Rakeysh Omprakarsh Mehra Talks About His Next Project, Mirzya Failure

After Mere Pyare Prime Minister, Rakeysh
Omprakash Mehra has his eyes set on
telling a father-son story, comparing two
generations. He says it's a salute to the new
generation that is grappling with pressures
of all kinds.
"I have started work on my next. It's
untitled right now, but its script is ready
and we are casting, Mehra told IANS in an
interview here.
Rakeysh Omprakarsh Mehra Talks About His
Next Project, Mirzya Failure & Much More
What is it about?
"It's a salute to the generation of today.
What I have seen around me is that today's
generation is far more accomplished, and
why not. It's like a comparison of two
generations, but it's not so simple, said the
director, known for movies like Rang De
Basanti and Bhaag Milkha Bhaag.
Reflecting on the thought behind the film,
Mehra said: "I think the world we have
given to the youth today, they deserve
better. We have given them anxiety, panic
attacks, depression, attention deficiency
syndromes.
"These things never existed, but we have
created these things for the generation of
today, and are putting so much pressure on
them.
"There's peer pressure, competition
pressure, performance pressure, pressure
of structuring their life... At 18, you will
pass college, at 22 you will do the senior
college, at 23 you get your first job, at 26
you do something else... At 30 you will get a
house... If you don't take a car by then, how
will they feel... All that... And So, I wanted to
tell a story around it in my own way.
In a nutshell, it's a father-son story in a
unique setup, he explained, adding that he
is currently meeting people for the project
and gauging if the response is good.
He doesn't have a dream cast in mind.
"For the same story to be told, I believe
there will always be three to four great
actors... But (who knows) who is in the
mindset at that point of time to absorb that
story, because everybody is going through
different phases in their careers, he said.
He hopes to begin work on this new film
before 2018 ends. There was also news he
would be doing a kabaddi based film with
Shahid Kapoor.
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But Mehra said: "I am not doing the
kabaddi film. I was doing it earlier. It was
offered to me by Ronnie Screwvala. We
worked on the script for a bit, and it fizzled.
So as of now I am not doing it.
Mehra's last directorial to release was
Mirzya, which didn't resonate well with the
mass audience. He admits he has evolved
when it comes to being able to accept
failures.
"Earlier I could not deal with it and did not
understand that any attempt and any effort
in life never fails. It's a stepping stone to
something... But as they say, Maar khaake
hi samajh mein aati hai baat (You learn
through mistakes)'.
"So, not that I am chasing failures, but I give
myself permission to fail in order to achieve
greater success. I don't think unless you do
that, you will achieve greater success.
What went wrong with Mirzya, an epic
fantasy romantic thriller which was Mehra's
attempt at a musical?
"I felt it was a bit abstract for a mass
audience. For a niche audience, it will find
its space. I believe in films that grow. This is
not instant coffee... So it will.
His next project as a producer is Fanne
Khan, featuring Aishwarya Rai Bachchan,
Anil Kapoor and Rajkummar Rao. Mehra
describes it as a beautiful story of a father
and daughter, and says a lot about music
and women artistes.
"Do we watch their bodies or hear their
songs? Do we watch the glamour and skin.
Are we watching songs these days or are
we hearing them? A staggering 98.2 per
cent women in the world are subjected to
body shaming... The film tries to tackle
these questions, he said.
T-Series has taken over as funding partner
for Fanne Khan from KriArj Entertainment,
which hasn't been in the news for the right
reasons of late.
Commenting on that, he said: "People go
through ups and downs... Films get sold
and acquired... In glamour business, it just
gets more eyeballs.

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