A soul in torment
Sharmila Taliculam
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Kundan Shah. Click for bigger pic!
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This is one man obsessed by his first creation. Of course, Kundan Shah did taste success later. There were those television serials, Yeh Jo Hai Zindagi, Nukkad and Circus, and two films, Kabhie Haan, Kabhie Naa and now Loveria. But somehow, Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron lives with him. And so he cannot live with himself.
One reason a slick and scintillating film like Jaane Bhi Do... stumbled could be the odd ending, the subtle humour underlying the broader comedy. And after it, no one was willing to let him make another such movie, no matter the response to comedy when it was telecast on Doordarshan later.
Which was when Kundan Shah shifted to television, audiences were kinder to him, but left when everyone got onto the sitcom bandwagon. That's when he moved on to commercial cinema. Kabhie Haan, Kabhie Naan with Shah Rukh Khan and Suchitra Krishnamurthy did well. But instead of plunging on, Kundan waited for the right opportunity.
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A still from Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron. Click for bigger pic!
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Opportunity apparently is ABCL's Loveria, Kundan's first all-star film. The director claims he's had no problems though it's taken a long time to make and since, despite being a comedy, it's not really his kind of film.
The story's about two people who are trying not to fall in love. And? That's more than enough for openers, says Kundan. "All I can say that it is a very funny film and both the actors have done a good job."
And why did he take so long to finish Loveria?
"I don't know. Mentally I was prepared to finish this film fast. Maybe, I am star-crossed," he laughs. He had problems over a film he was supposed to make earlier too, a remake of Forrest Gump, with Anil Kapoor playing the Tom Hanks role.
That film ran into production problems and Kundan's lack of diplomacy rubbed Anil the wrong way.
"Anil Kapoor realises the dedication required to make such a film," says Kundan, not sounding very convincing. And so you prod him on...
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Kundan Shah. Click for bigger pic!
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"See, the stars are a indicator of a film. They are important in the sense that they take the cream of the money and the credit. And this won't change unless the director doesn't become the star of a film." And unless the stars are dedicated. "We have moved away from the film though. It will happen when it has to," says the director.
Kundan demands humour from films. He loves Charlie Chaplin's humour because, to him, it is very human and he is naturally inclined towards it.
"I like a comic view of life. Physical comedy is difficult to do because it has to be choreographed well, especially during the silent era where they had to depend on actions alone. There was this Chaplin film where he is where he is in a jail with a hefty looking criminal. They are having lunch and are served a loaf of bread each. The hefty criminal steals the bread on Chaplin's plate and the rest of the sequence is Chaplin trying to get it back. Here you know that he is asking for his due and fighting for it." The characters in Shah's films too often are about the underdog trying to emerge as top dog.
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A still from Kabhi Haan, Kabhi Naan. Click for bigger pic!
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"For me comedy is when you try to survive through your wit. Not using your wit to outsmart -- that's a smart comedy. My comedy is about survival. My protagonists are trying to get their due in life. Using their wits to survive. They have a point of view and they try to think. That comes through in my films."
Kundan eschews sexual innuendo, claiming he's not cut out for it. He proudly tells you that Loveria doesn't have violence or vulgar scenes. "Karisma has not even exposed her arm in the film and there are no sexy songs for her. It's a very clean, comic film." He enjoys making such comedies and would prefer to continue doing so.
"One can't make everything. Guru Dutt made films that were tragic -- they dealt with tortured souls. Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron was comic and sad at the same time because it's about survival. There's an underlying tragedy in all my films. Here (in India) you need to put pathos in your films because the audience demands catharsis."
But his hero is Saif Ali Khan, who isn't exactly topping the charts. Isn't he worried? Kundan isn't bothered. He really isn't.
"Audiences may have reservations about seeing him but I am confident because he has done a good job. He is very, very good in this film, compared to his earlier ones. He is comparable to any of the other Khans after this film. He has potential in him.
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Kundan Shah with Shahrukh Khan. Click for bigger pic!
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"When I made Kabhie Haan, Kabhie Naan, people told me I should have made the film with a star. Now when I am making Loveria people tell me I should have made this film with Shah Rukh. I am not bothered with all these trade talk."
But he is honest enough to admit that Loveria could take time to pick up, but says he is certain it will. "Rarely does a good film not work. Comedy is a mass experience. Either you laugh or you don't."
Okay, okay, but did he have any objection since it was finally ABCL's choice, Karisma, and not the heroine he wanted that finally figured in the film?
"In commercial films, the stakes are much higher... Fortunately, the stars I have worked with have been very co-operative. They were very organised, which is required in making a comedy... That requires dedication... I won't say it hasn't been difficult because there are constraints in making commercial films. I wish one could make Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron and survive."
Kundan admits that Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron gave him satisfaction as no other film has. It was made in just 45 days and earned him just Rs 15,000. But it made him feel good somewhere inside.
"I would love to make a film every three months," he says, but that is a tall order in an industry where directors have to bend to the will of the stars.
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A still from Kabhi Haan, Kabhi Naan. Click for bigger pic!
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"I am the most co-operative director in the industry. Of course, my films are very different. So I give full marks to my producers for trusting me." Kundan isn't particularly concerned if his protagonists aren't young and pretty. But the producers are and that sometimes chafes on the director.
"Nobody has come and told me make another Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron and it's my fate. If you are working in that set-up, then you accept this." There, yet again the ghost of the old film rises.
The constraints make him restless and so he wants to channel his creativity in other directions. He loves to write but lacks the time that writing demands. And his kind of writing, Kundan feels, cannot be made into films.
He said he had no dream when he started off. "But there is a kind of restlessness. This is because I know I can do better. What I began with was something different. I can't blame anybody for it. I blame myself for it. It's not a trip with me but I will keep making films. Fortunately everybody agrees to do a comedy these days." That's one consolation. But he likes working on one film at a time that, in the commercial set-up, reduces his output considerably. He wishes he could make more films though.
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Kundan Shah. Click for bigger pic!
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"I try, believe me. But when doing films with stars, it's impossible. I don't mind working with anybody but the director has to think about what sells."
Kundan is a little reserved and so one wonders how he communicates with his actors. He gauges the question, sizing you up through those soda bottle glasses, muses, then takes the easy way out: "Ask my stars. I still extract a good performance out of them."
But having worked with actors like Naseeruddin Shah, Ravi Baswani, Om Puri, the stars must be a little wary of him...
"Some people trust you and some are worried. But with the stars, I narrate the whole script and give them a copy of it. So they know what I want of them. It's my job to get them motivated. Otherwise, there is no point in making a film."
He won't make films with Saeed and Aziz Mirza with whom he made his dream movie and his sitcoms because the industry is wary of the trio, fearing they'll make a film for an intellect only the three of them possess. Kundan realises that intellect alone cannot fill his belly. Even Chaplin was dependent on a paycheck.
Kundan again returns to his hope of making movies like he used to, the ones that wouldn't sell. He claims he wouldn't mind trying to make Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron again within the same budget, if that were possible. But it wasn't a simple film to make and would cost not less than Rs 10 million.
"If I make Jaane... in one crore (Rs 10 million), my distributor would tell me, 'Take one-and-a-half more and put in some songs.' What can I do then?" So, rather than prostitute his ideal, Kundan prefers to toil on in the dream factory. Hoping for, waiting for ships that never come in.
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