Triumph of the Spirit
Jaskiran Kapoor
Abhishek Kapoor admits that The Three Mistakes of My Life is not one of his favourite Chetan Bhagat books. In fact, the Rock On! filmmaker was offered Bhagat's Two States, but there was something about The Three Mistakes..., that made Kapoor choose it out of the lot. A book that has a cult following and has been translated into Gujarati and French, The Three Mistakes..., reflects Kapoor, "makes for excellent material for a film".
With an intriguing title, Kai Po Che, the film that releases on February 22 next year, according to Kapoor, has all the right ingredients — religion, politics, cricket and youth. "Aren't these the driving forces of the country?" questions Kapoor, as he connects from Mumbai. The story of three boys from Gujarat, the dynamics of their relationship, friendship, dreams, love, conflict, sacrifices and realisations, says Kapoor, moved him "at a soul and cerebral level". Like Rock On! this too pans its cameras on male bonding, but that's where the similarity ends. "While Rock On! was about urban life, music and dreams, Kai Po Che touches a wider base. I would define it as a very satisfying Indian film one that would appeal to all classes and masses, "says Kapoor.
Set in late 2000, the film traverses through four lives in Ahmedabad — Govind Patel who dreams of running a business; Omi, the son of a Hindu priest who loves cricket; the patriot Ishaan who takes a budding cricketer Ali under his wing and the rebel Vidya, Ishaan's feisty sister. Kai Po Che, as a title, was perfect as it means "a victory call" in Gujarati. "It is an expression used during kite flying when one cuts off another kite. It is spirited, young, energetic and metaphorically fitted the title slot of my film," he says. While the base remains the same, Kapoor changed sizeable chunks of the book, of course, with the author's nod. "For me, Govind Patel is the ultimate Indian boy in terms of thought, ambition and drive. He, along with other characters, was so irresistible. I had to explore all the characters further and bring them to life on screen," he says. The adaptation was a tricky process as a book can be written in many ways, and not every book can be made into a film. "What makes this book cine-worthy is its relevance," says Kapoor, whose believes that his changes have "added value to the story".
This is Bhagat's third book after Five Point Someone (filmed as Three Idiots) to be brought alive on silver screen. Ask Kapoor if he is being put on a comparing pedestral with Raj Kumar Hirani's treatment and approach in Three Idiots, and he says that his competition is to match Kai Po Che's success with that of Rock On! "I feel Chetan is yet to get his due from his peers and contemporaries. He is not out there to impress readers with his literary prowess, but with stories that are real and relevant," adds Kapoor.
The film has been produced by UTV and been shot in real locations in Vadnagar in Gujarat. It stars a fresh starcast that includes Sushant Singh Rajput who will make his debut with the film apart from Raj Kumar Yadav, Amit Sadh and Amrita Puri.
So what are the three mistakes of his life? "Ah, plenty! But I am glad I committed them. At that time it did seem like the end of the world, but what doesn't break you only makes you stronger. I guess we all need to make our mistakes as that's the way one gets through life," says Kapoor, who adds that his inspiration in filmmaking is Hollywood's real master storyteller, Clint Eastwood.
Edited by AshuNaik - 12 years ago
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