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A romantic at large

Sharmila Taliculam

Reema Rakeshnath

When news went around that Madhuri Dixit and Ajay Jadeja were to be paired together in a film, it caused a stir. The man responsible for the casting coup was Rakeshnath, better known as Madhuri Dixit's secretary. And directing the two, we heard, was his wife, Reema Rakeshnath.

Now Reema Rakeshnath is no neophyte let loose in the industry. She's already written quite a few scripts, including the one of that humdinger, Saajan, her first hit. And she directed the ill-fated Mohabbat that starred Madhuri, Sanjay Kapoor and Akshaye Khanna. It was such a huge failure that she wisely retired to lick her wounds and find out what went wrong.

If this was a comeback, we realised, it was really with a bang. And so to get it from the horse's mouth, we trotted over to the Rakeshnath residence. Reema quickly disabused us of the idea that she was directing the film. In fact, she has nothing to do with it personally, she said, though her husband was producing it.

"It's still in the early stages. Talks are on and nothing is definite yet.

"Gajagamini is on the floors now. M F Husain is directing it and my husband is producing it. This new film we have in mind will have Sunil Shetty and Madhuri, but Ajay Jadeja is not sure yet (Later reports asserted he was definitely on). I have no role to play here. Not even in the writing department."

A still from Mohabbat. Click for bigger pic!

But she is still at script-writing, getting another director, a top one that she is loathe to name, to direct still another film she has in mind, Shart. Only if he disapproves of the script will she helm the ship, she says.

For it, she wants a newcomer in the lead role. Even loyal Reema isn't certain that Madhuri can manage a teenage role with conviction now.

"The role demands a very different kind of a face. I want a teenager who looks like one too. I might go in for a totally fresh face. Madhuri won't fit that role," she says firmly.

But right from Saajan to Mohabbat, Madhuri has been her heroine of choice. Why, we inquired. Was it only because Rakeshnath was Madhuri's secretary?

Reema agrees there may be some truth in the view but points out that there was no hard and fast rule.

"It's just that since Madhuri is like family, she was naturally chosen for the role. In a way, Madhuri is also lucky. She gets these roles tailor-made for her. Many can't have that kind of luck."

What about her fetish for love triangles?

A still from Arzoo. Click for bigger pic!

"Most films are the same -- love stories. Yash Chopra's Dil To Pagal Hai was a triangle, so was Kuch Kuch Hota Hai. There is nothing to discuss there because it's clicked with the audience.

"Whenever a director convinces the audience again and again, using the same subject, I think he or she is successful. When you don't manage the same kind of success, then people tear you to pieces. The ability to convince people is very important, even you are repeating the same subject."

Reema is steaming up here. She isn't upset with the industry or people close to her but with the media. She says the media kept comparing her first directorial film, Mohabbat, with Saajan. It wasn't judged on its own merits, she says.

"Sometimes the media favours you and sometimes they destroy you. In my case, they did the latter. They didn't give me time to show the people what I wanted to. I wanted them to come and see and then decide about the film. Thankfully, such opinions take their time to reach people abroad, so everybody watched and liked the film there. You can ask my distributor about this.

Reema Rakeshnath with Madhuri Dixit Click for bigger pic!

"The stars in my film were facing tough times then. Akshaye hadn't made his mark yet. Madhuri was facing a slack period. And Sanjay too was struggling. Against that backdrop, I made a film and saw it run successfully for five to six weeks. I think I deserve some credit somewhere. The media has not given me that. On the contrary, they have tried to pull me down."

Another comparison made, she says, was between her film and Dayavan, which also screened on television about the same time.

"A few days before my film was released, I found Dayavan was being shown on television. It was one of Madhuri's earlier films with Vinod Khanna. The audience saw her doing intimate scenes there with Akshaye's father, then saw Mohabbat where she has acted with Akshaye himself.

"The media started hyping the whole thing, saying she looked older. If you go to Hollywood too, you will see many actresses working with younger heroes," she says, adding that it was made out that Madhuri was fast losing her touch and that she was trying to make up some ground acting with younger actors.

Riku Rakeshnath with Madhuri and family. Click for bigger pic!

But that apparently hadn't bothered either Vinod Khanna or Akshaye when they were told Madhuri was the heroine.

"I had already imagined her as Sweta in the film. Akshaye looks very mature on screen. And, then, he is a good actor too. I knew that he would carry off the role quite well." Seeing we've lingered too long on a sensitive subject, we deftly shift to firmer ground, discussing her background.

Few know that Reema is the daughter of veteran actor Sapru. But once you know it, you see the resemblance -- the same light eyes and the peaches and cream complexion... And her brother, Tej Sapru, has married Rekha's sister. So, as you can see, she's got all the right connections.

Reema was screen-tested for Jawani Diwani with Randhir Kapoor. But the role finally went to Jaya Bachchan and it was a big hit. Reema missed the opportunity not because she was rejected, but because she met with an accident that delivered her hors de combat for over one-and-half-years. And by the time she was back on her feet, many roles had passed her by.

She did act later but she was already out of the reckoning then, she admits. Since writing came naturally to her, she began jotting down story ideas, one of which was picked by Rakesh Roshan's father-in-law J Om Prakash. Though the film did not see the light of day, it got her on a roll. Her first hit film as a scriptwriter was Nakabandi. She wrote a screenplay for Paap Ka Anth and Sailaab before hitting a bullseye with Saajan.

"I didn't do any outside production after that. Maybe because I was just pricey. I had my own style of working and wasn't ready to compromise. People weren't ready to accept it either. So I lost a lot of big films that came my way. Three top banners tried their level best to draw me, but I wouldn't do it. That's my basic way of working and I don't want to compromise on that.

A still from Yaarana. Click for bigger pic!

"I am a wife and a mother. My husband is working and doing pretty well. This is something I do for myself alone. It is not that if I don't do this, everything will fall apart. That's why I am content and in no hurry."

Working at that pace, she had about one story a year or so. But this year will see two of her films being released, both with Madhuri Dixit in the lead, Arzoo and Hum Aapke Hai Sanam.

In Arzoo, Madhuri's co-stars are Akshay Kumar and Saif Ali Khan; in Hum Aapke Hai Sanam, it's Salman Khan. And so back to the ill-fated Mohabbat we go.

"Nothing can stop me from directing another film. The failure of Mohabbat won't do that. I'm just waiting for the right kind of script. I conducted a few surveys and have learnt some interesting things. I want to -- and will -- show the audience that I can do something different. But, as I told you earlier, I don't want to hurry things up. I never was greedy to grab some checks.

"This started as a hobby and then became a profession. But other things are equally important. My husband or my children can't say I've neglected them for my career. I have three lovely kids and I don't want them to feel that I have someway not met their expectations as their mother. Naturally, that gives me little time for much writing."

"And then I don't take ideas from films. I don't like copying. I would feel guilty about cheating like this. There are a lot of novelists who come to me asking me to sell their stories as mine. I recommend them to other people who need good scripts. It's a part of the game, but I don't play by the rules."

But then, we point out, she did pick off the storyline of Sleeping With the Enemy. There were three films released at the time with the same theme -- Yaarana, with a screenplay by Reema, Daraar and Agnisakshi. Only Agnisakshi worked at the box-office.

Reema hesitates here, then says, "We started with a different track. My director felt he wanted a heroine-oriented subject. David too is a successful director. I was definitely going to listen to him. I just catered to his choice. And I thought it was a good idea too....

A still from Mohabbat. Click for bigger pic!

"But out of the three films, Yaarana had the best music. Mera piya ghar aaya will go down in history as one of the most popular songs there was. We had Nana there and Nana suited the role to a T.

"I thought that this role was for a hero playing a negative role, not for an established villain. And then Rishi acted in both films. Luck didn't favour the film, I think." So why hasn't she done a film with Rekha, though they are related?

"Rekha is one of the most beautiful and talented actresses we have around. For such an artiste, you have to have a tremendous subject. I would like it to be Rekha's most memorable movie. I don't want my work to be like the ones she is doing now. I have got a subject in mind for her. But putting it together is very tough. I am waiting for a good maker for that."

And for that, she certainly won't be in the director's chair, she says; she needs someone experienced in handling a star of Rekha's calibre.

Reema herself would rather do love stories being, of her own admission, a romantic at heart. And in line with that, she wants to make a beautiful love story this year, one she will both write and direct. And there aren't any regrets about the acting career she may have missed.

"If I had been an actress now, I would probably be doing some character role or the other. But I can go on writing all the time. Somewhere I would have had to end my career as an actress. But the writer in me is more content and happy.

"It's okay. I am grateful to god for this. Always see the silver lining, you know."