Fascinating journey into creative freedom

Contemporary reality in historical garb - Ketan Mehta:

Ketan Mehta is the director of the film Rang Rasiya or "Colours of Passion" which Asian premiere was held in Galle as fundraiser of the Galle Film Festival (GLF). Mehta who was born in Navsari in Gujarat and educated in Delhi, graduated in Film Direction from Film and Television Institute of India. So far he has produced eight feature films, seven documentaries and a television serial. Like a skilful painter, Ketan draws on the vast canvas of humanity on diverse themes ranging from comedy, satire, romance, violence, rebellion to science fiction.

A terrific film maker and a visionary, Ketan Mehta won instant accolades for his very first film Bhavani and perhaps his most successful film was Mirch Masala which earned him the best film award at Hawaii and was screened in 52 cinemas in USA.

Here in an exclusive interview with Sunday Observer, Ketan Mehta spells out the underlined themes of his latest film Rang Rasiya (Colours of Passion) which is based on the biography of celebrated 19th century Indian painter Raja Ravi Varma. He describes the film as a social critique where contemporary reality is in a historical garb.

Q: "Colours of Passion" is an adaptation of a Marathi writer Ranjit Pesai's biographical novel on 19th Century painter Raja Ravi Varma. Apart from your fascination with the subject, are you of the view that the biography of Raja Varma is still relevant especially against the back drop of rising fundamental elements and spread of racial, cultural and religious intolerance throughout the globe including in India?

A: For me as a film-maker, history is just a raw material to tell contemporary stories. Apart from my personal fascination for Raja Ravi Varma as a great artist, the fact that he actually represents an ideal of creative freedom, a freedom of expression is the reason why this film is made. A hundred years ago, he brought up issues which are still relevant today. A hundred years ago he faced problems, still faced by artists today in this entire continent if not the whole world. Therefore, I think the film is more about freedom and freedom of expression than just a biography of an artist. It is true that culture of intolerance is sweeping through the world. M.F Husain, who is an artist in India, cannot live in India because of the same kind of problems that Varma faced hundred years ago. Hundreds of cases filed against him on the same reason of obscenity. This kind of fringed minority holding the entire society and culture to ransom is something that disturbed. It is time that this was openly debated and discussed and moved on. Because what is needed, is liberalizing our minds, more than liberalizing society and economy. So that was the reason for making 'Colours of Passion', a contemporary story though camouflaged in a historical garb.

Q: One of the striking features of Rang Rasiya is, I would say, an excellent casting which has made it one of the best films. It would have been a difficult task in selecting actors and actresses for lead roles. What were the criteria you adapted in selecting the cast for the movie?

A: Casting is always a crucial part of the film because it is the actors who become vehicles for communicating your ideas. Before this I did a film which was a mega budget film with very big stars. But I felt for this kind of story, we did not need stars with halos around their heads. We needed actors who really believed in the subject and who are willing to stretch themselves because they believed in the idea of the film. And Randeepan and Nadana are both amazing actors. The moment I met them at the screen test I realized these are the people that I wanted to work with. I think they have come up with brilliant performances and very sincerer performances. And that's one of the reasons why the film has the kind of impact it has. A criterion adapted was basically skills that are necessary for such complicated roles, intelligence necessary to understand what the film was saying and the belief that the cinema can play a role in changing a society within and that's why I think I am so proud of my actors in this film.

Q: The final scene where extremists' forced entry into the auction hall where Ravi Varma's painting is about to sell, is one of the dramatic scenes.

Does it suggest that people should always be vigilant on the rise of extremist elements in society though archetype beliefs have been changed in a contemporary milieu?

A: The contemporary reality of today (the entire film) comes in the beginning and comes in the end. What are the two processes we see in the art scene today? One is that entire commercialisation that happens; the auction represents that kind of commercialisation where actually bid for work of art. On the other hand, what is happening outside shows the aggressive piece of the society which wants to move forward looking backwards and I think that does never work? So the reason for dying a hundred year old story with contemporary reality was an essential part of making this film. Because it has to make sense today and therefore, the kind of a destructive part of hoodlum breaking in and destroying a work of art had to be the climax of the film. Because that the reality of the film.

Q: Sugandha (Nandana Sen) commits suicide following her testimony before a high profile case heard against Raja Ravi Varma. Though the note found after her death suggests that she knew that Varma would be 'honourably acquitted', it is, some what , intriguing as to why she commits suicide. Did you include this scene to suggest the excruciatingly painful social stigma attached to girls chastity in India?

A: Apart from being a great classical romance between an artist and his muse, it is an attempt to try to understand the reality of social conditions under which we live in. It is also a fact that women are discriminated even today in our South Asian societies. The fact that she commits suicide, it is a tragic event but it also is a liberating event; she transcends beyond reality and decides to get into the realm of ideas and art. So I do not see it as a tragedy in India. India has no concept of tragedy at all. Because there is a life after death, so she is liberating herself from the complete constrains of her environment which forces her to look down upon herself. Ravi Varma moves on is also a sign of hope. There is no end creative struggle. Each creation is struggling to make it even better and to move onto the next. So it is a process that continues throughout your life and you will see tragedies and exhilarations but that all is part of the creative process. And that's what I believe.

Q: In the course of the lengthy trial against Raja Varma , among other things, it was revealed that erotic art was a part and parcel of Indian culture and cultural Puritanism has been discovered by hypocrites. In this light diverse application of art could be interpreted as obscene and immoral. However, the underlined message of the trial is that freedom of art should prevail over parochial political and so called cultural interests.

Against the background of rising fundamentalism and wave of racial, cultural and religious intolerance spreading through many countries including in India, how do you think the Indian audience would react to the film?

A: I believe Indian society or Indian culture few hundred years ago was one of the most liberated and liberal cultures in the world. Over the last few centuries under the influence of on one hand Islamic invaders from the North and Victorian English morality on the other hand peeping in which is the most hypocritical of all societies and of all times, somewhere completely changed the character of Indian psyche and therefore the entire idea of morality. In Indian philosophy and India culture, sensuality and spirituality is an extension of one. You cannot divide one from the other.

Being a human being, you are a finally a bundle of senses. And that has to be a staring point and if you look down upon it you are being completely countered to life forces. That's what I believe. So eroticism and sexuality, as the film says India is a land of Kama Sustra, actually celebrates life.

That's the kind of celebration we need to re-invent in terms of life force itself. In the Senekal and destructive we live in art is the only hope that we have and that is to lead the change that is going to happen in our world.

Well, the film has not been screened in India as yet but judging from extremely diverse screening in London and in Galle, one can say it is somewhere connecting to the human goal. It has an emotional charge which cuts across societies and cultures. If that is true, I hope that in India too, it is accepted and received well. The idea is to reach out to people and to communicate with them as strong as possible.

Q: Compared with your previous creations such as Mirch Masala, Holi, Maya Mensaab, Rang Rasiya is themematically different though it has been set in 19th century colonial India. It is obvious from scenes like the footages of first film made in France that considerable research has been done in making the setting. Apart from the novel, did you also conduct research into specially Varma's poetry and socio-cultural background?

For me as a film maker, each film I make is a new adventure. I have to re-invent myself with each film and each film gives me a purpose and scoop to explore a new dimension of myself. If you watch my earlier films, each film is extremely different from the other film in terms of style and in terms of genre and in terms of content. So each film is an opportunity to grow, explore and especially when you are doing a historical film like Rang Rasiya or Rising, it allows you scope to research, learn and to understand.

Therefore, research is a very crucial part in such a film and that is a very exhilarating part of it because by the end of it you know so much more. Yes, we did a lot of research on Raja Ravi Varma, his poetry, his socio-cultural background and his journey as an artist.

Q: Rang Rasiya is also outstanding on many accounts including its cinematography and universal application. What is your view on contemporary film makers and their selection of subjects for their films?

A: For Rang Rasiya, the visual aspect to be very very important, because it is a story of a painter. It was primarily extremely visual and extremely colourful. At the same time, all artists in India including me and all the cinematographers have been so exposed to Raja Ravi Varma's paintings that there would be some kind of pre-conditioned mind reacting to these paintings. Therefore I thought somebody who had not seen any work of Raja Ravi Varma before but who was an excellent cameraman would be better to give it a fresh look. That's why we selected Rally who is a Bulgarian film maker based in Germany and whose earlier works I had seen. I asked him and when he read the script he fell in love with it. He has given a fresh look that I was looking for. It is a visually stunning film and I am proud of it.

The problem with the contemporary cinema now with all the proliferation of television channels and globalisation happening, is that great commercial pressure on films has increased and therefore margin for independent film making is actually decreasing instead of increasing despite the expanse of the media. As far as film makers are concerned they are mirrors of the society they live in. They have to believe that they are the mirrors of the society and that they have a purpose in society. The purpose in the society is to reflect its dilemmas, crisis and its points of views. For the film makers and their selection of subjects, I think they should concern that they live on day-to-day basis and ideas that infect them again and again.

They should be able to free to express them without fear or favour.

Q: We hope that the film would receive an overwhelming response in India and other countries in the region. Do you hope to screen it in Sri Lanka so that it would reach wider Sri Lankan audience?

A: I also hope that the film is seen by as wide an audience all over the world as possible, because I truly believe that it is not just a culture specific film. It is humanity specific film and the dilemmas are actually human and global in nature rather than culture specific or specific to India and this region. I hope that this film reaches out to Sri Lankan audience.

Considering the response yesterday of the audience present which was a wide cross section of an audience, I seriously hope that the film is released theatrically here and is seen by the widest audience as possible.

Q: At the moment, what are the films that you are working on and what is the kind of subjects that you intend to deal with?

A: Like any other film maker, one has stories for five life times to tell and out of that what do you select at a point of time is both determined by the state of mind at one point of time and the circumstances that are prevalent at that point of time. There are various scripts that I am working on. One is a science fiction film that I wanted to do. Another film that I wanted to do is mad modern adaptation of Shakespeare's Mid Summer Night.

There is also a historical film that I wanted to do 'The last Moghul Emperor ". So exciting projects. I am very optimistic about Indian cinema. I think over the next few years, you see some very exciting cinema coming from India.

A whole new generation of film makers as well as whole new generation of audiences appeared on the scene which has been exposed to cinema from all over the world and which has been grown up with satellite television. What is surprising now is that almost fifty percent of Indian audiences under 25 are looking for change and something different and therefore, their excited for something different. So I am extremely optimistic of the future of Indian cinema.

Q: Finally, what is the advice that you can give to aspiring film-makers both in Sri Lanka and India who wish to make meaningful creations?

A: Who am I to advice any body to what to do. I believe that I am still learning myself and with each film learning a little more. But as film maker every one has to be alive to life itself and to themselves and believing in themselves and have courage to express themselves freely and fearlessly. And that's what meaningful creation is all about. So do not give up and just to do what you believe in and stick by it. Do not worry about the consequences.

The consequences will be there either way. And if you are not fulfilling yourself, why do you make a film?

Q: How do you consider Sri Lanka as prospective film location where biographical, sociological, economic diversity is greater than, perhaps, anywhere on the glob within a limited landmass?

A: Somehow I feel very close to Sri Lanka. I have great empathy naturally there. I certainly love to come back here and make a film. I am sure there is a great amount of synergy possible between Indian film community and Sri Lankan film community. This is bound to grow in the years to come. Let us hope that cinematic communities of both countries can work well together.