A complete change of scene

Romance had never been a subject that Rajiv Rai tried his hand at, till of course ``Pyaar Ishq Aur Mohabbat'' happened. GIRIJA RAJENDRAN talks to the director who returns after a hiatus.

AFTER AN enforced four-year absence from the Bollywood scene, Rajiv Rai (``Gupt'') happily no longer looks like one who has gone through a nerve-shattering experience, a serious threat to his life - and to that of his father, Gulshan Rai (``Deewar''), the veteran producer. The threat from the underworld (still active in the Bollywood mainstream) came on the heels of Rajiv Rai's mega- hit ``Gupt'', that was released in 1997. It was a development that scared young Rajiv Rai out of his wits. He left India and settled down (with his family) in London. The upshot of it all was that Rajiv Rai's ``Pyaar Ishq Aur Mohabbat'' was shot, with London as its prime location. Rajiv Rai was back in Bollywood after four years, for the movie's release.

At his Trimurti Films' office, Rajiv Rai appeared quite relaxed, even charged, about how his highly expensive film, ``Pyaar Ishq Aur Mohabbat'', was going to be received by the audience.

Strange that you should have come up with your first romantic subject now, when your reputation rests upon your being a successful presenter of crime thrillers. Any motivation for this sudden transformation in outlook?

True enough all my earlier films have been suspense thrillers. For that very reason, I thought that the moment was ripe for a change of pace. Isn't it verily a stage in my career when I should be venturing into something different?

You seem to have gone in for a sea change in casting ideas too. This time out, in the case of ``Pyaar Ishq Aur Mohabbat'' - the title itself is unusual for your genre of movie-making and none of your old favourites is there in the roster. How come?

Why, haven't I worked with Sunil Shetty, before, in ``Mohra''? Sunil has been a personal friend - since our early days when neither of us had anything to do with films. If I've repeated him in ``Pyaar Ishq Aur Mohabbat'', Sunil is now playing a romantic character with a difference. No, that's not a cliche. Don't forget that I've been away from the thick of things here for four years. In that interregnum, I find that Sunil has grown as an actor, between ``Mohra'' and now. Initially, I had also wanted to cast my other buddy, Bobby Deol, in the role that is now being essayed by Arjun Rampal. However, since Bobby and I had worked together in just my last film, ``Gupt'', we gave up the idea. All the more so as Bobby couldn't manage the running dates for this London-based film of mine - shot there from start to finish, through 75 shooting days. That's what prompted me to sign up Arjun Rampal.

At least Aftab Shivdasani is a tried talent. Whatever made you sign such a prominent model as Arjun Rampal in a parallel lead alongside Aftab and Sunil? After all, Arjun is still to prove himself as an actor.

But Arjun is no new name to me. He and I have done together a music album, ``Don't Marry'', an album in which I could spot the latent talent in him as an actor. Actually, in ``Pyaar Ishq Aur Mohabbat'' now, you have to watch Arjun play the role of an ambitious and self-centred model to discern if my faith in him has been vindicated or not. Next, even before you ask me about Kirti Reddy, I say that this young lady - emerging as a revelation - has eminently filled the bill. Only after she fulfilled my basic script prerequisites did I also consider the fact that Kirti had the bulk dates to shoot uninterrupted for ``Pyaar Ishq Aur Mohabbat'', precisely the way I had planned it.

At one time, Naseeruddin Shah was integral to your cinematic oeuvre. - like in ``Tridev'' (1989), ``Vishwatma'' (1992) and ``Mohra'' (1994), all of which did reasonably well. Why have there been no more films after ``Mohra'' with a performer of Naseer's calibre?

At all times I shall feel honoured to have worked with Naseer - how I treasure my association with this incredibly versatile actor! Naseer was cast in my ``Tridev'' in a completely radical mould for him - as a serious-comic character. Since the ``Tridev'' days in 1988-89, I have shared a warm personal relationship with Naseer, we're not so much director-actor as two friends. But in ``Gupt'' - which was a taut murder mystery woven round two girls and a boy - there was no worthwhile role that Naseer could conceivably negotiate. That doesn't mean we might never get together again. Only Naseer's busy theatre activities have to permit him the time and the space to work at a stretch. Naseer is a total all-rounder as an actor. He had very good characters to portray both in my ``Vishwatma'' and ``Mohra''. Naseeruddin Shah remains an inseparable part of my career graph.

Did Kajol's growth as a performer surprise you? After she worked in your ``Gupt'' four years ago, she went on to become a major star as well as an eminently natural actress.

But it was I who tapped the versatile artistry in Kajol in ``Gupt''! Kajol had a complex role (as the psychopathic killer) in ``Gupt'' and she certainly brought a rare finesse to her etching of that character in the film. Kajol is an excellent actress who's not even begun to explore the true range of her versatility after ``Gupt''.

As the son of Gulshan Rai, one of our truly big-time producers through three decades now, how easy was it to get behind the camera and start directing ``Yudh'' in 1985?

Even before we started shooting for ``Yudh'', we had to make big changes in the casting. Sanjay Dutt was going through a rough patch in his personal life then, so we had no option but to replace him with Jackie Shroff. Sanjay was and still is very much a good friend. For all those teething troubles, ``Yudh'' did fairly well. That way, not one of my films has made my distributors lose money, though ``Tridev'', ``Mohra'' and ``Gupt'' are identified as my all-time successes.

In a career spanning 16 years, you have made but six films...

I wish I could make a film every year. But then my method of working seems to allow concentration only on one project at a time. I don't go on the floors till I have the final paperwork in hand. Next, I shoot, preferably, from start to finish.

Finally, has the runaway success of blockbusters such as ``Gadar'' and ``Lagaan'' been encouraging to you, since you are seeking to break away from the thriller genre with ``Pyaar Ishq Aur Mohabbat''?

That two such vastly variant themes as ``Lagaan'' and ``Gadar'' have caught audience fancy is an encouraging sign. For all that, right now, my mind is a blank, as I have invested all my energy in ``Pyaar Ishq Aur Mohabbat'' - in whose case I await the viewer verdict with bated breath.

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