Victory is the most important thing in Indian democracy but it comes at a price, feels ’Raajneeti’ director Jha, who wants the audience to go home and think about the issue, after watching the movie.
’Raajneeti’, starring Ajay Devgn, Nana Patekar, Arjun Rampal, Katrina Kaif, Ranbir Kapoor, is a political drama slated for a June 4 release.
Jha who was in the city to promote the film said, “Raajneeti is primarily a huge canvas drama which is inspired in terms of characters from the ‘Mahabharata’ A political drama that is played out in the landscape of our country and the backdrop of an election.”
The 58-year-old filmmaker admits that he does not really have any message to convey with the film.
“I am not interested in giving a message. I am trying to tell a story. The way struggle of power overtakes everything. I am not being judgemental. I don’t think I know everything about democracy. I don’t think I know everything about governance,” Jha said.
The filmmaker who has highlighted issues like bondage labour and kidnappings in Bihar with ‘Damul’ and ‘Apaharan’ in the past, worked on the script of ‘Raajneeti’ for five years and one year in pre-production.
Although the film draws characters from ‘Mahabharata’ it is set in today’s political era and each character is given their own stories, own struggles to deal with.
“None of my characters are drawn from any living or past politician of the country, they are characters from the Mahabharata”, he said while denying that the roles in his film had anything to do with today’s politicians.
He insists that his film was also his own having fought an election, which he lost, and reflects what he has heard and understood of Indian politics.
Jha feels that politics runs in the veins of Indians and is everywhere.
“There is politics in a husband-wife relationship, politics in families, there is politics even in a tea shop.
Knowingly or unknowingly, there is politics running within,” he said.
Ranbir Kapoor, who plays the role of Samar Pratap, the ultimate outsider who gets reluctantly sucked into the battle-ravaged arena of family rivalry only to turn into a master of the craft of politics, agreed to do the film because he was keen in doing something different.
“It is intriguing and engaging but I do not think I am qualified to make an entry into politics. I love acting and at the best. I can play the role of a politician on screen.
Politics is not something that I follow closely. After this film I will try to follow and be in tune,” he said.
Manoj Bajpayee, who plays the role of Veerendra Pratap, a man who believes he was born to rule in the film, noted that he grew up following politics closely.
“I was intrigued about politics and what goes behind the doors. My day goes empty if I do not read newspapers”, he said.
For the 41-year-old actor Dr Manmohan Singh is a picture of an ideal politician.
“My favourite politician over the ages kept on changing. But with Dr Manmohan Singh, I think we have got a deserving leader and PM who has the ability to take the country in the right direction, the direction we dreamt but never dared to take”, said Bajpayee.
