Filmmaker Ketan Mehta comes out in support of Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s period drama
Lasyapriya Sundaram (BOMBAY TIMES; November 17, 2017)

While the controversies around Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Padmavati refuse to die down, the film has sparked a multi-layered debate within the industry, the royal descendants, political circles and movie-lovers. In the past, various films based on Indian history have been made by Indian filmmakers. And in the last decade alone, several films based on India’s struggle for Independence including Mangal Pandey: The Rising and Bose: The Forgotten Hero have been attempted by Ketan Mehta and Shyam Benegal respectively.

Mangal Pandey: The Rising, which was about the soldier who played a key role in sparking off the revolt of 1857 against the British, faced opposition from various pockets. Rang Rasiya, that revolved around the life of painter Raja Ravi Verma, also faced severe flak from various corners. When we asked Ketan if a filmmaker has the creative license to interpret historical facts, and if there is a difference between a historical film and historical fiction, he said, “When a filmmaker takes historical material and characters, and works a narrative around them, the boundary between fiction and non-fiction blurs. As it is you are trying to condense a lifetime and large chunks of time into a feature film. You’re connecting things for dramatic purposes. It’s the idea behind the narrative that counts more than authenticity of facts. History is written from various perspectives. I believe that human history is my heritage as a creative person and what then I am communicating is more important than mere historical facts. Each person interprets history and culture in his own way, and in a free society that’s every filmmaker’s right.”

While historical narratives in Hollywood are a regular fare and often filmmakers take liberties while interpreting history, Bollywood filmmakers end up facing criticism and are also forced to battle fringe bodies that resort to violence to induce fear.

Ketan explained, “Hollywood is less insecure. We haven’t overcome our post-colonial hangover. We are still in the process of reinventing our identity as a nation. So, sectarian interests take precedence because our identity is still being formed.”

Talking about the ire faced by him for his films on Mangal Pandey and Raja Ravi Verma, the filmmaker says, “Unfortunately, in our country we have not liberated our mind yet. It’s time that we do so. We have liberated the country and the economy. Now, It’s time to liberate our mind. Otherwise, we will keep regressing into our cocoons. Filmmakers and films are the softest targets available. It gives some the opportunity to grind their own axe and guard their sectarian interests. I hope the government stands by creative freedom and allows every kind of voice to flourish.”