Meera Vohra (BOMBAY TIMES; February 3, 2019)

Kumbh and Bollywood are inseparable. Many of us have grown up on the done-to-death filmy line, ‘Kumbh ke mele mein bichade hue bhai’. That love affair, which dates back to the black-and-white era, continues till date. The ongoing Kumbh Mela at Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, like the grand festival in earlier years, has been generating a lot of interest among filmmakers, who are keen on capturing the largest human congregation for the big screen.

PROJECTS IN THE PIPELINE
Director Prakash Jha, who has made films like Raajneeti and Gangaajal, was recently spotted at the Kumbh Mela and it seems that he turned his spiritual sojourn into a work trip — he reportedly did a recce for his upcoming film there. “The director is likely to shoot some of the scenes for his forthcoming film on one of the important maha snan days of the mela. Accompanied by his team, the director had explored the mela area extensively,” a source tells us.

The Bhoole Bhatke Shivir, the camp that reunites the people separated from their families during the Kumbh, is all set to be the theme of the next project of producer Siddharth Roy Kapur. “Some members of the production house came to meet me in October last year, as they wanted to make a film on my father, late Rajaram Tiwari, and his work of reuniting the people who get lost during the mela. In November, I was invited to Mumbai for a meeting with Siddharth,” says Umesh Chandra Tiwari, who is now the president of the organisation running the camp.

Director Shree Narayan Singh of Toilet - Ek Prem Katha fame intends to capture some moments of the Kumbh on his visit to Prayagraj. “My next film is based in this space and I wanted to see and observe Kumbh more closely so that when I start shooting, this visit helps me recreate the scene for the film,” he says.

Work is already on for a documentary on Kumbh by Subhash Ghai’s production house. The Taal director will be visiting the mela sometime this month. “The Kumbh is being covered by us with the intention of making a documentary by using Virtual Reality (VR) technology. We have plans to send the documentary to world libraries, including that of the UNESCO, so that the world gets to know what the mela is all about. Kumbh Mela, I feel, is the biggest example of our rich cultural heritage. The documentary is being made under my supervision, for which I have even penned the script,” Ghai says.

He adds, “Hindi films have a strong connect with Kumbh Mela as a lot of our stories in the past have revolved around the lost and found formula. Even the heroes of our films came from shores of river Ganga — that also gives us the best visuals, if we want to depict Indian culture. Now, the world is also taking notice of this biggest human gathering as the Kumbh Mela has also been recognised by the UNESCO as India’s Intangible Cultural Heritage. Even in the past, a well-researched documentary on the Kumbh had been made by us, which is being used by Tourism Department.”


DIFFICULT TO GET PERMISSION TO SHOOT IN KUMBH: FILMMAKERS
Getting permission from the Mela authorities to shoot with a big crew with known artistes, however, is a difficult proposition. So some of the filmmakers are going in for guerrilla shoot, during the mela. Film writer Dhiraj Mishra, who is making his directorial debut with his film Vimoksha, says, “The major part of my film is based on Kumbh, so I will resort to some guerrilla shooting, as the Mela administration is reluctant to give permission for a proper shoot, closer to the major snans, due to security reasons.”

Line producer Sanjay Verma, who has got queries for nearly 25 projects based on Kumbh, tells us, “We are still awaiting permission for their shoots. In some cases, we are going in for guerrilla shoot. A film from South, with a crew of 200 people, wanted to shoot during the Kumbh. But as it would have been difficult to move them from one place to the other in the mela area, the idea was dropped. Everyone wants to shoot during this time as it is difficult to recreate the flavour of Kumbh later,” he says.

Filmmaker Tigmanshu Dhulia, who was in Prayagraj to shoot some sequence of his film, Milan Talkies, a few days back, says, “Kumbh Mela cannot be recreated. Though I did not go to the mela area this time, but my first film Haasil was shot there. The magnitude, vibrant colour and diversity of the Kumbh Mela cannot be recreated – that is what makes it so special from a filmmaker’s perspective,” says the Saheb Biwi Aur Gangster director.

“Shooting in Kumbh is once-in-a-lifetime experience,” says Mukkabaaz actor Vineet Kumar Singh, who was in Prayagraj during the last Kumbh (2013) for the shoot of an Anurag Kashyap film. “We had stayed in the tents in the mela area and had the camera’s ready. Humne shoot kaafi natural tarike se kiya tha. I went like an ordinary traveller to meet the sadhus, which was canned and later incorporated in the film. We became part of the massive crowd. It was both great fun and challenge to shoot in the Kumbh Mela,” he says.

Avinash Lohana (MUMBAI MIRROR; July 2, 2018)

Anita Raj, who was last seen on the big screen in Samir Karnik’s 2012 romcom Chaar Din Ki Chandni, is set for a comeback. The actress will be seen in the biopic of Deendayal Upadhyay, an RSS thinker and co-founder of the political party Bharatiya Jana Sangh, the precursor to Bharatiya Janata Party, as his sworn sister Lata Khanna.

“I was really impressed with the story and immediately agreed to be a part of the film. It’s a profound role as during Deendayal ji’s last days, his sister Lata played an important role. I don’t know much about her and will start my research soon with the guidance of our writer Dhiraj Mishra,” Anita tells Mirror.

The actress had featured in Ramesh Bedi’s 1996 film Gehra Raaz, which was followed by Aanand L Rai’s Thodi Life Thoda Magic in 2008. Ask her about the long absence from the big screen and she says, “It was intentional as nothing interesting was coming my way. Also, I was concentrating on my family and workouts as I am a heath freak. But times have changed, and better roles are now being written for actresses. I took up TV shows, 24 and Ek Tha Raja Ek Thi Rani and thoroughly enjoyed doing them. As an actor I don’t see any difference between films and TV.”

Reiterating that she would never regret the sabbaticals, Anita says that she has fond memories of her early days in the industry. “I have worked extensively with Sanju (Sanjay Dutt), Dharam ji (Dharmendra), Raj ji (Babbar), Shatru ji (Shatrughan Sinha), and Mithun (Mithun Chakraborty). All of them were really kind to me. I learnt a lot while working with them. From the time I entered the industry with Prem Geet, I was always treated well as everyone respected my father (actor Jagdish Raj). It was because of him that I came into the industry,” she signs off.

Mohar Basu (MID-DAY; December 8, 2016)

There's no balanced way to make a film on separatist leader Afzal Guru, who was hanged to death on February 9, 2013, three after being convicted in the 2001 Parliament attacks. But, producer Ghanshyam Patel is up for the challenge. His next titled Gaalib will shed light on Guru’s life and will be narrated from his son Galib’s perspective. Debutante Nikhil Pitaley has been signed to play the title role. The film rolls in January.

The film’s writer Dhiraj Mishra says, “I have spoken to Guru’s family over phone many times. I was ready to fly down to meet them, but it hasn’t materialised so far. In the last few months, safety in the Jammu & Kashmir region has been a concern due to tense political situation. I thought of the film when I heard Guru’s son topped in the J&K in Class 10 Board exams. For a child, whose father was tried for treason and hanged, it must have been painful. But he never let that affect his psyche. I researched about the family and found out that Galib had met his father once in jail. He’d apparently told young Galib not to seek revenge. He gifted him a pen and diary. This film could set an example for several Kashmiri boys.”

Talking about his interaction with Galib, Dhiraj said, “He said his father in his last days admitted he had made a mistake. Someone had helped get on a call with him a Baramullah. Galib said he was a great dad, but not a good civilian. He is barely 16 years old. He earlier used to feel the pinch of people’s gaze. Yes, many Kashmiris harbour the feeling of hurt but many of them are nationalists for whom Guru was a villain. He didn’t want to be the culprit of his father’s crimes. He felt the urge to avenge his dad’s death, but his father’s humanity affected him more. I will change the character names but it felt right to name the film Gaalib as a tribute to the boy’s spirit.”

Sonali Joshi Pitale (MID-DAY; October 14, 2015)

Last month, hitlist had reported about a biopic being planned on Bengal rebel Khudiram Bose, who laid down his life for the country at 17. Now, we learn that a young theatre artiste will play the title role. Interestingly, the makers zeroed in on Kanishk Kumar Jain, 21, after stumbling on one of his social media accounts.

“Apart from doing theatre, I have worked in a Hindi film starring Rajpal Yadav and an unreleased international film. I had posted stills of my work on a social networking site. Dhiraj Mishra, who has written the script of the biopic, happened to see them and called me for the audition. After several rounds, I was selected for the role,” says Kanishk.

While Jain was chosen from among 1200- odd aspirants, he didn’t know what character he would play. Kanishk says, “I found out only recently that I have been signed for the lead role. It is going to be a bit of a task since there is barely any material available on him. My personality fits Khudiram’s, but I will have to do thorough research on him. We will be travelling to his native place in Bengal to learn more.”

The film is likely to go on floors next week.

Sonali Joshi Pitale (MID-DAY; August 24, 2015)

Five months ago, a film on Chapekar Brothers was announced in which Om Puri was supposed to play the role of Bal Gangadhar Tilak. However, it has now emerged that the veteran actor has opted out of the film and the director, too, has been replaced.

Dhiraj Mishra, the film’s writer, says, “We started shooting for the film a few months ago, but our director Milann Ajmera fell sick following which we had to halt the shoot for a few days. Since it was being delayed, we decided to replace him with Devendra Pandey. Later, when everything was going as per plan, we realised that Om Puri had date issues. We tried to sort things out and had a discussion with him, but it didn’t work out. So, we had to sign Govind Namdev in his place.”

A Marathi film on Chapekar Brothers, who contributed to India’s freedom struggle in 1897, had been
made 26 years ago. Dhiraj, however, insists that the upcoming film is completely different from the earlier one. He says he met the descendants of Tilak as well as the Chapekars as part of his research. Says the writer, “I have spoken to them and they are aware that I am making a film in Hindi. They were happy that people will get to know about the Chapekars’ unsung story. They gave me many important documents. They even told me about a temple in Kalbadevi which belongs to the Chapekars and that there is a trust in their name which caters to fisherfolk’s kids and florists in Mumbai. Whatever profit my film makes, 50 per cent of it will go to the trust."