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Khan and the Father

Photo: R.V. Moorthy

Driven by passion Feroz Khan is now working on a social and political satire

If Raju Hirani’s Lage Raho Munna Bhai brought Mahatma Gandhi back into public consciousness, Feroz Abbas Khan’s Gandhi My Father confronted public with an uneasy truth — the Father of the Nation was not a perfect father after all. The subject of Gandhi’s relationship with his prodigal son (who loathed his father, became a Muslim, and was a drunkard) could have stirred a controversy, but Feroz’s mastery lay in the way he portrayed Gandhi’s imperfection without sensationalising it. He made his audience empathise with the human side of a leader whose national and social responsibilities shadowed his family life.

The film bagged the prestigious Asia-Pacific Screen Awards for Best Screenplay in 2007. And true to our national tradition of recognising good work after it is acclaimed abroad, Khan has now been named for two National Film Awards — Special Jury Award for Best Film and Best Screenplay Award. “Getting a National award is an honour and I am happy. But two years after the film I have moved on,” says Khan, in New Delhi recently to address the students of Asian Academy Of Film And Television, Noida. Three students of the Institute — Gurmeet Singh (first assistant director), Pratik Sapra (assistant director) and Ridhima Pandey (costume-in-charge) were part of his film unit.

However, Khan’s face lights up with the mention of the Asia Pacific Award. “That was a huge high. It was timely. And my film was the only Indian film that got nomination and it won the award.” Khan believes the film’s screenplay is bagging awards because “it breaks the usual norm of a protagonist and an antagonist. It raises questions, but never hurts the idea that is Gandhi.”

But he admits writing such a screenplay was not easy, especially when all that was available was a bunch of letters edited by Chandulal Dalal titled Harilal Gandhi: A Life. Gandhi’s personal life and his relation with his sons have never caught the fancy of his biographers, so tracing the other Gandhi was an arduous task. “Writing the script was ‘the’ most difficult part because I was travelling a whole lot of space from 1906 to 1948. My research took me to South Africa. There, Dr. Hashim Seedat, whose great grandfather was Gandhi’s confidante, took me to places like Tolstoy Farm, the house where Gandhi lived and walked the sense of time for me. Then I met Harilal’s daughter-in-law in Thiruvananthapuram and his granddaughter, read Chandulal Dalal’s Dinvani and an account of Gandhi’s life written by Millie Pollock when Gandhi was still alive. But the challenge was to be factually correct and dramatically intense. So I made it episodic in nature, jumping in time and space.”

At no point did Khan doubt the film’s acceptance because he knew he was “portraying the conflict between the value system of a principled father and the aspirations of his son.”

Despite accolades for his film, theatre remains close to Khan’s heart. For the man who gave us plays like “Salesman Ramlal” and “Mahatma Vs Gandhi” and has been instrumental in introducing the International Theatre Festivals in India, “theatre gives a high with its power of performance and direct audience interactions, while the celluloid is passive.”

Then why did he switch to films? “My wife pushed me,” pat comes the reply. If his wife made him believe that he could direct a film, late Jennifer Kapoor inspired him to become a full-time theatre professional. A commerce graduate from Mumbai’s Narsi Moonji College, Khan was actually studying to become a chartered accountant and was working in a firm. “Cliched it may sound but women are behind my success. Jennifer with her dedication to theatre and her sense of contentment convinced me that I can live a meaningful life by being a full-time theatre person. And my wife gave me the confidence that I can direct a good film,” he smiles broadly.

But what hurts Khan is the lack of support from the Union and State governments to the rich theatrical and folk traditions. “Theatre production has become so expensive that most groups are putting in money from their pocket. We need some decently equipped spaces at reasonable cost. Only Prithvi Theatre (Mumbai) and Shankar Nag Theatre (Bangalore) are two such affordable facilities. Habib Tanvir, Ratan Thiyam, K.N. Panikkar and others have done and are doing some extraordinary work, but where is the effort to promote that tradition?” Emotion rings out loud for his passion.

Right now Khan is busy with rehearsals for the revised version of his play, “Salesman Ramlal”, which he first directed for the stage in 1999. And he is again coming together with Anil Kapoor for his next film. “The film is a political and social satire. And has no stars,” he laughs.So how does he perceive the Mahatma? “A very complex and deeply inspiring person. To me, Gandhi became a greater human being as he struggled personally, socially and politically, but always put his principles and quest for human dignity above everything else,” he signs off.

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