There is nip in the air courtesy the showers that have accompanied the notorious Hudhud. For Delhiites wading through morning traffic is in itself a Hudhud. So keeping a breakfast date with Ketan Mehta is a challenge but at Oberoi’s coffee shop it is just another cheery morning, oblivious of the snarls outside. “Being a director I know it is very difficult to smile on cue,” laughs Ketan Mehta as he is expected to pose for a column that he doesn’t find himself suitable for. It disarms the photojournalist, also running late. “For me food is only necessary to live. I have gone through the entire gamut and I prefer to be a vegetarian,” says Mehta opting for a coffee and vegetable sandwiches. “I don’t cook unless it is absolutely essential but my wife Deepa (Sahi) is a good cook. Both of us are so involved in our work that often dining table becomes the meeting point. Unlike me she enjoys all kinds of food.” It doesn’t become an issue, though. “It is about comfort level and not about the food you eat or share. Her chicken curries are delicious. I don’t eat them anymore but I miss them.”
Coming from a Gandhian family, Mehta says eating non-vegetarian was a part of the rebellious youthful urge but there was no “Eureka moment” for him to return to the vegetarian fold. “There is also something called genetics and body types. One should listen to the body. The skill is to recognise it and respond accordingly.”
His long awaited ambitious project Rang Rasiya , based on the life of Raja Ravi Varma is finally ready for release. “It is the longest pregnancy in the world, I suppose,” he chuckles as the interview swerves to the zone he is comfortable with. On a serious note, the seasoned director says, “The kind of phase that we are going through in Indian culture I think the subject is very relevant. It is as much about Raja Ravi Varma’s life as it is about censorship and freedom of expression.” He reminds 100 years ago he faced the same problems that the Husains of today faced. “That is the irony that the film deals with without making a show of it.”
The film faced the scissors of the CBFC for its erotic content. “We Indians are sensuous people. A cursory look at our Puranic tales and mythology tells you that. Sensuality has never been a taboo except for the last 200 years. I am completely bowled over by this man from Kerala who travelled all over India and really rediscovered Indian culture for us. He was the first person to give faces to our gods. After starting a printing press, he pictorially depicted our epics making them accessible to the masses through calendars. We see our culture through his eyes. He is the first person to come up with a pan Indian iconography. Dadasaheb Phalke was his apprentice. So in a way he was the force behind Indian cinema and we should celebrate his contribution,” says Mehta.
Apart from the controversial subject, Mehta says it is a big film and he made it in Hindi and English simultaneously. “We needed a right kind of person to promote and release the film.” Perhaps that’s why filmmakers go with stars for such ventures and Randeep Hooda and Nandana Sen don’t have that kind of box office pull. “We wanted actors who don’t carry any baggage of stardom. At the same time they had to be committed not just the film but the idea itself,” says Mehta who introduced Aamir Khan with Holi and gave Shah Rukh Khan his first big break with Maya Memsaab .
But for his investment of time and money in animation and special effects Mehta’s filmography would have been richer. “I don’t believe in ifs. Somebody had to do it.” Instead he narrates the incident that pushed him towards the world of animation. “In the climax of Maya Memsaab there was a scene where Maya drinks a magic potion and disappears. We shot it ten times but could not get the desired effect as we were using the technology of World War II vintage. We went to Hong Kong to get it done but I was not happy with the final result. That spurred me to invest in animation and special effects,” Mehta says, as he helps himself to some sandwiches.
Now he has come up with Kisna on Discovery Kids. “It is a contemporary character and the title taps into the association that we have the mythical character. Krishna stands for charming, courageous, naughty….” One wonders whether parents still prefer Ram over Krishna. “Those stereotypes are gradually crumbling for good,” he remarks.
Despite the infrastructure and talent, we still seem faraway from producing our Avatar . “Our animation industry is only 15 years old. I think more than the money it is the lack of creative ambition that is stopping us. Hollywood does 70 percent of its business in the global market. For us the figure is a measly seven percent. I think more than anything else it is the lack of creative ambition on our part.”
Often wrongly bracketed in parallel cinema movement, for which he holds the media responsible, Mehta emerged on the scene with Bhavani Bhavai and Mirch Masala . Set in Gujarat the films aspired to bridge the class-mass gap much before the Kashypas and Banerjees. “Our folk lore and epics are great examples of coexistence of profound and popular and we can at least aspire to reach there,” says Mehta. Critics often say he spread himself thin by experimenting with a lot many genres. From Holi to Aar Paar to Mangal Pandey , Mehta is difficult to slot. “I ask why not. There is only one life. And that is the beauty of filmmaking. Each film becomes a new adventure, playing with the unknown. That is what makes you grow. Some people find it tedious. I enjoy exploring new things. Now I am telling the real life love story of the poorest of poor in Mountain Man .”
Gujarat is still on the mind of Mehta, who once made Sardar . “During the short trips that I have made in the last 10 years I can see the huge transformation both in terms of material and mind. How much good, how much bad I don’t know. India is a complex country. We Indians often deal in absolutes and certitudes. Either it is good or bad. There is a churning happening. I am amazed by it and I am troubled by it at the same time.” Very much like undhiyu, the multi-layered recipe from Gujarat, the only name of the delicacy that one could take out from him during the entire conversation. “Food is the last thing on my mind. Cinema is my only obsession.” No prizes for guessing!
