Mahesh Bhatt: 'Salman is the only actor who could do greater justice!'

Frank and fearless, Mahesh Bhatt says it like none other. The former director who does a super job of doctoring scripts for Vishesh Films presently, is gearing up to unveil 'Crook' starring Emraan Hashmi and new find Neha Sharma. Bhatt's recent spat with Emraan over the smooching and love making scenes in 'Crook' have only spurred more interest in the Mohit Suri helmed flick. And if he hadn't bagged Emraan, Mahesh Bhatt would have only settled for Salman Khan in the lead role..

Mentally constipated stars and intellectually bankrupt actors? take a clue or two from Mahesh Bhatt. Articulate and politically incorrect, Bhatt revels in sensationalism of every sort. What's better, he's superbly unapologetic about it! So much the better.

Words, the speed of darts, will rush out. And surely, frankspeak will assume new dimensions at the Vishesh Films Office in suburban Mumbai, where this chatathon has been convened. For Bhatt to hold court on 'Crook,' the forthcoming flick starring Emraan Hashmi and newbie Neha Sharma.

At the appointed hour Bhatt shows up, inspects matters, rattles off a few instructions to lackeys, and inspects you sharply as if you're a moron from Mars descended to engage him in an inter phew. Phew!!

Excerpts from a talk with the intrepid interviewee?

What really was the trigger point for kickstarting 'Crook?'

My director Mohit Suri was the one who suggested to me that, why not make an engaging film within the parameters of the Bollywood idiom which kind of explores the nuances of the racial violence that is being unleashed in Australia. And since the issue was in the headlines, I immediately said yes to it. Then Mohit subsequently went to Melbourne and explored the terrain. He met up with people, got first hand information, talked at length to people who were fighting against that menace and came back reassured that there is a substance there. It's not just an isolated incident; there is an institutional bias which is in operation there. That's when I said now let's green light it and make this film. But I also suggested making it in an engaging way.

It could well have become an issue based film?

We don't want to make an issue film because my track record has screamed out one truth that only issue films do not find takers. Like a good medicine however bitter it is, it's wrapped in something sweet and colourful and served to you. Similarly a good story, a truth has to be wrapped in fiction. A lie is what you market but in the heart of that lie there is a bitter truth which you don't want to hear, but you will hear it when you consume that pleasant lie. This is what we did in 'Crook'.

You weren't tempted to direct it yourself?

Well, it is a public knowledge that ever since I directed 'Zakhm' which was in 1999, I have hung my gloves and turned my back to film direction realising that a film director has his term, his idiom which he evolves and then markets it. The moment it gets takers, it kind of gets absorbed by the generation next, who improve upon it and give it the kind of sparkle of a new age which is more attractive to the consumer. So I was intelligent enough to make way for tomorrow which most of my people from the fraternity don't do. They would rather be pushed out then gracefully concede that they have had a belly full. I realised that I have had my fill, I have sung my song and it is time for the younger slot like Mohit Suri and the others to sing theirs.

What were the significant changes that you suggested in the script?

When Mohit first conceived of this film he first called it 'Colours' which dealt with the 'rang bhed' i.e. colour discrimination which is rampant in the regions where the white men hold on to old outdated views that it's a white man's burden to rule the world. So he called that 'Colours', but I felt it will have a very serious theme stamped on its forehead and will keep the youngsters away. So let's make it a character driven plot. Let's make it a film of a crook who believes it is good to be bad, who believes that goodness doesn't pay, that good people finish last and that evil and being crooked is rewarded by the times that you live in.

What prompted you to sign up Emraan for this role?

We wanted to then hurl our 'crook' into this space where this problem of racial discrimination exists and then see what comes out of this guy. We felt that no one could do it better than Emraan. He's got this image as a fiend, as a naughty demonic guy with a glint in his eyes, politically incorrect and whenever we have used him in that kind of a garb it has worked. When we tried to make him a good man in 'Tum Mile' we have failed.

Reportedly, you had a major tiff with Emraan over the kissing and love making scenes in the film. Have you resolved the issue with Emraan?

We have not resolved it yet in terms of our difference of opinion, I have not won him over but I have prevailed, I have used my way to empower and said 'No', it stays. For some reason after his marriage, Emraan wants to delink himself from the serial kisser persona which I think is wrong. With great difficulty he has found a kind of slot in the minds of the people as a bad boy where he has made inroads there and now he wants to undo it! So I said 'No.' Plus the character of the crook in this movie is that of a guy who two times. He believes that life is short, have an affair.. So the sexual component is essential for the narrative and I did not see any reason why he should be phobic and cut it down.

Most feel it's just a good titillation tactic?

Titillation is a part of the entertainment business and I do not think the entertainer should shy away from it. I would unapologetically say that the intention is to titillate, seduce, tantalise and lure. We are in the seduction business.

If for some reason, you were forced to cast another lead actor in place of Emraan?

Well, the only actor that would do greater justice is only Salman Khan. I think he has that bad boy's image which has been the life blood of his flourishing career. Apart from him I don't see anybody else.

Did you see Neha Sharma's South films before Vishesh Films signed her on?

No, I did not. I met her in person and I found her very Indian. She is an unusual girl who comes from Bihar. She comes from Bhagalpur, the land of Sharat Chandra and she is 'Bihar ki beti'. But she is an urban girl and has the metro attributes. She is a girl of the 21st century, but she has the Indianess which is missing in most of the girls who are groomed in cities. I liked her simplicity and she has brought her distinctive attribute to this role which works to the advantage of the film.

You've also said that there is more racial discrimination in India itself, much more than what certain Western countries have towards Indians?

I do, I think if we look at our own history, we'll find that we are the worst when it comes to our attitude towards the other. We are very intolerant towards the other. This is not my opinion but it is the history of India which screams out and says so. A Sikh gentlemen in Jalandar, who was queuing up to get his son to Australia, outside those offices which kind of negotiate between touts there in Australia was asked a question by a reporter friend of mine that, 'Why are you sending your son to Australia when you know there are racial attacks taking place there'? He asked, 'Then should I send him to Mumbai? Aren't racial attacks taking place in Mumbai? Isn't a Bihari or a U.P person being attacked there? So is an Indian safe in India?' It's high time we unflinchingly look at hell that we have created for ourselves, before we point a finger at the other. Have the guts to look at what you do to your own women, country and people. And if you don't have the guts, don't sit on your high horses and call others racists.

What do you feel is the USP of the film?

Every story is a kind of a journey, it begins with a person who believes in this and how life prunes him of this belief. How he undergoes a change, how he transforms is the story of the film. You'll have to see what the end is but I think it's an exciting character arch that needs to be experienced.

Your film's baseline: 'It's good to be bad' is quite catchy?

Well I must concede that it was conceived with our idea to sensationalise and grab attention. I feel it has served its purpose. But if you scratch that blurb 'it's good to be bad' you will find something more meaningful within it. It's not only that blurb, it has much more depth.

You supervise and doctor the scripts at Vishesh Films?

Well, I personally don't write. I kind of supervise; I kind of inspire people into areas where they should be exploring. I have people like Shagufta Rafique and Ankur Tewari, Sanjay Masoom, who write for me. I enjoy seeing the subject from the minds of these young writers, because it's like a father when he takes his child into the garden which he has been going since he was a young boy, suddenly gets a new meaning when he explores it from the eyes of his young child. The garden looks new and fresh. So I feel somewhat like that, when I look at writing through the eyes of these young people, who are very enthused and want to make it. I get inspired, get rejuvenated and that's when I feel like pouring in that extra bit of me.

Did you suggest any major changes in the script of 'Crook' written by Ankur Tewari?

Yes, we had to tear down the structure of 'Crook' several times. What they had made was not okay by my standards, at all. So it meant almost demolishing it. I almost pulled the life line of the project. When we did that it kind of kick started the survival instinct in the writer and the director and they put in their best and they came up with something that was finally acceptable to me and then what we worked upon was miles ahead of what was the first draft. In any case as the great Ernest Hemingway said 'The first draft of anything is s***'

You've been majorly influenced by two spiritual leaders: Osho Rajneesh and U. G. Krishnamurti?

First of all, you can't talk about these two people at the same time because while Osho Rajneesh was a self proclaimed God man, U.G. Krishnamurti repeatedly said I would rather be called a con man than a God man. He debunked all the ideas of enlightenment and debunked claims of one man being superior to the other man. But yes, Rajneesh was a part of my legacy. I spent two and a half years in that cult. I did everything that I was prescribed, picked up phrases, spiritual phrases but then I junked them because this is the only reality, only world. We have to sink our life here and that was thanks to a man like U.G. Krishnamurti that made me see the two obvious.

U. G had a more profound influence on your life?

Yes, the influence of Krishnamurti has been profound on my consciousness. You take him away and you take my breath away. You take him away and you take the colour of my blood away. I am what I am thanks to him. He has shaped me, chiselled me, made me what I am and that is very clear articulated in my book called 'A Taste of life' which I just wrote two yrs ago, which was a very intimate account of his passing away.

Would you consider making a spiritual film based on these experiences?

I spent my best time next to his bed alone in the room while across in Italy. So I think there are influences of that time on my consciousness which will bleed into my writing, but whether it is going to be in the movie I don't know, but I certainly have no intention of returning to film direction. But yes I will make movies, produce them, write them, and inspire people to do stuff which will have a lot of U.G. Krishnamurti and what I have picked up from him during my lifetime.

You've flogged your personal life piece meal and caused hurt to your near and dear ones in the process. In retrospect, do you regret it?

I've just turned 62 and I have no regrets. If you give me a chance to rerun my life I would do exactly the same thing. I have to say that when I spoke about them, I actually spoke about myself. How do I speak about myself without speaking about you? I don't exist in isolation. If I talk about my growing up days I have to talk about my illegitimacy, I have to talk about my Muslim mother, I have to talk about my cruel grandmother, my father's mother who unleashed her communal biases against us and kept us out in the cold. I have to talk about the extra marital affair which kind of transformed me and made me realise that the fairy tales we are told in school don't actually work in life. I had to talk about the madness that I experienced at first time with Parveen Babi. So yes I had to talk about my alcoholism and which I experienced in 'Daddy'. I think whenever man has something to be ashamed of, be sure there is a great story there. So If I have said what I have said, I have said it because it has happened to me.

Surely, you've had to face the consequences of your frank and unapologetic approach to life?

This is a neurosis that the culture suffers from. On one side you want him to be truthful, you want him to dare and bare and when he does it, you say you are being an exhibitionist, you are being insensitive. If I don't do it I am damned, if I do it I'm damned! No matter what I do, I am damned. So I'd rather live life on my own terms, face the consequences. I don't expect people to shower me with flowers all the time but I am ready to face the consequences for whatever I do. I would say that I would give everything I have to live life on my own terms, but it doesn't mean I will impose what I think on to anybody? even on my own children. I will live life with all my vitality, vigour and all my passion until my dying day. This is the gift which I have to use to the optimum and I will do it.

Would you consider co directing a film with your daughter Pooja?

Pooja is making a film called 'Jism 2' which is a very unusual film. It deals with a triangle of a very unusual kind to be shot in Sri Lanka. I just came back from Sri Lanka, doing some research work and location hunting. I work very closely with Pooja. She is a very passionate woman and is coming into her own. It is unfortunate that 'Kajraare' which she gave everything to, has been stuck because of the dwindling belief in the project because Himesh's career has taken a dip and the producers have lost faith in the product. She's made a first grade product and I am making this film with her. I don't ghost direct and on the sets, she is the boss. But, I do give her my inputs and then let her exert her creative freedom.

You also tweeted about wanting new actors for your film?

That was for 'Jism 2' to and I have not been able to get from my tweets the kind of response that I thought I would get. Most of them are from people who delude that they have the skills and the attributes to become an actor. So you have to go through that bulk and as of now we have not been able to find anybody through that search but we are looking for fresh people and that's my passion to look at that potential heroine or that hero who is there somewhere, but is just about to knock at my door

'Murder 2' is not just a love sequel to 'Murder,' but is based on the Nithari killings?

No, it's not based on the Nithari killings. The Nithari killings woke up India to that horrendous fact, that you have very normal people who are actually demons and who would go to extreme limits to satiate the cannibalistic appetites. When the real life drama unfolded, the nation was stunned and so were we. So felt that, to take that painful chapter, that horrible truth and to make a film on that which deals with a kind of mass killer, a barbarian, who would go beyond imaginable limits. That's what the Nithari killings did to our India. I want to transport that kind of a monster onto the screen and make an engaging film.

After the biography of U.G, are there any more biographies on the cards?

No, I think with 'Taste of life' I have said what I had to say about this man called U.G. who remains till now an enigma to me. After I've written about him so much I don't think I have even begun to describe what he was to me to the world. But I intend to write a kind of a journey through the entertainment world for 'Penguin.' I was born post independence in free India. I grew up in the black and white era where I saw films like 'Mughal e Azam' , heard songs of 'Lata ji' and 'Rafi' saab and then woke up to the colour and cinemascope and the cinema taking the present form. And I met hundreds of people and each one of them fascinating, from every walk of life, from the junior artiste to the hopefuls who could not make it, to the achievers who having made it but were lonely and say this is not what we asked for. It's a fascinating world from the inside perspective. The inner view of the entertainment industry is what I would like to pen down. But it's not only going to be my memory, it will be my memories touching the memories of other and a kind of a huge book which gives an outsider some kind of a glimpse of what this entertainment business is all about.

Have you begun work on it earnestly?

Well, I have begun writing it because it's a huge work and I'm not putting any limits to how bulky it is going to be. But it's going to take me a while because it is as diverse and as colourful as life is.

You also enjoy quite a reputation as a columnist?

I do write for a paper called 'Dainik Jagran' because I want my writing to touch more people in the real India. I do not want to only write for the metros and restrict my communication to the English speaking people.I write at least two columns a month and it gratifies me to get feedback from the writers.

What's your honest take on Neha Sharma?

Well, Neha is a new brave kid in our backyard. She has the freshness and the Indianness which gives her an edge over the others.

You just turned 62 recently? what's your reaction to birthdays, in general? Does the onset of one more passing year upset you?

Birthdays mean nothing to me, it's just another day. It's a kind of a ritual which I have to go through because people around me insist that they wake up and wish me a 'Happy Birthday' It leaves me embarrassed but then I think I have been able to put up with this kind of yearly embarrassment feature.

If birthdays don't matter to you, why do they leave you embarrassed?

Well, I find it as a kind of indulgence which is unique to a section of our society. It is imitative. It is derived from a culture that is Western. It was not a part of our home when we were growing up. So makes me feel like a wannabe, like the monkey imitating somebody else. But by now it is almost seeped into at least the middle class consciousness. But if you go to real India, I don't think you will have people cutting birthday cakes and singing 'Happy Birthday'. That's what I meant to say. That is why I feel embarrassed.