting a case against a mere film? How did my film matter when they are facing a death sentence? Wouldn't their focus be on saving their own lives rather than pursue a film that says it's fictitious?

Why were they so against your film?

The answer became clear a few weeks later when Vishal Bhardwaj announced his film. He had assured his financiers that my film Rahasya posed no threat to his film since it'd never release, due to the High Court case pending against it. The court case against our film and the lawyers who fought the case against us, were financed by Vishal because he was the only one who stood to gain by our film not releasing. The uniqueness and freshness of his film would be affected if our film released first.

Aren't your observations on Vishal's involvement in suppressing your film, mere conjecture?

No. After we won the case and my film released, I approached the lawyers who fought against us and grilled them personally. They admitted that Vishal had been funding them and stated that they had nothing personal against me or my film. They had been employed to do a job. And they'd be happy to do that for any client.

Did the court rule in favour of your film Rahasya?

Our lawyers won the case, largely because they exposed the true intentions of the Talwars and Vishal by showing the judge, news articles and clippings about the other film Talvar being made with the consent of the Talwar family. The judge understood the ploy, was thoroughly convinced with the logic our lawyer presented before him and gave a ruling in our favour.

Your observations on Vishal Bhardwaj could hurt his film.

He is a great filmmaker and I respect him. But I did not expect him to resort to such deplorable tactics.