Change is always inevitable. And while some move with the shifting sands of time, others struggle to cope with it. That is the premise of Mantra , which was released on March 17. The film deals with the changes in the millennium.
Starring Rajat Kapoor, Kalki Koechlin, Shiv Pandit, Adil Hussain, Lushin Dubey and others, directed by Nicholas Kharkongor, Mantra is set in 2004 when one part of the country was glorifying the India Shining campaign while another was struggling in the wake of the globalisation wave. The protagonist, Kapil Kapoor (played by Rajat), is the founder of an Indian snack brand but things change for the worse in 2004 when a multinational company takes over the market. Meanwhile, his troubles at home only aggregate the situation. How he overcomes the mounting odds is what the rest of the film is all about. In the city to promote the film, Kalki and Rajat talk about their experience.
Kalki, who plays Rajat’s daughter, a chef who is trying to bridge her personal independence and her family attachment, says the film has a personal connect with her. “I grew up in the 90s and have really fond memories of the time. I remember Uncle Chips and Pepsi ruled the market and suddenly there was a boom. I did not feel the impact much but I remember my parents talking about how India had become like the West.”
Playing Piya Kapoor in the film, Kalki says her character is a 30-year-old modern chef who is emotionally bound to her family and is trying to find a footing in society and establish herself. “Although set in the previous decade, many women can relate to the film even today. Adil Hossain, who plays a delivery boy from a Chinese restaurant, helps me (an upper class girl in the film) deal with my troubles. We develop a strange bond in the film and I feel it makes for some really touching scenes.
Rajat, who is very attached to the script and shares a good bond with the director, describes the film as a ‘collaborative art’. “It’s not just the actors who are performing on screen, a lot of crucial roles are played by the people behind the curtain. Any film is a joint effort of the cameramen, background people, editing team and other staff who are all involved and play a pivotal role in the production.”
He adds that he feels very close to the script. “I was lucky enough to read the first draft of the script and immediately liked it. I have spent a lot of time with it and the entire team is excellent. The most interesting scene to me was when the protagonist, who is a bottled up person and always faking a smile to cover his inner most feelings, reveals his real emotions when he is alone in the bathroom. That was a very intense scene and I enjoyed it even though personally I do not relate to it.”
