Features: Magazine | Literary Review | Life | Metro Plus | Open Page | Education Plus | Book Review | Business | SciTech | Friday Review | Young World | Property Plus | Quest | Folio |

On the trail of a hero

As "Mukhbiir" gets ready to hit cinema theatres later this year, RANA SIDDIQUI ferrets out the details in a chat with director Mani Shankar and lead actor Sammir Dattani

In 1996, when director Mani Shankar was making a music video, Pyara Gulshan, on Kashmir, he met some jailed militants. He also met informers, or mukhbir — commonly referred to as spies. They were strong, fearless and loved adventures. He taught a few of them acting. They worked in his video. But the urge to know more about mukhbirs led him to track their lives and thus discover some startling facts.

Reveals Mani, who was in news last year for his controversial film Tango Charlie, "They are usually young boys between the ages of 18 and 25. They often have a traumatic past. It could be because of lack of emotional bonding with parents and family. Or they are directionless.They are at an impressionable age, so moulding them is easier. They are psychologically manipulated by their `handlers' to become heroes. Hence, they are given tough training to become espionage agents. After their training, they start loving adventure and risk their lives. But because they are usually under the ever-ready sword of their handlers, they have great mood swings. They are under constant threat of being killed by their handlers." Mani says there are many reasons why they behave this way. "Sometimes they get to know more than they are supposed to. Sometimes they are traded. Sometimes they join hands with the underworld because it is the place where your `skills' are honoured and the money flow follows. But they are the real James Bonds who stake their lives for `important information'," says the BITS Pilani alumnus who rose to fame with his film 16 December.

Such police informers often save common people from major tragedies, points out Mani. "Recently a big bomb blast was averted in Mumbai. It was intended to kill 10 lakh people in one stroke and was averted only because a mukhbir alerted the security forces. Yet we don't know about such heroes."

All this led Mani to make a film, Mukhbiir, slated to release by the year-end. And imbibing all these traits of spies in the film is Sammir Dattani, who plays the title role. The 24-year-old Sammir was first seen in Rajshri films' first major failure, Uuf Kya Jadoo Mohabaat Hai a couple of years ago.

Says Sammir, "Initially it felt extremely difficult to work because I had no reference points from real life. But after I read the whole script, Mani sir took me to Hyderabad, where he shared important records with me, showed me some confidential tapes and made me visit cafes run by the underworld. I would sit there for hours to grasp how informers work at such places. I went to mosques wearing a Pathani suit and was part of a real Muharram procession in Hyderabad. I went to dargahs also. It was required for me to play Shahzad, one of the get-ups this mukhbir dons in the film." Mani says he also took him to underworld haunts and introduced him to informers.

Grand visual fabric

Mani shares "a personal rapport" with the Indian defence forces and the Government, for he has made several film for them. "My film is a brand new visual fabric with a subject never dealt with in Hindi films. It is different in a way that here espionage meets the underworld. The story is about intelligence gathering at the cutting-edge level," says the director, adding that studying Chanakya's Arth Shastra helped him work out the details of the protagonist's training.

Though Raima Sen plays Sammir's love interest, Mani insists the romantic edge comes out of the mukhbir's adherence to his ideology. "Every women will fall in love with Sammir after they watch this film," he claims, saying he has made Sammir shed his `chocolate boy' image and "break the mould".

"Why did such a good looking boy who has seen just 21 summers have to become an espionage agent? Why should he bear all this torture? What does he gain out of it? There are many such questions the audience will be puzzled by once they watch this film," he declares.

Sammir agrees the film has changed his outlook on life. "As a mukhbir, I am supposed to have a no-makeup look. He is just not aware of his good looks. I wear a beard and casual clothes. After this film, I have suddenly become very careless about my looks. Unlike early days, when I would always want to look my best."

While Mani claims that "Sammir is my star", he has also roped in Suniel Shetty and Om Puri, who play handlers, while Jackie Shroff makes a guest appearance.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail