Ashutosh Gowarikar on his fascination with past
Filmmaker Ashutosh Gowariker is wooing audiences with the period drama "Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey", based on the Chittagong uprising of 1930.
The "Lagaan" and "Jodhaa Akbar" director spoke to Reuters about the film, why he likes to tell stories set in the past and why "Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey" isn't as long as his earlier films.
Why is it that so many of your films tell stories of the past?
"I wouldn't say that I make a deliberate, conscious attempt each time to tell a story from our history. The take-off point is never 'what aspect of history can I explore now?'
"It's always an outcome of what theme that I want to make a film on. A group of people come together to fight a common enemy - that's 'Lagaan'. Two people discover each other after marriage and learn to respect each other's cultures - that's 'Jodhaa Akbar'. That couple could also be Usman and Gauri - then the story would be contemporary.
"In 'Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey', I read the book, I discovered so much more about the Chittagong Revolution. I had heard about it, like I had heard about the Chipko movement, but I hadn't heard about Surjya Sen. If I was a reader I would have said, 'wow, this is great'. But since I am a film-maker, that feeling translated into 'I must make this into a film'. It's just that the film happens to be set in 1930."
Exactly. So why do your films always go into the past?
"(Laughs) I think it's a very subconscious thing. I enjoy creating another world, being in another era. There's a lot of challenge in discovering a culture that I don't know, that I am discovering now. The process of making that movie is that much more enjoyable. That doesn't mean I didn't enjoy 'Swades' or 'What's Your Raashee' because those films presented a different set of challenges."
But all these films are set in different periods. So does each period present a different challenge?
"Absolutely. 'Jodhaa Akbar' took place 450 years ago, so there is no one living who is connected with that era. 'Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey' is based 80 years ago so there were still people I could talk to. You had photographic evidence, you had letters. With Bhuvan (in Lagaan), I could do what I wanted - at least with his story. I couldn't go wrong with the British Raj and how they were portrayed. Tomorrow if I made a film on Shah Jahan, then it's in the same space as Jodhaa so it would be easier. On the other hand, I would never go there again. I have already told the story I wanted to tell from that period."
Another theme that dominates your films is the idea of India. Is that also something that you consciously veer towards?
"Again, no conscious decision. It's subconscious. But you are right about that. In 'Jodhaa Akbar', the idea of India was completely Akbar's thought. He had to prove to everybody that he was not like the Afghans or like Babar, his own grandfather. He has to prove so many times that he is Indian.
"So yeah, the idea of India does figure in my films. But I don't know how much of that is reflected in my films, because the take-off point is not that I want to make a patriotic film because if I do that, I will veer off the actual story. And it is always the story that is the most important part of the film."
"There is always a certain responsibility that comes with making a film based on a book. This is not my first time. My entire research for 'Swades' was based on Rajni Bakshi's book called 'Bapu Kuti' which is a chronicle of people who have achieved nationalistic feats.
"For 'Jodhaa Akbar' I had the Akbarnama, so one can't help but notice that. I have always associated myself with books because I feel that there is someone who has done the hard work of creating something, so why not officially buy the rights of the book and use that to make a film with the right approach."
How long is this film?
"(Laughs) It's much lesser than three hours. Because it's a thriller you see and that genre doesn't lend itself to a very long screen time."
When your films don't do well, what is the kind of introspection that you go through?
"I always question myself. Since I am an avid moviegoer myself, I possess the right to reject a film. Similarly, an audience has the right to reject my film. Of course, it makes me sad. You've worked so hard, you want it to be appreciated. But I don't despair about it. I analyse it and take all the negativity positively. They are like markers on the path, so that when I make the next movie, I avoid them."
What's next?
"I have several ideas but I'd like to finish with this film and then see which one I want to make."