Lasyapriya Sundaram (BOMBAY TIMES; August 12, 2018)

Over the years, Milap Zaveri has penned stories, screenplays and dialogues for a slew of commercial films. After directing comedies, he has now taken on the mantle of helming an action thriller with Satyameva Jayate.

In a quick chat with BT, Milap talks about how this film is different from other cop films like Ardha Satya, Singham and Dabangg, and why he is not interested in making a self indulgent film. Excerpts...

Satyameva Jayate is the story of a vigilante vs cop. What inspired you to pen a film like this?
There was a lot of anger inside me about the way the system is functioning. Every cop is not corrupt, but in every sphere, there are good apples and bad apples. The law enforcers have a huge responsibility and if they start breaking the law, the common man will also follow suit. Satyameva Jayate stemmed from my anger towards society in general and towards myself for not doing something responsible as a filmmaker. Maybe, the anger towards myself stemmed from the sex comedies that I have made and also because of the fact that till now, I have not made any statement through my films. This film has a strong message and it is about following the path of truth. The characters played by John Abraham and Manoj Bajpayee too, want the same thing, but their paths are different. The basic message is, ‘Don’t be corrupt’. Despite being a cop drama, it’s different from Ardh Satya, Singham and Dabangg because there is a big twist in the plot.

In the film, you have deliberately taken some often quoted dialogues and called out the sexism that’s inherent in them. What prompted that?
‘Tune choodiyan pehni hai kya’ is one of the most ridiculously chauvinistic statements we have been making for eons. It’s all about one man insulting another man by saying that he is weak like a woman. This statement has always irritated me as a human being, as a writer and as a man. When we were shooting the scene, John suggested that we make it more impactful and that’s why we added a punchline. (John’s character asks a woman to slap the man who says, Tune choodiyan pehni hai kya’ and asks him never to utter the line again). I thought of the line on the spot.

You have written and directed commercial films so far. Is there a desire to make niche films as well?
As a viewer, I have varied tastes. I grew up on commercial potboilers, but I have the ability to enjoy films as different as Raazi, Parmanu: The Story Of Pokhran, Baaghi 2, Padmaavat and Sanju. As a writer, I seek the audience’s reaction in the theatre. I go to watch my own films and I love it when they clap, whistle and laugh. There is no greater high for an artiste than to feel and hear the appreciation from viewers. I have nothing against art films. Every kind of cinema is art. When people go to watch my films, pay a lot of money for the tickets and then end up feeling that they haven’t got their money’s worth, I feel that I have failed. If I am going to make an art film because I want my peers to look at me differently, I am being disloyal to the common man who comes to the theatres to watch my films. I don’t want to make films that only I end up watching. People believe that I play to the gallery. They are right because my sensibilities were shaped in those galleries. While growing up, I watched all the films at Gaiety-Galaxy (Bandra) amidst claps, whistles and chants of ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’.

You had made a mark as a writer, before turning director. Was filmmaking always your dream?
Every writer feels the urge to be a director. As a writer, you envisage the story in a certain way. A director sometimes enhances it, but there are also times when he doesn’t end up portraying things the way you imagined. The desire to bring the words written by you come alive on screen is what makes a writer want to be a director. The script is the backbone of a film, but a director has to be an expert in every department of filmmaking. It’s a huge responsibility; he has to face the bouquets as well as the brickbats.