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Mutiny, Mangal, Mehta

PRASHANTH G.N.

Ketan Mehta's Mangal Pandey comes at that historical juncture when the notion of freedom itself has come to be questioned. The veteran director holds that freedom is a state of mind

Photo: SAMPATH KUMAR G.P.

MULTI-LAYERED FILM Ketan Mehta: `Every artiste to me is an agent of change and I see myself as an agent of that change.'

Freedom in the early 21st century seems to be under threat. Iraq and Afghanistan are classic examples. Iran is on its way to be made another example. North Korea is living tantalisingly. A host of countries in Central Asia are in upheaval. And freedom in each of these countries is being vacated in the name of freedom itself. It is not entirely off mark to suggest then that the crisis of freedom is a global crisis. This is true not only of nations, but of individuals too. The miscalculated shooting of the Brazilian in London stands out as the sign of our times, our brand of freedom. The timing of the film Mangal Pandey - The Rising is perfect in the sense that it is also an articulation on freedom though from the perspective of the past. Mangal Pandey is a celebration of a historical freedom, freedom from colonial hold. While the spirit of the film is well-taken, that everyone should live a free life, should it have pitched forth the crisis in contemporary freedom?

Ketan Mehta, the well-known filmmaker, who has made path-breaking films like Mirch Masala, Maya Memsaab and Hero Hiralal, took time-off to share his views on the film in the course of the film's promotion in Bangalore. He says the film is multi-layered and not only about the past. "Mangal Pandey rests on the notion of freedom. While the reference to freedom is from a particular historical episode, the spirit of freedom is a metaphor for the freedoms to come. Freedom may mean different things at different times, but its spirit is essentially the same."

But why Mangal Pandey now? What is the context in which it comes? "Freedom is a universal attribute. At first, it may seem like its only about 1857, but it is more about what 1857 came to symbolise. That is the spirit in which we need to live even today. On a personal note, I was excited by the fact that 1857 was the first time Hindus and Muslims came together. The coming together was very inspiring. I thought the story needed to be told. I have been thinking about Mangal Pandey for more than a decade. I happened to do it now. I also needed someone to do it well. None better than Aamir."

What about Aamir? What is it like to work with him? He suddenly looks so much a reading person. Hasn't Aamir come a long way from his chocolate boy looks in Qayamat se Qayamat Tak to the tough rebel sepoy in Mangal Pandey?

Total commitment

"I do not know of any other actor in Indian or world cinema who would give two-and-a-half years to just one project at the peak of his career. I do not know of any other actor who will exhibit such commitment. I only remember a Japanese actor who gave two whole years to grow a beard for the film Red Beard. Aamir is a man of faith, a man of belief. He is a successful star yes, but he is a genuine human being, open, straightforward, sincere. I think he is at ease with himself."

To get back to the film. Did we need to make a statement about colonialism now? "Not exactly, but as Aamir says, everyone knows the story of 1857 Sepoy Mutiny from that side. We needed to tell our side of the story. But then again Mangal Pandey is about the human condition. About existence. Freedom is a human condition. It is something that resonates on a larger plane. That is why I suppose it is alright even if you told the story at a later time. We are talking about civilisational attributes."

This is a massive jump. We are a free country and a democracy. But when things like 1984 Blue Star and the 2002 Godhra happen, you could lose faith. No indictments for mass murder (read Delhi Sikh riots) in the world's largest democracy. What does freedom mean then? "We can't take away the fact that we are a country on our own. What happens after that is a matter of governance. Governance should deliver justice. There should certainly be course correction, but ideally there should be prevention first. We should not be allowing 1984 and Godhra to be happening in the first place. Mangal Pandey is about coming together of different communities. Why can't we do it now?"

So wouldn't it then be interesting to have a comment on mass murder in free India as a filmmaker? "We can have a film on that but not directly connected to freedom. I do not think it is the question of risk as much as it is the question of resonance. If you want to talk about freedom, will a film on mass murders resonate more? Mangal Pandey does because the film and the historical event itself is about a fundamental condition of human life."

There seems to be a certain kind a philosophical axis in your work. Films such as Bhavani Bhavai, Mirch Masala, Sardar and now Mangal Pandey take a sociological view of life. Is there a role you attribute to yourself as filmmaker? "Every artiste to me is an agent of change and I see myself as an agent of that change. I need to be able to look at the unsaid, read in between the lines and speak for the unheard. I do it in films because the film can be an agent of change. If people accept film and if there is change because of film, I can only be happy. I think I am speaking about the freedom of the artiste."

Film is way of life for Ketan Mehta, which simply doesn't end at livelihood. It keeps him connected with people, with contexts, and the world at large. "From Chaplin to Einstein to Fellini or a Shantaram to Ritwik Ghatak, all of them give me sustenance. It enhances me."

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