eklavya took 5 years to write

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simran

@sim_indian

Voyager

Posted: 19 years ago

'Eklavya took me 5 years to write'

There's an enigmatic rush to his movements, a bustle anachronistic to his soft voice, a casual urgency seemingly at odds with his aggressively fierce media face. Then again, he really doesn't have time to settle down and be himself; Vidhu Vinod Chopra has a film to sell. In the room next door, he's battling multiplex owners three days before the Friday of release. In this one, he shares a quick in-joke and a quick round of guffaws with comrade director Rajkumar Hirani, who politely leaves Chopra to talk about Eklavya, his film he's just seen for the first time, completely mastered and ready for audience consumption. It's been a while since the groundbreaking, new-wave Parinda director was seen at the helm. His last turn, Mission Kashmir, came in 2000, and since then, the director has been one of India's most successful producers, introducing directors like Hirani (Munnabhai MBBS, Lage Raho Munna Bhai) and Pradeep Sarkar (Parineeta). Blockbusters all, reason enough for Chopra to feel he wasn't ever really on hiatus. "Eklavya took me five years to write. And in this time I also wrote and co-wrote over the last seven years, the Munna Bhai films and Parineeta, so I think the writer in me was constantly working. And the director, for obvious reasons, took a backseat." Renowned for being one of Bollywood's most obsessive auteurs, Chopra's always written his own films. In terms of process, it must be hard to write for other directors. "It's very different. The first thing is that I must have a lot of affection, love and regard for the director, otherwise I can't. I can only write for Raju Hirani because..." Vinod trails off, smiling, shaking his head. "You saw him. Look at this man. He's today probably the most successful director in India; more successful than me as a director. Look at his humility, look at his affection. He's cutting my promos, for God's sake! What kind of relationship is this?" He speaks fondly of his friends -- Hirani, director Ram Madhwani (Lets Talk) -- and says, at the time he was writing Parineeta, that he was fond of Sarkar as well. He opens a window and calls to the watchman to send someone up with tea and water.

With a sweeping gesture, Chopra motions to the walls outside his Mumbai office, saying he doesn't see such teamwork anywhere else. "That's why I've put up these tall walls. God protect us from the outside world."

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'For God's sake, don't forget where you come from'

In a notoriously fickle industry, where does this tremendous stress on personal relationships come from? "I'm a small town guy," Chopra smiles, as if that is explanation enough. Hailing from Kashmir, and growing up in Srinagar, Vinod only learnt English when he was 16. "And I haven't let go of my roots," he declares powerfully, before launching into an amusing tirade of his nephew Ashvin, who now calls himself Ash and speaks with an indecipherable accent. "The guy was born in Lucknow, yaar. I was there when this kid was born. Where are his roots? What's gone wrong? I'm telling you, one thing I haven't forgotten is where I come from and my roots, and that's critical. And I'm telling you this because rediff is read by a lot of Indians living abroad, I would want to tell them, for God's sake, don't forget where you come from. And I am not anti-West. I'm doing a film in Hollywood. But I don't sit there and answer to Vy-Nod. I say Vi-Nod, and correct them. It takes them some time. But bolte hain phir Vinod (they do finally say Vinod). I'm not going to call myself Vy-nod Choppra." Speaking of Hollywood for a second, there was all this conversation about a film with Dustin Hoffman. "Yes, that film is still on the cards. It's called The Fifth Move, though it might now be renamed 64 Squares. It's an English film, and in terms of casting, all I can say right now is that I'm trying to get Mr (Amitabh) Bachchan involved on that project as well." So there we go, another repeat collaborator. How difficult is it finding people to gel with? "Very difficult. I have no friends. As you know, I don't go to parties. I don't like many people," he pauses dramatically, "and most people don't like me. I don't gel with people at all. But then people I do gel with, they stay with me over long periods of time, 20 or 30 years, nobody leaves. They're lasting relationships. So I'm sure I don't have to meet a psychiatrist," Vinod laughs.

Thus we see the same group of actors recurring in various films, large actors squeezing into bit-roles if need be. But the Vidhu Vinod Chopra All-Stars report to the sets, pretty much every time. "It's because, as I said, if I have perfection than I stick with it. I don't shift around too much. And with actors, it's the same thing. I don't find many actors who would like to work with me because of the work with me because of the way I work. I'm not that easy to work with."

Hmm? "See, most actors who are stars, are used to a certain kind of functioning in the Hindi film industry. Coming late, etc. For me, when I work with a star, the first thing is that...," Vinod trails off again, looking at a wall-sized poster of his film. "See, if you see the poster of Eklavya, it's very unusual for two things: the face of Jimmy Shergill is as big as the face of Saif Ali Khan. I'm sure nobody notices, but it's not just there. And this doesn't happen (elsewhere). And that's how I look at actors. To me they are equal, they are both fine actors."

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'Sanjay Dutt has chopped his hair off'

"And I'm not taking away from Sanjay Dutt who's a big star, or Jackie (Shroff) who might be a lesser star today or Boman (Irani). To me, I am respecting them as actors. For me, the actor comes first. And the star, I don't care." Then arrives the caveat: "Though I must also say, in the same breath, that if I am making an expensive film like Eklavya, it helps to have stars. Because it helps that film to sell, people want to go and see that film. So it is great to have stars, who are actors." While the need to cast familiar performers based on affection and respect is understandable, miscasting seems inevitable. "No. See, my film comes first. I never would miscast, to the best of my ability. But, I don't know..." he pauses, frowning, visibly contemplating the issue. "I don't think I would do that. I don't think," he continues, stressing the 'think's, "I would take an actor who doesn't fit the role just because I like him. In that situation, I will test that actor. I'll keep that actor and only cast him when he fits that role." "Like in Eklavya, Jackie has grown a beard for his role. Sanjay Dutt has chopped his hair off. So if the actor is committed, and he's a good actor, he can transform himself." "Saif started his growth with Parineeta. I didn't want to cast him in Parineeta, thought he was a very average actor. He fought with me, he got into that film and I was so impressed. He was not supposed to be in Eklavya. I never thought he could handle the role of Harshvardhan, never! Not in my wildest imagination. I was thinking someone more like Hrithik (Roshan) could handle it. But then when Saif did Parineeta, I said, 'Oh my god."

For the record, Eklavya was ready in May last year, long before Omkara -- Saif's bravura performance thus far -- was ready. And Chopra honestly believes he's at his best this time around. "I think Saif is really a wonderful actor in terms of playing his role correctly. He is one actor who doesn't go overboard, who doesn't underplay. He does it right. His pitch is perfect, which is very rare, I think."

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'I wrote Parinda with Bachchan in mind, instead of Jackie Shroff'

"Cinema has taken away my eyes," Vinod says with a deep, weary sigh -- all the more striking coming from behind his everpresent mirror-sunglasses. His once voracious appetite for all kinds of cinema has now whittled down almost completely. Never one for the Bollywood regulars, his last viewed films were Black and Lagaan. There isn't must international cinema he enjoys either, as is evident from his keen dissection of The Departed. "And not because I wouldn't want to -- I would want to, if there's something worth seeing, I will see it. But it's very rare now." There are actors, and there are actors, and then there's Amitabh Bachchan. The new film is a dream come true simply because Chopra's finally gotten to direct him."It's been 30 years now. He loved my student film Murder At Monkey Hill, and simply asked me, 'So when do we work together?' I couldn't believe my luck. I had just been nominated for an Oscar (his 1978 film, An Encounter With Faces, nominated as Best Documentary, Short Subject) and India's biggest actor wanted to work with me!" he punches the air in grinning exultation. "I'd arrived, man!" "But things never quite worked out. He went on to do different kinds of films, and films I wrote with him in mind never mapped out like planned. I wrote Parinda with Bachchan in mind, instead of Jackie Shroff. And then Mission Kashmir was written with Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan in mind, but when it didn't happen, Sanjay Dutt came in and agreed to play Hrithik's dad! He's got awesome commitment. He's shaved his head off for Eklavya, and if you compare that to Munna Bhai's longish hair, it's a drastic change in look. Sanjay looks phenomenal in this film." While writing, Vinod prefers to keep an actor in mind. This must necessitate great readjustment when the casting call changes, at the last minute. "Yes, but that happens all the time. In Eklavya, I wasn't convinced about Boman. I wanted Naseeruddin Shah to play the king," he reveals. Never one for diplomacy, the man Naseer's character (Vinod Chopra) in the iconic Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro was named after, continues. "Naseer has problems working with Bachchan and other actors. And the king's part has an interesting twist, which is why Boman worked so well for it. I wanted Aishwarya Rai to play the Nandini character, which finally went to Raima Sen. I thought she'd be interesting in the role of a mentally fragile girl. But then she wanted the lead role instead. That's the trouble with stars, right?" he grins.

"Even Jimmy's (Shergill) role was initially earmarked for Arshad Warsi -- largely because I had been seeing so much of him during the Munna Bhai films -- but then the character needed to be a good looking, young aristocrat, so Jimmy had to rise to the challenge."

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'I want Eklavya to give audiences the meaning of right and wrong'

So how was the 30-year dream? Did working with Amitabh meet expectations, of both parties? "No." "It was much, much worse. For both of us, the first three days was a nightmare. I didn't know what would happen to Eklavya. He was coming in late, things were chaotic, we yelled at each other," he looks frustrated for a moment as he lapses internally to that time. "I think after those three days he realised that I was like a kid, and that my tantrums needed to be indulged. After that, it was much better than we could have dreamed." "I think, while making Eklavya, I have discovered an actor of such exceptional talent in Mr Bachchan. Very rarely is he pushed to actually deliver roles that demand so much of him. And here he's incredible. You have to see Eklavya and you will realise the nuances of his character." And there isn't much else he's saying about Eklavya. Like in Lage Raho Munna Bhai, where he slyly hid Mahatma Gandhi from us all, this one doesn't have any pre-release overkill. There are even people who think it is the chapter of the same name, from the Mahabharata. "Let them. That's the best part, let them be completely surprised. I am not concerned what they enter the theatre with, but let them leave with my message. The message of dharma." "Like Lage Raho gave them Gandhigiri, I want Eklavya to give them the meaning of right and wrong." An extremely tall order? Sure.

But as I look at my reflection in his sunglasses, I realise this man -- who gave the Mumbai underworld a glossary of terms with his Parinda and who miraculously composed the background score for Eklavya months before starting the shoot -- with the disarming smile, may just pull it off.

https://specials.rediff.com/movies/2007/feb/15slide1.htm

Edited by sim_indian - 19 years ago