Niharika Lal (BOMBAY TIMES; December 2, 2019)

Speaking on the first day of the Times LitFest Delhi, Gulshan Grover, whose film I Am Kalam (2011) won multiple awards, told the audience that he had initially decided not to do the film, but after hearing the storyline, he was so impressed that not only did he change his mind but he decided to do the film for free. Gulshan said, “When I was offered I Am Kalam, I decided not to do the film because the budget of the entire film was equal to my fee. But when I heard the story, I was so impressed that I decided to do it for free. I have huge respect and love for the producers of the film, and Nila Madhab Panda, our director.”

In reply to a question about his inclination towards villainous roles, Gulshan said, “I have been offered a hero’s role several times but I always turned them down. I never wanted to be a hero.” He added, “When I came to the film industry (in the ’80s), the actors didn’t want to change their look for a film. They didn’t even want to put on a fake moustache while playing the role of a police officer. I was the one who changed this by experimenting with my looks, and now actors like Aamir Khan go through the process of changing their looks to make the character look real.”

Talking about the work he has done in foreign films, the actor said, “When I went to Hollywood, our films used to be screened at film festivals. They didn’t know much about Bollywood, be it Amitabh Bachchan’s films or Dilip Kumar’s, which has now changed.”

Nila Madhab Panda, the director who made I Am Kalam speaks about his encounters with the departed visionary
Subhash K Jha (DNA; July 29, 2015)


Nila recalls the gentle intellectual giant with much affection. “I came from a similar background as Dr Kalam, where basic education and survival were an issue. Then when I became a filmmaker, I made feature length documentary for Barbara Broccoli. For this documentary, I met lot of street children. The thing that haunted me the most was their dreams. I had seen the dreams in the eyes of these children I met on the streets, railway stations, brick factories and brothels.”

That’s when Nila began planning his film on Kalam. “I used to read a lot on Dr Kalam. I always thought of making a film which can inspire children, and tried to think of a hero, who can inspire. Ab hero isss desh mein hain kitney, aur kahaan? I felt the most inspiring living hero for our children was Dr Kalam. He was a true leader, a true hero.”

Remembering his first meeting with Dr Kalam, Nila grows emotional. “The first thing he said to me was, ‘Come come, you have a great smile, it means you have a good soul.’ He held my hand and asked me, ‘Are you married?’ I said yes. Then, he asked, ‘Are you with family after marriage or separated from family?’ I said, my family is in the village, but I am in the city because of my profession. It was then that Dr Kalam made a beautiful statement, which I can never forget. He said to me, ‘Joint family means growth, prosperity, love, trust, blessings unity....nuclear family ..you are finished.” Nila also can never forget the time he spent with Dr Kalam during and after he made the film. “Apart from being a president or scientist, Dr Kalam’s understanding of modern India and its cultural heritage was unmatched by any other living leader. He was a star which you can’t touch but can feel in every sphere of activity,” he says.

Nila’s film will remain a cinematic legacy of the great man’s reach and influence. He says, “I simply made a film on his philosophy and his statements, and it became a super hit. You know, he was not into self-congratulation, so instead of talking about himself after my film he said ‘Good you are spreading some good message for the new generation’. Our generation never met Mahatma Gandhi, Lal Bahadur Shastri or Jawaharlal Nehru. But we are lucky and proud to have had such a great living legend in our midst. A true hero of modern India.”