After the success of The Kashmir Files and The Kerala Story, the trend of making films on controversial subjects has become the in thing. The recently released teaser of Accident Or Conspiracy: Godhra seems to be yet another such film. The Free Press Journal caught up with its director MK Shivaaksh for an exclusive conversation.
When asked if Accident Or Conspiracy: Godhra is based on a true incident, Shivaaksh shares, “First of all I would like to tell you that this film is based on the report of the Nanavati Mehta commission constituted by the government. The film basically talks about pre-Godhra and why this riot happened. Who was behind these riots? What was the conspiracy behind this? So I want to say with responsibility that my film is completely based on true events.”
He adds, “This film is completely based on the report of the Nanavati Commission, after all, why the train of kar sevaks was burnt. In this film, after an inquiry on Nanavati Commission, it was found that it was a conspiracy; the court had punished the criminals and hanged 11 people. Thirty-one people have been sentenced.”
When asked if it’s a propaganda film, he says, “The entire report is in the public domain. This is not a propaganda film. We are revealing the truth which is out there. If at all we get into some controversy after the release we will tackle it then. The entire film is a courtroom drama.”
The film’s teaser doesn’t show any of its actors. The filmmaker too chooses to keep the mystery of its cast. He avers, “Right now we can’t tell who the actor of the film is. From the production house, we can’t tell the name of any actor right now. Yes, I can tell that we are casting established and popular character actors in the main characters of the film. We are producing the film. Due to many reasons, the name of the actor of the film is not being revealed at the time of release, some casting is yet to be finalised, and that’s why the producer does not want to reveal the name of any actor. We are not taking stars in this film as the script is based on a real incident/conspiracy.”
When asked if this will be a male-dominated film, “This will be the first-of-its-kind of a film which will be male dominated, as we are showing courtroom drama and all characters were male. We will be showing common audiences in the train which will comprise of male, female and children old and young as well,” he reveals.
Despite no item number or any female characters, Shivaaksh is confident about the success of his film. “The selling point of our film is the emotional factor. Kar sevaks were burnt alive so the film which is coming with facts and emotions will surely be liked by the audiences. We have also shown Ramleela as they were all Ram bhakts,” he explains.
The director is also planning a sequel. “In the sequel of the film, we will show the stories of the post-Godhra riots,” he states.
The film will be shot in various locations. “The shooting of this film is going to be done in Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Vadodara and Surat. Some parts are being shot now. We are also going to shoot in Ayodhya. We are also going to shoot the film at the real location in Godhra, Gujarat,” he says.
On a concluding note, he talks about the film’s message. “Hum iss mein bhed bhav nahin kar rahe hai. People belonging to the minority and majority section both faced this and lost their lives. The entire message through our film is dange nahin karne chahiye,” he signs off.
