‘Quality precedes quantity’ is a notion that has worked in favour of a few Bollywood filmmakers, who have the knack for weaving stories that compel the audience to overlook the hiatus between their releases. Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra is one of those lucky few.
Mehra has directed only four films in his over 13 years in Bollywood. He believes that good movies deserve “slow cooking.” Through the film, Mehra is set to launch two newcomers: Anil Kapoor’s son Harshvardhan, and Saiyami Kher, who is the niece of actor Tanvi Azmi and granddaughter of yesteryear’s leading lady Usha Kiran.
He shared that his latest project Mirza Sahibaan is an ambitious one and that he has given the actors ample time to get acquainted with their respective characters for the project. He intends to release the film towards the end of 2015.
The filmmaker remains undeterred by the fact that there will be a gap between his last film Bhaag Milkha Bhaag (2013) and Mirza Sahibaan. The filmmaker, whose previous films have released with a three to five-year-long gap, shared, “Mirza Sahibaan will be my fastest film ever.”
“I think the older I’m getting, the faster I’m getting at making films. But I believe movies should be given the time they deserve. The slow cooking formula works in order to tell a good story on the screen,” added the 50 year old.
Mehra has a few projects on hold, including the mythical opus Raja and the Legend of the Flute. “This film has been with me for over six years. I pick it up and then leave it until I get more clarity on the script. I like to go with my pace to give a project everything that it needs,” said Mehra.
He was recently in the city to collect the National Award for Bhaag Milkha Bhaag in the category of Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment. “It’s a hat-trick,” he said as he recalled that Rang De Basanti was awarded for the same at the 53rd National Film Awards ceremony, and his movie Delhi-6 won the Nargis Dutt Award for Best Feature Film on National Integration at the 57th edition of the event.
If Mehra had his way, he would have brought former athlete Milkha Singh, on whose life Bhaag Milkha Bhaag is based, to collect the award from President Pranab Mukherjee when the ceremony was held on May 3.
Though that couldn’t happen, Mehra said he was “happier for Milkha Singh” when he had first heard that the Farhan Akhtar-starrer was chosen for the honour. “Milkha Singh’s story deserved to be told to the world at large,” he said, adding that making movies which “without compromising on values and that reach out to the masses is a challenging zone.”
Published in The Express Tribune, May 9th, 2014.
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