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Head on... with Gangster

Mahesh Bhatt makes films from the heart and defends his values passionately. In the midst of a controversy over his project `Gangster,' Bhatt clears the air

Photo: R.V. Moorthy

THE PROLIFIC film-maker Mahesh Bhatt says `Gangster' is based on a work of fiction and not the life of Abu Salem as alleged

His mobile phone ring tone is an ode to a Sufi revered by many. Never short of words or expression, he seeks the divine in the mundane. He finds virtue in those condemned as vile. Not long ago, Mahesh Bhatt defended Anuraag Kashyap's Black Friday when the film faced opposition, and ultimate ban. Bhatt defended not just the filmmaker's right to depict what he deems to be correct, but the right of those condemned as criminals even before proved guilty.

Now, as he wraps up Gangster: A Love Story, he defends Abu Salem, whose lawyers ironically have sent Bhatt a legal notice following reports that the film is based on his life.

"I don't give credence to newspaper reports about the accused. Or the police version of the proceedings. I believe Abu Salem has the right to be regarded innocent till proved guilty, not the other way round. He deserves to be treated on par like any other citizen of this country."

Veering closer to his own film, directed by Anuraag Basu, Bhatt says, "The notice we received from Abu Salem's lawyers was based on some newspaper reports he had read somewhere alleging that the film Gangster is based on his life. I categorically deny that the film has anything to do with Salem's life. Voh rassi ko saanp samajh raha hai. It is a work of fiction."

The story

Then what is Gangster? "It is the story of a bar girl in love with a gangster. The character is based in Kashmir. The story is told from the point of view of the girl who undergoes a whole gamut of emotions."

Fair enough. Fair amount of skin, beaches, bars, discotheques, Bhatt's films have them all. Once he gave us Arth and Saaransh, now he has become a school of filmmaking all by himself.

The director may be a Mohit Suri or an Anuraag Basu, the films have his signature.

And all his films come from the heart, sometimes autobiographical, more recently, a mirror to our life and times. His works throb with life, vitality, longing. And sadness.

Says Bhatt, "My films are from the heart. Gangster is no different."

For the record it is directed by Basu who gave us Murder, establishing Mallika Sherawat as the skin queen in Bollywood.

"Yes, Gangster has a heart, this film more so than many others from my camp in recent times. It tells a story from the heart. It is about a heart in conflict with itself: It is about the yearning of a woman for honour, a gangster's dilemma. It has drama; it has grief. It has some twists and turns, and a shocker of an end. This film will linger in the mind of cinemagoers long after the last shot," Bhatt claims.

Credit to Basu

He is quick to give credit to Basu. "He gave us that lively film Murder following he contracted cancer. But he was transformed by leukaemia. The film is among the best to have come from our camp, and Basu has shown finer sensibilities, quite uncommon these days. The film has all the hallmarks of a Mahesh Bhatt camp film. It has nice music, a passionate story, and a strong emotional chord," says Bhatt.

The conversation takes place in the men's room of a multiplex with the washbasin's slab acting as a table, the admission tickets of Humko Deewana Kar Gaye as a paper.

Sacred, mundane, profane.... did we say! Really, with Mahesh Bhatt nothing is ever impossible. Truly humko deewana kar gaye!

ZIYA US SALAM

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