Rahul Dholakia stayed in Kashmir for six months to do a research on his film Lamhaa. The director speaks with IBNMOVIES about shooting in the valley, the difficulties his actors went through and the incident which almost cost him his life.
OK, let’s talk about your journey? How did you get into film-making?
My father had an ad agency so I joined there as an intern. He paid me Rs 300 a month and my job was to sweep the floors, keep my mouth shut and ears open. Then I joined another ad filmmaker, Jyoti. There I served tea to everyone. In a year’s time, I started assisting her. Then I went to New York for a film-making course. I was the only Indian student in that academy. At the end of the course, I was given the best student award. There is a show called Naya Andaz in US and that is the longest running show over there. That has made been made by me. Then I came back to India, made Kehta Hai Dil Baar Baar followed by Parzania. 3-4 years later, I am now ready with Lamhaa.
You travel when you have to write a script. Do you prefer it that way?
Getting away from the world is a great way to write a script. You get to do a lot of brainstorming and you can completely focus on the script. I wrote Parzania in a car traveling from Orange County to San Francisco and other places with my co-writer David Donihue. I guess we traveled around 2200 miles. By the time we came back, our script was ready.
How different are writers in India from the Hollywood writers?
Oh, there is a big difference. In Parzania, I wanted to show a scene of cricket commentary and I told David to write that scene. In US, they play baseball and not cricket and he had no idea about that game. So, he actually learned how to play cricket, found out few rules, understood how things are on the field and then wrote the scene. Let’s reverse the situation in India. If a writer was given to write a baseball scene, he would have just watched few games and taken some cue from there. He wouldn’t have gone out to learn that game. So, that’s the answer to your question.
Ok. Let’s speak about your next film Lamhaa? The posters say that it is an untold story of Kashmir? What is so mysterious about that area?
The film is about Kashmir and it throws light on why it is the way it is today. Why Kashmir is burning? So, there is Sanjay Dutt, who is from military intelligence and he is sent there for a task. During his stay, he is exposed to many things about that area like politics, terrorism, problems of the people, and other things.
Any other story about Kashmir that is not there in the film and India is not aware of?
Ya, about their hospitality. Imagine, if an unexpected guest turns up at your place, you offer them tea or coffee and then may be some snacks. In between my shoot, I visited a Kashmiri family with my friend, Anil Raina. He is a journalist and he knew this family. So they gave us Kahva (Kashmiri tea). When we were about to leave, the lady of the house brings 2 kg of Kabab and they tell us you got to eat this. They were an average family. So when I told them, that I don’t want to eat it, they locked the main door. So, ya, I and my friend had to finish the entire meal. That’s their hospitality.
What about half-widows?
That is one of the most shocking things I came across. We have highlighted that part in the film also. Shehnaz Patel is playing that character. There is this village in the valley where around 400-500 women have no idea where their husbands are. They are missing. According to Islam, he is not dead as there is no evidence so the women cannot even re-marry. It’s a misery. Also, we have shot a scene in a cricket stadium where India and West Indies played a match in 1988. There was some problem at that time and the pitch was dug up due to which the match was called off.
Very shocking…Parzania is a film which came out of your personal experience. You had come down to Gujarat and that’s when the riots happened. You saw everything from close quarters. So was a trip to Kashmir that gave birth to the idea of Lamhaa?
No, the trip happened much later. I had gone to Delhi for the screening of Parzania. After the screening of the film, these school girls from Kashmir walk up to me and ask me why don’t you make a film on Kashmir? It is such a beautiful prison. I was kind of taken aback. So, next thing I was in Kashmir. I traveled to all the remote areas of Kashmir, stayed there for six months. Even explored those sensitive areas where the local people are not allowed to enter.
Let’s speak about the casting. Sanjay Dutt, Bipasha Basu and Kunal Kapoor. How did everything fall in place?
Sanjay Dutt is a very close friend of Bunty Walia. So, I met Sanjay to narrate the script. I just told him one line and he agreed to be a part of the film. The line that I told him is the slogan that you see on the posters. Kunal Kapoor was little skeptical. There were some 6-7 meetings with him. Actually, he was worried about how is role would be. Bipasha because, I wanted someone who has an internal as well as an external conflict and at the same time is also fearless.
Shooting in the valley must have been difficult.
To start with, we almost got shot. Now let’s get into details. I was filming a scene from inside the truck and a part of the lens was visible outside the window. The army guys thought it’s an attack and I got an idea what they were going to do next. Before they could pull their AK-47, I got down from the truck and yelled ‘don’t shoot, we are filming.’
Did the actors ever feel scared shooting in sensitive areas?
Bipasha left the shooting and came down to Mumbai because she got scared. I don’t blame her. It’s human to get scared. Right from day one, I told my actors, we are shooting in Kashmir and not anywhere else. Sometimes, Sanjay would sense it that the terrors are here. So he would tell me to pack up. Sanjay loves Kashmir and is very attached to the place.
What about the permission of shooting in such sensitive areas?
I didn’t take any permission. You know how it is. It would take ages to get all the formalities done.
And the action sequences?
For that, we built an entire set in Mumbai. There was no way of doing it out there. Any explosion out there would mean inviting lot of trouble.
Ready for 16th July?
Yup! Absolutely.
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