In a flashback podcast with Lehren, veteran director Prakash Mehra shares his disagreements on Amitabh Bachchan being tagged as an angry young man by a certain sect of people after the success of Zanjeer. The filmmaker opens up about his strong belief in hard work & destiny which in turn made it possible for him to create mega-hit films like Hera Pheri, Hasina Maan Jayegi, Khoon Pasina, Haath Ki Safai, Laawaris, Sharaabi and others. Mehra also highlights the change of trends in relation to a film's success at the silver screens, from being celebrated in theatres for a huge period of 50 weeks to a diminished timeline of 50 days. He also raises his concerns regarding the parameters used by the censor board for evaluating a given featured film.
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00:00 If you look at Zanjeer again, from that point of view,
00:03 it was not a violent story at all.
00:06 There was a time when our films were 25 weeks, 50 weeks.
00:11 Now we have to write 50, very thick.
00:16 And we have to write small, days.
00:18 This is our censor board.
00:20 Some members come and sit.
00:22 You ask them, "What do you know about films?"
00:25 Totally nil. No answer.
00:27 What is this criteria? How are these members selected?
00:31 I don't know.
00:32 Sir, your early films, the ones you made with Jamie,
00:40 were all about farmers.
00:42 Yes.
00:42 All about farmers.
00:44 So, you introduced a new concept.
00:47 I tried with Zanjeer.
00:52 People said, the media said,
00:58 that it was an image of an angry young man.
01:01 People said about me,
01:03 that he is the person who has introduced violence on the screen.
01:07 If you look at Zanjeer again, from that point of view,
01:13 it was not a violent story at all.
01:17 The inner conflict of a character,
01:21 who you call a violence,
01:23 was an outburst.
01:25 There are many people who keep on suffocating inside.
01:30 They want to tell you, but they can't.
01:34 And suddenly, like a volcano,
01:37 their outburst,
01:40 in Zanjeer,
01:41 the character was painted in such a way,
01:44 that the character is suffocating inside.
01:49 And suddenly,
01:51 when his fiancée gives him permission,
01:57 that whatever is inside you,
02:00 you should remove it all.
02:01 I don't know what will happen in the end.
02:06 But, the way you are suffocating right now,
02:10 I can't see what is happening to you.
02:13 So, whatever is inside you,
02:16 you should remove it all.
02:17 That was the main theme of the film.
02:22 And, people called it an angry young man,
02:27 and a violent story.
02:29 Whereas, in today's film,
02:34 and if you look at Zanjeer,
02:37 if you compare that,
02:39 Zanjeer was not even 20% of that.
02:43 What is happening today?
02:45 What is happening in today's films?
02:47 I don't think Zanjeer was even 20%.
02:50 But, the way it was presented,
02:54 the way the character was portrayed,
02:57 it leaves such an impact on the public's mind,
03:00 that people think,
03:01 "I don't know how many violent films we have seen,
03:04 or how violent this character is."
03:06 Which he was not.
03:08 If you look at the film from that point of view,
03:11 I think he will admit it,
03:14 that I am right.
03:16 Prakash, many more people will come with you to Mumbai,
03:19 to achieve success.
03:21 And, you are one of the few people,
03:24 who have seen a lot of success in these years.
03:29 So, your hard work will be very important.
03:32 What other reason can you give,
03:34 for your success?
03:35 I will give the reason, hard work.
03:38 Hard work and destiny.
03:42 No one can change that.
03:44 Many people work hard.
03:48 Many people have worked harder than me.
03:52 And, they are still working.
03:54 But, they don't get the result.
03:56 They don't achieve success.
03:59 So, somewhere,
04:01 I mean, not somewhere, definitely,
04:04 destiny plays a very big part.
04:07 If you think that you have worked hard,
04:11 then of course,
04:13 you will get nothing,
04:15 without working hard.
04:17 But, if a person thinks that he has worked hard,
04:21 then this time is making you work hard.
04:25 This is time.
04:27 The cycle of time is like this.
04:29 The wheel of time is like this.
04:31 It keeps rotating.
04:33 And, the person who says that he is me,
04:35 then it is nothing.
04:37 This time is making you work hard.
04:39 I am the same Prakash Mehra.
04:41 When Amitabh Bachchan didn't come,
04:43 I had already given four jubilees.
04:45 My first film was 'Haseena Man Jaayegi'.
04:47 My second film was 'Mela'.
04:49 'Samadi', 'Hath Ki Safai'.
04:51 So,
04:53 after that, Amitabh Bachchan,
04:55 he came on the scene.
04:57 And, then we started our own production company.
05:01 And, we never looked back.
05:03 So,
05:05 this time is making you work hard.
05:07 This is destiny.
05:09 Which is already written by you.
05:13 You cannot change that.
05:15 What is that destiny?
05:17 Where will I land tomorrow?
05:19 I don't know myself.
05:21 But, my efforts are the same.
05:23 My struggle, as I said,
05:25 is not over.
05:27 It is still going on.
05:29 And, that will continue.
05:31 You make a film.
05:33 What are the things you take special care of?
05:37 First thing is story.
05:39 Because, that is our foundation.
05:43 On that foundation,
05:45 you can make a big building.
05:47 That is the way of making a film.
05:51 8 floor building,
05:53 10 floor building.
05:55 It depends on your foundation.
05:57 Then, how much you can decorate it.
05:59 By decoration, I mean
06:01 music,
06:03 action,
06:05 drama,
06:07 and other special things.
06:11 Which make a film presentable.
06:15 By the way, all these things are there in every film.
06:19 But, not all films are successful.
06:21 Nowadays, our average has come down a lot.
06:25 And, in that,
06:29 our sky invasion,
06:31 to a great extent,
06:33 that is playing a very bad part,
06:37 which is affecting our wide screen.
06:41 Our films,
06:43 the reasonably good films,
06:47 which should be successful,
06:49 are not successful.
06:51 Because, there was a time,
06:53 our films were 25 weeks,
06:57 50 weeks,
06:59 100 weeks,
07:01 and so on.
07:05 Sometimes,
07:07 in simultaneous,
07:09 in so many cities,
07:11 it used to be 50 weeks.
07:13 Like Zanjeer, 52 weeks.
07:15 Khera Pheri, 50 weeks.
07:17 Khoon Pasina, 38 weeks.
07:19 Muqadda Ka Sikandar, I don't know.
07:21 I think, 60 weeks.
07:23 Lawaris, again 75 weeks.
07:27 Sharaabi, 92 weeks.
07:29 Now, what happens is,
07:31 we have to write 50,
07:35 very big, big.
07:37 And, we have to write small, days.
07:39 50 days.
07:41 And, a producer feels so happy,
07:45 that movie is celebrating 50 days.
07:47 50 days means 8 weeks.
07:49 Then,
07:51 we write 100 days,
07:53 and then,
07:55 we write small, days.
07:57 Means, 15 weeks.
07:59 So, this has become the limit.
08:01 My last movie, Dalal,
08:03 it was 25 weeks.
08:05 Not simultaneously,
08:07 but 100 days,
08:09 means 15 weeks.
08:11 It ran on its own merit.
08:13 So, that is the limit.
08:15 On its own merit.
08:17 So, that is called,
08:19 a big success.
08:21 Which, we have to take it,
08:23 because,
08:25 the time is such,
08:27 and, according to the time,
08:29 Dalal,
08:31 for me,
08:33 is a big success.
08:35 If I compare it,
08:37 to the old times,
08:39 then,
08:41 I'll feel,
08:43 I'll not feel happy.
08:45 But,
08:47 under the present circumstances,
08:49 which are the present circumstances,
08:51 it is very good,
08:53 according to that.
08:55 Mr. Pradhan, when you made Dalal,
08:57 in that,
08:59 many interviews were made,
09:01 that this song is like this,
09:03 that pigeon,
09:05 and many such songs are still being made,
09:07 and such scenes are also coming,
09:09 so, what do you say about the general sense report?
09:11 Look,
09:13 our sense report, from time to time,
09:15 in the parliament,
09:17 a man picked up a ride,
09:19 that man,
09:21 didn't even know,
09:23 what a film is,
09:25 what is this medium,
09:27 how a film is made,
09:29 he came,
09:31 without any reason,
09:33 someone asked, "Did you watch that film?"
09:35 "Which film?"
09:37 He said, "Farhani film, the song in that is very vulgar."
09:39 He said, "Really?"
09:41 He said, "You are a member of parliament,
09:43 why don't you raise a question?"
09:45 "He hasn't watched the film?"
09:47 He started shouting,
09:49 "Sir, nowadays, in films, there is so much violence,
09:51 and,
09:53 there is so much sex,
09:55 and, their songs are so obscene,
09:57 so vulgar."
09:59 "Oh, brother, have you seen this film?"
10:01 "No, I haven't seen it."
10:03 I, again, I am going to repeat it,
10:05 it has come in one of my interviews,
10:07 I will give all the compliments
10:09 to a great man,
10:11 R.K. Lakshman.
10:13 I think,
10:15 everybody is known to R.K. Lakshman.
10:17 R.K. Lakshman gave a very beautiful cartoon,
10:19 all of us,
10:21 film makers,
10:23 should all touch his feet.
10:25 He has done such a great service
10:27 to the film industry,
10:29 although he has nothing to do with movies.
10:31 He,
10:33 a month and a half ago,
10:35 gave a caricature,
10:37 that a delegation of film producers
10:39 is standing,
10:41 and the minister is sitting,
10:43 and his secretary,
10:45 is standing with a memorandum,
10:47 and the producers are sweating,
10:49 some are shedding tears,
10:51 the way he paints.
10:53 And,
10:55 he is saying to the secretary minister,
10:57 "Sir,
10:59 some producers,
11:01 film makers have come to meet you,
11:03 and their complaint is that,
11:05 in daily life,
11:07 murder,
11:09 rape,
11:11 bomb blast,
11:13 whatever is happening,
11:15 it is having a very bad effect on the films.
11:17 So,
11:19 I mean, they want a solution for that.
11:21 So, would you please listen to them?
11:23 That was,
11:25 I mean,
11:27 I think,
11:29 more than this,
11:31 I will not call it satire,
11:33 I will not call it a joke,
11:35 more than this,
11:37 bitter truth,
11:39 what else can it be?
11:41 This is our censor board.
11:43 Some members come and sit,
11:45 we asked them,
11:47 "Which is the last film you saw?"
11:49 They said, "Kismat".
11:51 So, we thought that,
11:53 "Kismat" by Manmohan Desai,
11:55 Biswajeet and Bhabita.
11:57 They said, "No, not that Kismat,
11:59 but, Lila Chitnis and others,
12:01 that Kismat."
12:03 So, these are our members.
12:05 You ask them,
12:07 "What do you know about films?
12:09 What is your contribution
12:11 in social life?
12:13 What have you contributed
12:15 towards the society?"
12:17 Totally nil.
12:19 No answer.
12:21 What is the criteria?
12:23 How are these members selected?
12:25 I don't know.
12:27 I still don't understand
12:29 the arithmetic.
12:31 I have a big question mark in front of me.
12:33 First of all,
12:35 why is this censor?
12:37 Why?
12:39 We are talking about
12:41 a free society.
12:43 Freedom of expression.
12:45 There should not be any censorship.
12:47 Or, if at all,
12:49 then it should be on the pattern
12:51 of freedom of expression.
12:53 So, we are talking about
12:55 that it should be on the pattern of
12:57 Hollywood, when we are comparing.
12:59 Hollywood and we are comparing
13:01 about the Western world.
13:03 So, it should be
13:05 self-censorship.
13:07 In which we will be
13:09 given more responsibility.
13:11 Before showing anything,
13:13 we will have to think 20 times
13:15 that now we are responsible for this.
13:17 Because,
13:19 we are the judge.
13:21 We have the product.
13:23 We have to take it in front of the public.
13:25 So, we should not do anything
13:27 that will have
13:29 adverse effect on the public.
13:31 And, these things
13:35 have been going on for a long time.
13:37 Ministers come and go.
13:39 We always talk about that.
13:41 No, sir.
13:43 There should not be censorship.
13:45 Again,
13:47 the censor board is there.
13:49 Now, if a member shouts,
13:51 nowadays there is a big human cry
13:53 about censorship.
13:55 One guy is coming to me tomorrow.
13:57 He has come from America.
13:59 And, especially on Indian censorship,
14:01 he is going to cover
14:03 the whole article
14:05 or something like that. I don't know.
14:07 Tomorrow, he is coming to meet me.
14:09 So,
14:11 there are a lot of
14:13 'Dakhiyaanus'
14:15 censorship.
14:17 Sometimes,
14:19 we become liberal.
14:21 South has a different standard.
14:23 Bombay has a different standard.
14:25 Hyderabad has a different standard.
14:27 I mean, South covers everything.
14:29 So, the film
14:31 that you see now,
14:33 any of our films,
14:35 if it goes to any festival,
14:37 international festival,
14:39 that is not supposed to be censored.
14:41 Now, that
14:43 about Phoolan Devi,
14:45 there are
14:47 so many cuts,
14:49 which I think producer has not agreed.
14:51 So,
14:53 why is this?
14:55 If he has made a film about Phoolan Devi,
14:57 he has taken
14:59 all the facts about it.
15:01 And, he has made a film.
15:03 And, that film has gone to Cannes Film Festival
15:05 and got
15:07 a big ovation, recognition.
15:09 So, censorship has no right
15:11 to criticize that film
15:13 or to cut even one frame of that film.
15:15 But, he has cut it.
15:17 So,
15:19 I mean,
15:21 I am very much,
15:23 not me only,
15:25 I mean, all the producers,
15:27 they are very much concerned about the censorship.
15:29 They don't agree with them at all.
15:31 And, then the movie goes to
15:33 revising committee.
15:35 The first committee watches your film.
15:37 They say, sir,
15:39 there are so many cuts in this.
15:41 When the same film
15:43 goes to revising,
15:45 in so many cases it happens,
15:47 it comes out absolutely clean.
15:49 No cut.
15:51 Or, worst come to worst, they give you
15:53 a certificate.
15:55 So, we don't understand what is the yardstick.
15:57 That, what is the way
15:59 to measure and weigh them?
16:01 We have not understood this till now.
16:03 [Music]