Kareena Kapoor Khan and Hansal Mehta on the sets of ‘The Buckingham Murders’ | Photo Credit: Special Arrangements
When writer Aseem Arora approached Hansal Mehta in 2018 with a story The Buckingham Assassinationthe director, known for looking at the lives of those who live on the edge of society with an empathetic gaze, sees it as a relevant exploration of migrant life using the mystery of murder as a propulsion to tell a bigger story than the many fissures in the salad. bowl of the world.
Helmed by Kareena Kapoor Khan, the film won praise from critics and a section of audiences, but the risks Mehta took in telling a thought-provoking story with stars showed that he was made for an OTT audience. Refuting this perception, Mehta said that he doesn’t like to tell the story with the box office, but admitted that the film recovered its costs before the theatrical release, allowing him to make the film honestly. “I can destroy it as usual,” Mehta said by phone from London.
Usually, he explains, what happens when a Bollywood film is shot in London, does not give a sense of the place because everyone speaks Hindi, clothes like the ramp are waiting for him, and it is far from the people who live there. in the country. “The general perception is that Indian producers make films in the UK for attractive subsidies in the country. When we get subsidies, we make English films. It’s like a new age, a crossover, a diaspora film. I wanted to live a normal life in London now. So there is no mansions and castles.The story unfolds in a small, gloomy, crowded place to produce a living experience.
Hansal Mehta on the set of ‘The Buckingham Murders’ | Photo Credit: Special Arrangements
Working with Kareena, says Mehta, was a “pleasant experience”. “He’s instinctive and sharp. He’ll keep coming back to give cues to other actors. It’s great when a star doesn’t act for the camera. He’s internalized the character to the point where he doesn’t even realize there’s a camera.
By a strange coincidence, Kareena is the third K, after Kangana Ranaut and Karishma Tanna to step out of her comfort zone under Mehta’s direction. “Comparing them would be unfair, but whether they are stars or not, the hunger to go beyond the set image is always there in the actors. I like to be a vehicle to channel that drive and show it to the world.
Excerpts from the interview:
Kareena was overdramatic in her performance. How do you help them properly?
I think we were in sync. We read a lot together to find answers to tones and tones. One of the things I mentioned when we first met was that one of the films that influenced me the most was Govind Nihalani’s film. Dev where he made a big impact with his quiet performance despite being in the company of Amitabh Bachchan and Om Puri. In the film, he lives in a chawl that gets engulfed in communal violence. The scene where he goes to the police station to say he knows the person who did it stayed with me. This is an actor who can switch to a different mode and internalize the character with ease if the right director and story come along.
Your stories capture the pain of migrants and always accommodate the perspective of others…
What is it City lights, Dil Par Mat Le Yaar, Shahidor even Aligarh, displacement has been a constant theme in the work. A lot of it has to do with education. Many of us spend a lot of time with migrants but when we tell their stories, we see them through rose-colored glasses.
My brother lived in London for 20 years and I spent time watching the diaspora. Every society has two distinct parts: the members and the rest. I am always interested in the stories of other people – people who live in my city but who are different because of their socioeconomic status or cultural differences. It is also because of his experience in the film industry. I was never part of a clique or camp. I have been part of the industry and have not been seen as an outsider. Telling my kind of story is still a struggle. I am a bad actor but I can live through my character.
Kareena Kapoor Khan and Hansal Mehta on the sets of ‘The Buckingham Murders’ | Photo Credit: Special Arrangements
But in ‘The Buckingham Murders’, you choose to tell the story through people with or less…
I wanted to explore what happens when you put yourself in another place. This is the real test of empathy. If you are a Hindu and the other is a Muslim, my question is do Muslims not love? Don’t Muslims hate it? Aren’t Muslims angry? Because they are different, we feel that we will not do what we do.
Do you share socio-political issues with your partner Safeena Hussain?
Our morning and afternoon tea conversations revolved around what was happening in the community. He is an economist who works in the social sector and travels in culture. I got a lot from the reality that he experienced on the ground. City lights is a great example of how his input informs my story. Deepak And Rakhi, the protagonists, are based in a village in Rajasthan where the Safeena program takes place. When I observed people there, the film became less of a remake Metro Manila. In addition, the The Buckingham Assassinationplot is simply a means of exploring social structure.
In the case of ‘TBM’, compare it to Kate Winslet’s ‘Mare of Easttown’.
It can be the other way around as well TBM was registered with the Association of Script Writers in 2018 when Mare from Easttowncame out much later. The grieving mother at the center of the detective story is a common theme ….
Looks like Kareena said yes after she watched Kate’s performance!
This is something you should ask him, all I can say is that he has seen the 25-year-old star. Now, they can take it to the next level. This is just the beginning.
Hansal Mehta on the set of ‘The Buckingham Murders’ | Photo Credit: Special Arrangements
Tell us about your upcoming web series on Gandhi…
It is an adaptation of Ramchandra Guha’s book on Gandhi. Applause Entertainment has acquired the rights to turn it into a three-part series and cast Pratik Gandhi as the Mahatma. Many felt that I chose him for the role considering the fertile association of the past, but in this case, he suggested my name to Sameer Nair of Applause.
How will you present the Mahatma to this generation?
There are two contrasting narratives about Gandhi; one sees him as a god and the other as a devil. I think the truth lies somewhere in between. Human stories are important for today because they remind us that we all have a Gandhi within us. It is the struggle of ordinary people against injustice, a journey to find themselves. The scale is epic, but really, it’s his personal story that I’m interested in. The event will hopefully make people aware of its relevance to our times.
Published – 25 September 2024 12:18 IST
