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A cult above the rest!

Sukanya Verma

The scene: A smoke-filled room. Coloured lights. Bright dance floor. Some ditzily dressed dancers. Beer guzzlers.
The result: A bar with a cabaret, created at Bombay's Natraj Studios
The people in front of the camera: Kashmira Shah, Manoj Bajpai, Kishore Namkar.
The people behind the camera: Choreographer Remo and director Hansal Mehta.

The film: Dil Pe Mat Le Yaar. This is the final schedule of the Talking Pictures film, starring Manoj Bajpai and Tabu. DPMLY is expected to hit the theatres on September 1. (One might add that its pre-release reports are rather impressive.)

The situation: Manoj Bajpai is on the lookout for a man who is said to be in this bar. Just ripe for a raunchy filmi song. As if on cue, Kashmira Shah taps out a few practice steps along with a bunch of giggly co-dancers dressed in shimmering maroon singlets and silver miniskirts. All under Remo's watchful eyes.

From the director's chair: Hansal Mehta, a qualified engineer, is the brain behind the popular television show, Khana Khazana, and director of the critically acclaimed film, Jayate, which was screened at the Indian Film Panorama.

"It is very difficult to describe the genre of my film. As a film-maker, I believe in telling the story. I'm not bothered about genres. DPMLY is a novel way of telling that story. It also has elements of humour.

"Actually, the title itself epitomises the spirit of the film. Even though things go very wrong for the protagonist, we're saying don't take things to heart. And we've tried to maintain that spirit throughout the film. It is energetic, with generous doses of humour. I hesitate to call it a comedy. It's black comedy, if you will.

"It's a film for a mature audience. I don't think kids should watch it. But then, if a 15-year-old kid can watch films like Pulp Fiction, there's no reason why he can't watch a black comedy like DPMLY. The film certainly has a message. It isn't a black comedy for the heck of it.

"Manoj and Tabu were a logical choice for me. I've known Manoj for the last seven years. We started out together and have been through pretty rough times. And we had decided that the day things started looking up for both of us, we'd make a film together. I didn't have to look anywhere. It just had to be Manoj.

As for Tabu, she's an actress I'm very fond of and admire. My foray into films began with Maachis. It was a path-breaking film for her. I had approached Tabu one-and-a-half years ago for another script. We hit it off and have been great e-pals since! So when I decided to make a film, Tabu it had to be. She plays a journalist who eventually writes a script for Mahesh Bhatt, who plays himself in the film. Bhatt, in fact, is one of the high points of the film.

"I think the reason why the film has garnered such good response in the trade circuits and in the industry in general is because of its unusual, yet appealing, presentation. And Manoj. With Satya and Shool, he has reaffirmed that he's one of the finest actors today. Also, what works for us is, this is a role he hasn't worked on before. This is no angry young man role."

The mark of a villain: He sits around with a pensive look. His clothes make a statement. A loud, gaudy one. For DPMLY at least, it seems clothes maketh the villain! Starting with one-act plays in school and college, Kishore Namkar has enjoyed a 16-year-long stint in theatre, working with greats like Satyadev Dubey. He has also worked with Govind Nihalani and Shyam Benegal (Antarnath, Mammo and last year's national award-winning Samar, in which he had the main role). He also acted in Amol Palekar's Bangarwadi and is working on his latest bilingual film, Kal Ka Aadmi:

"I think it is quite necessary for every actor to have stage experience before facing the camera. It helps a lot. I'd worked with Hansal Mehta in Jayate and we hit it off instantly. Mine is a small, but important, role in DPMLY. And yes, it's quite different. It could even become a cult film."

Famous last words.