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Return of the Raj!

Raj Kanwar. Click for bigger pic!

Raj Kanwar had a long wait before recognition finally came his way. The delay had something to do with his reserve, his refusal to indulge in a rash of interviews after one success. His first hit, Deewana, should have catapulted him to the ranks of top directors. But though people recognised his work, no one gave him credit till about the time the promo for his latest film, Daag-The Fire hit the television channels.

The first copy of the promo was different -- it had no dialogues and no songs. Just short, intense clips. It was also the first time that his film has got so much publicity. One is not surprised about that because the film also stars Sanjay Dutt, Mahima Choudhary and Chandrachur Singh, the last two have yet to prove themselves at the box office.

Raj is a soft-spoken young man who left New Delhi for Bombay to see if he could live out his dreams, having started off as an actor at the National School of Drama. But it was a stint as an assistant director to Shekhar Kapur that drew him closer to the steps of Fame. His first film Deewana gave birth to that superstar wannabe, Shah Rukh Khan, and did nothing to dimiish Rishi Kapoor's position as an actor either.

Laadla and Judaii proved beyond doubt that Sridevi was still the numero uno. Raveena Tandon too gave what was arguably her best performance in Laadla.

After the success of Jaan, a Subhash Ghai production, Raj decided it was time he turned producer. But Itihaas bombed. But that hasn't deterred the film-maker.

Daag-The Fire deals with intense human relationships and is being touted as a film to watch out for. Though, of course, the hype machine makes that of most upcoming films.

But knowing his knack to give a much-needed boost to the careers of his cast, this one should be an interesting film. Mahima and Chandrachur is nowhere in the picture now and Sanjay Dutt is seen as a has-been.

Raj is particularly proud of this film because he feels he has never made such an intense film before. He says he has put his heart and soul into this one and is completely satisfied that his actors too have measured up to his expectations. In this conversation with Sharmila Taliculam, he reveals how from a struggling actor he became a successful director.

Why have you named your film Daag-The Fire?

Chandrachur Singh and Mahima Chaudhary in Daag -- The Fire. Click for bigger pic!

Because there are too many films with that name. The first one was with Motilal, the second was with Dilip Kumar and the third was the Rajesh Khanna-Sharmila Tagore starrer. People associated this title with romantic, emotional films. My film is very dramatic. It's a romantic, dramatic, action film. It's a very intense film. I want to present my film in a different way. Today you make any film and it gets treated like a love story. That is the trend today. The concept is always a love story.

Television is responsible for this. The promos always depict that part of the story. So the audience are misguided.

So I made some promos. The first to come out was a 30-second one, which had no dialogue. I wanted to show what the concept was. This is Daag-The Fire. My film is not a totally romantic, or a totally dramatic film. It doesn't fall in a single category.

What category would you put your film in?

All films have their categories, whether a family drama or love story. My film falls into the category of drama. And this is one category where everything is included in some measure. If there is action, there is drama; if there is romance, there is again some drama.

There is a lot of aggression and violence in your films? Why is that?

Everybody tells me that my films are aggressive and violent too. Deewana, Jaan, Laadla, Itihaas, Kartavya and many others too... I belong to a Rajput Punjabi family. My village is on the frontier. So aggression is a part of our nature. That is reflected in my films, I guess. It happens with everybody, actors and directors. I am not an intellectual director but an emotional director. I am basically a village man at heart. I came to this city and became a director.

Did becoming a director take a long time?

It took me 47 hours to reach this place from Punjab and another 15 years to make it as a director.

How did you think of becoming a director?

I was working in the NSD repertory as an actor and I was doing theatre elsewhere in Delhi. Then I came to Bombay and joined Nadira Babbar's Ekjut group and acted here too. My brother, K Pappu, who is a successful producer and a director, put me under Shekhar Kapur to learn the techniques of film-making. I consider Shekharji my guru.

I had worked out a script for Sunny Deol who is a good friend. That film couldn't be made because Sunny had a bad back and a huge backlog of work that he had to finish. In the meantime I got Deewana.

Since I wanted to work with Chintuji and Madhuri Dixit, I decided to ask them. Madhuri couldn't make it, but Divya could, and that's how she came into the picture. I had liked Shah Rukh Khan in Dil Dariya and Circus -- two television serials -- and I suggested his name to the producers. They agreed and he was in.

Sanjay Dutt on the sets of Daag -- The Fire. Click for bigger pic!

Deewana a big hit and it was your first film? How did you feel?

It was a golden jubilee film. People find it difficult to cope when their film is being released. I don't. Instead, I find it difficult to start a film. I feel scared. Afterwards, I believe in Karm.

I feel that if your efforts are sincere and good, then god will justify his actions. Of course, when a film is a hit then I feel great being the captain of the ship. But when a film flops, I have to take the blame for that too.

I don't blame my actors for the downfall of a film because, after all, I chose them. So it will be my fault. Anyway, with Deewana I felt good making it. And no, I didn't think it would be such a big hit. It was like this:

My child was born when I was really busy in Bombay doing some work. I couldn't go to see him immediately. But I would always think what did he look like, what life was he coming into, what would be his reaction to me, how people would think of him being Raj Kanwar's son...

From my childhood I had arrived in my child's childhood. I felt the same way when I was releasing Deewana -- uncertain whether people would laugh at me and say I made a silly film.

Is this feeling there in every film you make and release?

This feeling is there in all my films. But I get feedback from my fans too. There are mostly girls, women and old ladies calling me up, congratulating me, advising me, or even discussing the films with me on the phone.

I am basically a mama's boy. I haven't loved any woman as much as my mother. As a result, I don't show vulgarity or obscenity in my films. I put women on a pedestal where she is dignified and maintains her self-respect. My first love is my mom. She's no longer alive, but I still love her as much.

Is that why the female characters in your films are strong?

Yes, whether it is a mother or the heroine. I really feel women are creators and that their dignity has to be maintained at all times. She is so powerful. When a man is born, he needs his mother first, then his sister, his girlfriend or wife. The needs change and the image of a woman too. But she is always there for him. The foundation of my films always rest on women, whether the story is based on love, drama or action . I made Deewana, Laadla, Jaan, Jeet and Judaai. They all had very strong female characters.

You have directed Sridevi in two films...

Yes. I have worked with Sridevi in three films as an assistant director and made two films with her.

Why did you give her slightly negative roles?

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I wouldn't call those roles negative; they were challenging roles. Since I'd worked with her as an assistant director, I had a good rapport with her. She is a very introverted. I would always tell her she ought not to be like this. I used to tell her that I didn't like her that way and she would ask me, "What do you mean, you don't like me?"

I would share jokes with her and try to make her laugh. I like her very much. I am a big fan of hers. In Laadla, Sridevi wasn't the original choice, Divya Bharti was supposed to do the role. Divya was supposed to do Kartavya too. But after Divya's death, people told me that I should pack up since I had completed 80 per cent of the film and that nothing could be done about that.

I went up to Sridevi and asked her to do the film. I didn't ask her, just told her that she should do it. She looked at me for some time and then told me to narrate the story for her. I did that and she liked the role. She agreed, and the rest is history.

Sridevi is a very easy person to work with. She understands her character very well. And she is a thorough professional. She didn't give me a day's trouble. She would come and leave on time. She hated night shooting though, and asked me not to keep them, but she did it when I needed it. She's a wonderful person.

Why haven't you made many more films, considering you have so many hits?

I make one film at a time. I am one-track man. I can't make many films at the same time. I can, at the most, work on two films at a time.

Do you write your own scripts? Where do you get your inspiration from?

I write my own scripts and I am inspired most by real-life experiences. Sometimes I am also inspired by old films.

Like Laadla and Judaai were remakes?

Laadla and Judaai were remakes of southern films, but we made a great many changes. The original films have some limitations since they were regional. They couldn't be accepted across the country.

Why didn't want to be a actor, considering you were one in Delhi?

When I got off the train, I thought that since Dharmendraji has packed up, I could take his place. But destiny had something else in store for me. In the theatre, people used to call me JD. That's for Junior Dharmendra.

I like Dharmendra very much and I have tried acting like him. He is a friend too and has always told me that I should make a film with him. But I am so much in awe of him that I am scared I might not do justice to him or his character.

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I did some theatre here and some modelling too. But I guess I had to become a director.

Why did you change your mind?

1984 bought about a big change in my life. Delhi was in turmoil because of the Indira Gandhi assassination. I lost 11 members of my family, including my mother and brother, in those riots. After that I needed to work 24 hours. I realised that I had nobody left and that I had to survive on my own. I had to fight.

At that time, my boss, Shekhar Kapur, and my brother, K Pappu, were with me. They helped me carry on. I used to see Shekharji directing his actors and I used to feel that he was a king. He gets so much done with so many people around. I decided that I wanted to be a director.

Which were the films you worked with Shekhar Kapur?

I worked with him a bit on Joshilay and Mr India. The latter film helped me a lot because there were a lot of special effects involved and because it was a different kind of a film. It helped me mature as a director. That was my first film as an assistant director, I was an apprentice till then. I considered a big achievement when Boney offered me Judaai later.

Does being an actor help in direction?

Being an actor does helps in direction, but I always feel that people shouldn't stop being themselves and start acting like I do. I do act out a scene sometimes if my explanations aren't clear.

What about theatre?

I don't get the time to do theatre now. When I do, I will definitely act again. I take about one year to make a film.

What do you think is necessary to make a good and successful film?

I find that script, story is very important to a film. If the base is right, everything is right. You can't build a strong building on a weak foundation. You need the ground there. It is the same with a film. The story is the base and the rest is built on it. No one thing works in isolation. Not music, not actors, not action.

After what you went through, is it difficult for you to be patriotic?

I am a patriotic person but I don't give it much importance in my films. If I find that I should, I will do it. I love my country and this industry. I consider it lucky to be working in this industry. Here you find all sorts of people -- from all classes, castes and religions. And they all work together without any animosity. We have our relationships already made when we are born, but in this industry you make relationships which are genuine and strong too.

What are the films you are working on?

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I am making a film called Farz with Sunny Deol and Preity Zinta. It's 40 per cent complete. Then I have Salim Akhtar's film starring Bobby Deol and Rani Mukherjee. I've started on another film produced by Sajid Nadiadwala, Har Dil Jo Pyar Karega, starring Salman Khan and Karisma Kapoor...

Why haven't you paired Ajay Devgan and Twinkle Khanna again? Is it because they weren't successful as a pair in Itihaas?

I don't believe that a certain pairing doesn't work and I shouldn't cast them together. I cast actors according to the script and not according to their status or star value. I make films that attract people in their totality and not because I have certain actors in them. Music is the highlight of my current film.

Are you asked to write a script when you are approached for a film?

I don't write a script when I am approached for a film. I got some ideas, I develop them and keep and use them when somebody wants to make a good film. I narrate the story to the producers and then I appoint writers for the screenplay and dialogues.

Weren't you insecure about taking actors who didn't have much box office pull?

I was a little insecure initially about Sanjay Dutt. But since I have come into this profession, I have always wanted to make a film with him. I even wrote a story for him, but he was imprisoned then, so it couldn't be made. He has been a good friend too. So I offered him Daag.

Chandrachur has this intensity in his eyes. I liked him in Machis and found he fitted the character of Ravi Verma very well. I loved his eyes.

Mahima is doing a double role in this film and for her role I wanted somebody who hasn't been too exposed too cinema. This will be her second release so she was just right.

How do you expect this film to do?

I expect this film to do really well. I enjoyed working on this film. Everybody, including the technicians, has worked hard on this and I hope that our efforts pay off.

You have seen success after a long time despite giving so many hits. Suddenly you've even begun interviews. How come?

It feels nice to be successful. Sometimes I look up that tell god that maybe I was just lucky. I met good people in the industry, people who stood by me, and I have had a good career here. I have two wonderful sons and a good wife. And I try to go to my village at least once a year. My roots are there and I don't ever want to forget it.

What is your ideal film?

I have no ideal film as such. Somebody makes a film and you go ga-ga over it. I want to make a film that people identify with me. I want to experiment with all kinds of films. People try to create their ideal, and I can't say which film will be my ultimate. I will keep trying till then.

Raj Kanwar's photographs: Jewella Miranda