For many in Bollywood, Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra is the thinking man’s director. With a slew of landmark films such as Rang De Basanti, Delhi 6, Mirzya and Bhaag Milka Bhaag behind him, the director is all gung-ho about Toofaan, his latest outing with Farhan Akhtar. In an interaction with the Cinema Journal, the director talks about his recently announced autobiography, working with Farhan for Toofaan, and more. Excerpts:
You recently announced your autobiography, The Stranger In The Mirror. Can you reveal a little bit about the book?
I was going through a period of trying to say something, I don’t know what, but I was looking to say something! There was a big part of me that wanted to write. The book is a collective of first-person accounts from noted personalities in cinema such as Waheeda Rehman, AR Rahman, Manoj Bajpayee, Abhishek Bachchan, Farhan Akhtar and others. The forward has been written by Rahman. This is all I can divulge at the moment.
Has Toofaan been therapeutic in your quest to know yourself?
Toofaan has been the catalyst for me. It is a beautiful, sweet balm on the open wounds we nurture within ourselves, for years at a time. Loved ones, lost ones and how you can honour even the ones you have lost and their wishes. Though it is about a violent sport, emotions are also violent here. It is a tale that also talks about the different manifestations of love, even within the ring. It is about how we express love in different circumstances.
Why did you choose Farhan Akhtar to play Aziz Ali?
Seven years back I was working on this wonderful story for Bhaag Milkha Bhaag. I went to Farhan and we discussed the idea at length. He was impressed by the spirit of the film and immediately agreed. Now, seven years later, Farhan called me with an idea about a film called Toofaan. It just took us 20 minutes to agree to do the film together! I was totally blown away with the idea.
How easy or difficult is it to direct an actor, who is also a director?
He makes things easier for me. In fact, he does a few things that even I couldn’t think of! See, if the person you are collaborating with knows, and knows that he knows, it makes your life easier. Throughout the shoot, the thing that we shared in common was silence, and I hope it always remains that way. When you have a common goal, he will take a different path to reach it and I will take a different path to get there. In between, we will meet along the way, cross paths and probably travel together for 100 miles and again split. Maybe meet again after 100 miles and split again. But in the end, we reach the common goal. That is the way it is between Farhan and me.
For Hindi films, any character that is improper as per social norms, either comes from Dongri, Bhindi Bazaar or Dharavi in Mumbai. Do you think Bollywood, through its narratives, has stereotyped these neighbourhoods?
I think the demand of the story was such that the character of Aziz Ali needed to come from a background that was not a privileged one. Also, if you see fighters in general, and fighters across the world, always come from places that are underprivileged neighbourhoods. They are the have-nots, people who were discriminated against mostly because of the colour of their skin, like in America or Cuba. You will see a lot of black people and Hispanics taking up boxing to express themselves. Even in Northeast India or Haryana, boxers came from economically and socially deprived backgrounds. I did a lot of research on the subject before we decided on his background. It was the demand of the story. So, there is no stereotype here.
Also, Dongri, Nagpada and Mohammed Ali Road are beautiful places in Byculla, Mumbai. Some of the most quiet, peaceful and beautiful lanes are located in these areas. Some of the best food in Mumbai comes from these places. And then, Ananya’s character comes from Shivaji Park. That is another old, traditional neighbourhood in Mumbai. Somewhere it is rooted in the culture of the city, and the rest of the country that a certain kind of neighbourhood will have a certain kind of people living in them.
You have done a sports drama before, why take up a similar genre again?
There are movies and then, there are movies. There are stories and then, there are stories. Toofaan is a story about many things put together, the likes of which I am sure you may never have seen before. Whether action-drama or sports-drama, in reality Toofaan is a riveting story about this boxer Aziz Ali. It is a story about life, relationships and the conflicts we face. Whether you are struggling with your circumstances, struggling with the norms in society or whether you are struggling with yourself, there are conflicts at various levels. And that is the essence of Toofaan.
If I were to watch the film, I should see myself in the film, I should see myself reflected in the characters. Not necessarily it will inspire everyone to wear boxing gloves and get into the ring. If I am a homemaker it should inspire me to introduce that kind of discipline in my family. If I am a lawyer or a painter or a teacher, I should be influenced by the nuances at some level or the other. That’s because you really can’t separate yourself from what you do, you are what you do.
