“My character is a representation of 90 to 95 per cent of farmers in India. For a farmer, his land is his mother and he could do anything to get it back,” says Shreyas Talpade, with conviction, while speaking about his role in film Wah Taj, which released this week after a long wait.
His convincing power and ability to create a comical situation will be in evidence in this satire as Shreyas is playing a farmer who claims that the land on which the iconic Taj Mahal is built belongs to his forefathers. A fallacious argument but the actor, who came into prominence with Iqbal , believes he has done justice to the role of Tukaram.
Shreyas, who demonstrated his acting calibre in Hindi as well as Marathi films, likes to work in message-oriented films which raise issues in a light-hearted manner.
Exceprts:
Why the film is named as Wah Taj ?
Wah Taj is the title of the film as the story revolves around Taj, which in a way helps Tukaram to fight and get justice in his mission. So it is probably a heartfelt thing when Tukaram says, ‘Thank you Taj’ by the end of the film.
Share with us journey of the film?
First of all, I feel the subject is extremely unique and original which appealed to me. And then my role is an interesting one. I like the dialogues. My very first line, which is the line of the promo as well, is ‘Aae sundari yeh Taj Mahal itna bada hai, itna khoobsurat hai isko todne men bada time lagega’. It is obviously funny but at the same time interesting also. So, as a journey and as a role it is a complete package for me covering all the aspects very well.
How is Tukaram like?
The story is about a Maharashtrian farmer and his wife who suddenly one day migrate to Agra. While standing in front of Taj Mahal, the farmer and his wife utter that the land on which Taj Mahal is built belongs to them and their ancestors. They want it back. People think Tukaram is crazy but the way I mould, convince and manipulate them to his advantage will be fun to watch. And, of course, towards the end people will get to know who he is in reality and what is his agenda.
What hooked you to the story?
The most important thing was that the director and writer came to me with an original content-driven story. Not copy of a regional film. They literally took five minutes, narrated me the storyline that one person travels all the way from Maharashtra to Agra and says that the land on which Taj Mahal is built belongs to him. My reaction was ‘oh! then what happens next? So, it made me curious and after hearing the narration, the whole film was in front of my eyes. It made me feel that I should be part of this film.
What is the tome of the film?
The film is basically a satire and tries to deliver a very strong and deep message to all the people. The film shows the pain and problems which the farmers are dealing with across the country and how they are fighting back these situations in a humorous and light-hearted way.
Was the controversy surrounding the film intentional?
No, I don’t think it was intentional. If you see the previous films of mine, there was no controversy at all. Wah Taj is a low budget film with limited resources. The idea was to create a great impact with limited resources. As promotional strategy, we launched our poster which stated that Taj Mahal will be shut for the tourists from September 23. This was done with the intent to create curiosity among the people but it was taken in another way. We apologised to everyone as there was no intention to hurt sentiments of anyone. It is just a film but since it created controversy so we dropped the idea. But the film is very positive and we want this positivity to be taken in the right spirit.
How important is it for you to do a film which not only focuses on entertainment but also has message?
It is really very important; there are certain films which are made purely for entertainment. We don’t need to think too much about them. But on the other hand there are films which deliver very strong message or at least leave you with some thoughts. According to me, it’s important that such films reach out to maximum number of people. A recent example which is similar to this film is OMG- Oh My God which delivers a very strong message to the audience. People may not change overnight but a film definitely makes people think about certain importtant issues.
