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He doesn’t whisper

Photo: K. Murali Kumar

His take Rahul Bose feels directors should make films with the IQ of their target audience in mind

“Your argument is completely valid. The film is bad and I have overacted. It is a subjective medium and it’s time we give space to more and different voices.” When was the last time you heard something like this from an actor in response to an audience comment.

This is Rahul Bose for you…at times finicky, at times belligerent but always sagacious. In Delhi for the screening of his latest off beat film Whisperers at the ongoing Osian’s Cinefan film festival, Rahul says, “When I just act in a film I don’t always go into what kind of audience it is catering to but when I write and direct a film, my benchmark is world cinema. I feel directors should make films with the IQ of their target audience in mind. And this is what gives the film an edge. David Lynch makes films for the IQ of 400 plus that is why most of us don’t get it.”

Incidentally, Rahul has written the screenplay of Whisperers. “I usually don’t write a screenplay unless I am directing it but director Rajiv (Virani) is a friend.” It is a psychological thriller about a financial analyst and his alter ego played by Manoj Bajpai and Rahul Bose. “I don’t say it is a great film but certainly it is a tough film. Most of the times when the filmmakers have to show the alter ego they go for double role but here we tried two different actors and this contributes in making it a thriller.”

Or confusing for some, as the film tries to portray the state of mind through visuals. We have read and imagined mental commotion in novels but in films it is rare. “It is not difficult and the kind of visual literacy we have these days, people would know what we are talking about. I can give you a fancy answer, but that’s a fact. Fifty years ago directors have shown airplanes flying and suddenly a man feels the urge to fly and the sound goes out. The import registered, isn’t it?”

Like the trend these days the film questions morality and the actor opts for the easy way (read negative) out. “Redemption is not always necessary or it can happen in small ways. That’s why I call it a tough film.” As for the trend, Rahul says, “I don’t feel if we have started questioning morality, we have come of age. In some sense we are getting worse, as I think films like Jaagte Raho did it in a much better way years ago. These days some people question morality without any integrity…just to get more bums on the seats. If Bandit Queen opened with a four letter word, the director was working towards a creative goal. Similarly to me art house cinema is something when you don’t know what’s going to happen next, when you use the medium to do something beyond the formulaic but to many wearing kolhapuris and rimmed glasses makes for art cinema.”

However, when it comes to acting, it is easy to understand Rahul. “See, I have made a point that I will do a film of each genre. I am through with most of them. I don’t repeat myself. Like I am not doing the sequel of Pyar Ke Side Effects.” But he is doing Maan Gaye Mughal-e-Azam with Mallika Sherawat? “It comes under the category of over-the-top movies. It is my toughest role as I play a RAW agent who is besotted with a small time actress.”

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