Rediff On The NeT: Transcript of the Prakash Jha Chat


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The Prakash Jha Chat

Prakash Jha came in after a trial show of Mrityudand and set about fending off a barrage of questions about his move to commercial cinema, why he had sought to pander to populist tastes by making Madhuri Dixit the main protagonist of Mrityudand, whether he was in love with Ms Dixit etc. The poor man even promised a disapproving fan that he would hack off his pony tail. Details of the chat:

Rediff On The Net (Wed Jul 9 1997 22:8 IST)

Mr Prakash Jha will be logging in another 15-20 minutes as he is busy with the press conference.

Prakash Jha (Wed Jul 9 1997 22:19 IST)

Here I am ready for you.

ngo (Wed Jul 9 1997 22:19 IST)

Welcome, Mr Jha, to the Rediff grilling ground

ngo (Wed Jul 9 1997 22:20 IST)

We read your interview and we wonder if you have not betrayed our trust.

Madhuri (Wed Jul 9 1997 22:21 IST)

Mr Jha, why did you choose Madhuri for the main role?

Indian (Wed Jul 9 1997 22:21 IST)

Hello Mr Jha, Why is parallel cinema so quiet these days. Is it very difficult to produce art films?

Prakash Jha (Wed Jul 9 1997 22:23 IST)

NGO: Well I have tried my best and so has everybody else in the film, the technicians and the artistes in the film alike.

Laloo Yadav (Wed Jul 9 1997 22:23 IST)

Will you join politics after all your films flop?

S R Balasubramaniam (Wed Jul 9 1997 22:23 IST)

Are you in love with Madhuri?

A R Narayan (Wed Jul 9 1997 22:25 IST)

Mr Jha, pleasure to speak with you. I loved Damul. I liked Hip Hip Hooray. Never got to see Bandish. People told me it was terrible. Do you think making a commercial film is beyond the ken of guys like you? They need an IQ of 5 and you have an IQ of at least 140!

Madhuri* (Wed Jul 9 1997 22:27 IST)

Tell me Mr Jha, why the commercial film? is it because Art films don't work any more?

Prakash Jha (Wed Jul 9 1997 22:27 IST)

Indian: It is difficult and not quite viable to make parallel cinema these days. Unless a film gets released in cinema theatres its almost impossible to recover the production cost and for the film to get released in the cinema one has to cater to the popular market, some of us are trying to find a middle path by using the popular cinema language and saying what we want to say, we have tried to do that in Mrityudand. It's being in cinemas all over the world and it's success will definitely be encouraging for other film-makers interested in meaningful cinema.

Laloo Yadav (Wed Jul 9 1997 22:29 IST)

Why are Biharis so pretentious? Are you also a JNU type with intellectual aspirations?

Karpoori Thakur ka spirit (Wed Jul 9 1997 22:30 IST)

Do people like Madhuri work at a fraction of their price for you? Was she co-operative?

NANDINI (Wed Jul 9 1997 22:31 IST)

Hello Jhaji... I bet you were looking out for me and wondering why I hadn't landed up... Remember the first time we met? I bet you don't! *S*

ngo. (Wed Jul 9 1997 22:32 IST)

What we sought to highlight is your move from meaningful cinema, exploring some facet of society or human psyche to emotional manipulation of audiences. That looks like betrayal. If not, could you explain?

ngo. (Wed Jul 9 1997 22:34 IST)

Damul was a dark experiment. Are you planning any other such films? Or do you still claim that you are still certain somebody (not you?) will make art movies

Prakash Jha (Wed Jul 9 1997 22:34 IST)

Madhuri: She has popularity and a very good range, her face is perfect for communicating messages very powerfully; besides she was very involved in the film which made things simpler.
A K Narayanan>> I always thought making commercial films is far more difficult, it is very difficult to portray absurdity with some kind of conviction.
S R Balasubramaniam >>> Never thought about that, I quite appreciate her work though.

Madhuri* (Wed Jul 9 1997 22:35 IST)

Prakash.. you always have a rural background in all your films. Why? Have you grown in such a atmosphere?

juhi (Wed Jul 9 1997 22:36 IST)

Mr Jha, Why did you move to commercial cinema?

Madhuri* (Wed Jul 9 1997 22:41 IST)

Prakash.. You said in a interview that this film is about women. How sympathetic are you to women's problems?

Prakash Jha (Wed Jul 9 1997 22:41 IST)

NGO: Must apologise for the faulty telecast of Damul. Believe me, it wasn't as dark as it was made out to be. I don't really know if I am the same man as the one ten years ago. I probably think differently , look at things differently and as I'm growing older I guess I'm beginning to enjoy some kinds of emotions, some kind of sentiments. Rationale is okay, but it doesn't answer all my questions. It's quite possible you will note some softer moments in Mrityudand. I only hope you don't get misled.

Indian (Wed Jul 9 1997 22:42 IST)

Mr Jha, Could you please tell us, is Mrityudand based on a true story?

S R Balasubramaniam (Wed Jul 9 1997 22:43 IST)

What happens if Mrityudand fails -- God forbid? Will you go back to Bihar?

Continued