Back on the scene with the Anushka Sharma-backed Bulbbul, Rahul Bose on greenlighting director Dutt's thriller
Shaheen Parkar (MID-DAY; June 28, 2020)

Following his performance in Dil Dhadakne Do (2015) and Vishwaroopam II (2018), and a directorial stint with Poorna (2017), Rahul Bose is back with the Netflix film, Bulbbul. The period horror also marks his digital debut. "I am also in the middle of two web series, but at this juncture, I can't talk about them. So, that makes Bulbbul my first web outing," says Bose.

He admits that the web platform is the go-to medium in the current scenario, but doesn't find a compulsive need to compare it with a theatrical screening. He is optimistic that post the pandemic, "movies, theatre, and television will flourish again."

In his three-decade long career, Bose has worked with a dozen debutante directors, making Bulbbul director Anvita Dutt yet another addition to that list. "What I look for in a director is vision and passion; there has to be a real need to tell the story. Anvita is a new voice. That's unusual because most directors find their calling several years into their profession. No one can guess that Bulbbul is a debutant's work." And while this is their first collaboration as director-actor, Bose had previously associated with Anvita on Poorna. "She had written a song for the film, but we did not use it."

When his film commitments don't occupy his attention, he keeps himself busy by managing the two NGOs that he has been running for 15 years—one for children's education and the other for child sexual abuse survivors. "It's a part of my life, I don't like to talk much about it. It's between me and the kids," says Bose who is also penning his next directorial venture, which may roll next year.

The actor-filmmaker, known for his meaningful cinema and sharp performances, has decided to approach cinema differently, thanks to his experience with Poorna
Rachana Dubey (BOMBAY TIMES; January 3, 2019)

As 2019 has begun to unfold, Rahul Bose has his eyes set on a couple of things — his upcoming films as both an actor and director. And before all of that, he’s also looking forward to releasing Poorna: Courage Has No Limit in China. “That’s where the profits will come in from,” he says. He insists that while the experience of making and releasing his second directorial project has been satisfactory, he wasn’t quite prepared for the fact that small towns in India didn’t have too many footfalls. He says, “I thought India would react very well to a film like Poorna and what eventually happened gave me a jolt that I wasn’t absolutely prepared for. I thought her story would move people. She’s a tribal kid, from a disadvantaged background and a girl child who triumphed against all odds. She held the national flag aloft Mount Everest. I mean it had everything to attract people and the rude shock was that the small town folks didn’t lap it up. So, moving forward, nothing changes my content. I will make the kind of films I believe in, but they need to have a recognizable face headlining the cast. I’ve realised India doesn’t get interested in a mainstream film without a face. We’ve made some fantastic sports films off late, but they’re costly because of the actor’s heft. I won’t direct another film without a known face.” The actor has also been offered an international film where the American production house wants him to direct and act in the film, too.

CINEMA AND ITS SHACKLES
The experience with Poorna has only cemented Rahul's belief that cinema should achieve a balance between commerce and art. He explains, “If someone thinks cinema is pure art, they’re wrong. Why is it that some stars get paid better than others? It’s because they command that price and they bring in the audience. At film festivals, conversations suggest that cinema is pure art. It’s not. If you understand that thought, then you will understand why films can never tackle certain ‘taboo’ themes and why some markets don’t have great movies.” He also feels that the era in which a film is made, influences the treatment and the writing. He adds, “Every era revisits a story in its own way. In the 1950s, you could show that a guy marries a dark-skinned girl despite the complexion. Today, that story would be about the girl seeking validation elsewhere, because she doesn’t need marriage for that. Cinema really doesn’t allow space for a story to be redefined in the real sense. That can happens in other media, where money is not a constraint; experimental theatre for instance. However, things are changing fast and a decade later, we may not be discussing this either.”

In the last year alone, several films were politically attacked for their content before the release. Talking about this, he says, “Cinema has always been shackled and off late, the shackles have only increased. That is bad news for mainstream cinema. Commercial considerations anyway force the writers to not write certain things and now with newer considerations, it will be about the lowest common denominator. Cinema will no more provoke, excite and move you, because it won’t run any risks. This world will be full of big sci-fi films, where you don’t offend anyone. The optimistic side of me, even in these dangerous times, believes that art is subversive and it always finds a way to be expressed.” 

As told to Roshmila Bhattacharya (MUMBAI MIRROR; May 21, 2018)

After graduating in commerce from Mumbai’s Sydenham College, I immediately got admission to an MBA course in the US. But they suggested I get some work experience first so I joined Mahindra & Mahindra’s Jeep division and discovered that I enjoyed advertising far more than marketing. I wanted to be a copy writer so I dashed off a mock campaign for the CJ-340 jeep which went something like ‘Feels like a car, rides like a buggy and looks like a dream’. I mailed it off to three top ad agencies, Trikaya Grey, Rediffusion Y & R and Enterprise and the first two offered me a job without even taking a copy test. Without waiting for the third interview, I took up the Rediffusion job. I was 22 and worked at the agency for five years.

I joined as a trainee but quickly graduated to writing copy. The first campaign was for a shaving cream which was along the lines, “In the stillness of the morning, everything waits, the water waits, the razor quivers…” V Shantakumar was the creative director, Nitin Beri the art director and it was filmed by Mahesh Mathai. I went on to do several other campaigns for everything, from magazines and soft drinks to hotels and corporate ads. A corporate ad I worked on as a freelancer for a city eveninger bagged me the prestigious CAG (Communication Arts Guild).

At 25, I was offered English, August, Dev Benegal’s directorial debut based on Upamanyu Chatterjee novel by the same name. The agency gave me two months off to go and shoot the film after two decades in theatre. I had been on stage since I was six and in the second standard, I played Tom in a play titled Tom, The Piper’s Son, and it was like my home, I belonged there, theatre made me feel strong, confident and loved. I’d done professional theatre for four years in Mumbai, working in Rahul D’Cunha’s Are There Tigers in the Congo? and Prithvi Theatre’s The Sandbox among others. I was excited about the film offer too but I quickly realised that facing the movie camera was a completely different ball game. There is no immediate feedback from the audience and after a while I began to rely on my instincts. If your mind and heart is clean and uncluttered, your instincts almost never let you down.

After English, August I returned to advertising. I enjoyed the freedom the job gave me. I worked from 10 am to midnight most days, but timings were flexible and I could go hop off to the gym in the afternoon and come to the office in shorts. The money was really good and there was no hierarchy. My bosses, Arun Nanda and Ajit Balakrishnan, were Arun and Ajit to me, and even Shantakumar was Shanta.

I must have been not too shabby at my job because I was promoted to creative director at the age of 26. That was a big high though I was unhappy about going out for dinner and drinks with clients after office hours and told my bosses I wasn’t going to do it. They respected my decision. It also upset me that for the first time in my life, I had no time for theatre for a year.

Meanwhile, English, August which was in post-production for over a year, finally released in 1994 and was critically acclaimed. It was the first indie film to break the stranglehold of mainstrem Hindi cinema. Many in ad circles dabbled in theatre, but no one had played the lead in a feature film. Amidst all the congratulations, I surprised everyone by quitting advertising to become a full-time actor. My dad was aghast, “What will happen now?” he wondered. I told him I had two-months salary and Ajit amd Arun had assured me their doors were always open to me. If things didn’t work out, I could always go back. But I didn’t have to.

I was offered a daily soap, A Mouthful Of Sky, which gave me a monthly income for a year. Fiction television is not my medium but the soap paid me as much as I got as a creative director and gave me my financial independence. Then, Bombay Boys happened, and after that one film followed the other.

Over the years, I’ve occasionally brainstormed with friends on campaigns and even acted in a few commercials and endorsements. My experience as creative director has also helped me position my movies correctly, design the logo and brochures of my foundation, come up with innovative promotion ideas for films like Poorna which had a limited budget to play upon a popular phrase, you can take a person out of advertising but you can never take advertising out of a person.

Debarati Sen (BOMBAY TIMES; June 16, 2017)

Zakir Hussain will cheer on Arijit Singh, Salim-Sulaiman and his protégé Raj Pandit at the music launch of Rahul Bose’s next directorial
Sanyukta Iyer (MUMBAI MIRROR; March 3, 2017)


Sixteen years after tabla maestro Ustad Zakir Hussain collaborated with Rahul Bose on his directorial debut, Everybody Says I’m Fine, the duo will re-unite at a suburban theatre today for the music launch of Rahul’s upcoming directorial, Poorna.

The Padma Shri who composed the 15-track album, performing three of them, “Zindagi”, “Discovery” and “Somewhere”, for the 2001 film, is not a part of Poorna but his protégé, Raj Pandit, is one of the playback singers. But the Ustad will be launching the album with the other singers.

“Zakir is always there when I need him,” says Rahul who shares a close friendship with the maestro who often plays the piano and sings in the choir at Rahul’s charitable events.

The event will also have live acts by Salim-Sulaiman who’ve composed the album and Arijit Singh who has crooned two songs, “Kuch Parbat Hilayein” and “Babul Mora”.

“I wanted the music of Poorna to be soulful, emotional and inspirational. I narrated the story to Salim-Sulaiman and they immediately came on board,” says Rahul, adding that Amitabh Bhattacharya as the lyricist was a boon. “And I’m also delighted to have Zakirbhai join the live jamming session. All the singers are excited to meet Zakirbhai too,” Rahul beams.

Poorna follows the journey of Poorna Malavath, the youngest girl to climb Mount Everest, at 13.

“The film talks about gender equality, asserting that girls who dare to dream are determined to succeed too. The music had to be just as inspirational as the real-life journey,” Rahul signs off.

Rahul Bose's directorial comeback gets a one-of-its-kind promotion as its real-life heroine gears up to unveil the first look at the Mount Kilimanjaro summit in Africa
Avinash Lohana (MUMBAI MIRROR; August 9, 2016)

Mirror (May 23) was the first to report about Rahul Bose's return to direction 15 years after Everybody Says I'm Fine with his first home production, Poorna. Based on the life of Malavath Poorna, the biopic traces the Telangana girl's journey to a world record as she became the world's youngest girl to scale Mount Everest on May 25, 2014. Now, Mirror has learnt that Poorna who is gearing up for her next expedition, to Africa's Mount Kilimanjaro with 17 other girls, will unveil the film's first look at the mountain summit on India's Independence Day.

"We gave her two water-proof posters to carry along. She begins her ascent on August 10 and will unfurl the longest National Flag ever on August 15 at the summit," says an excited Rahul who is busy with the film's post-production at the moment. While Rahul and Poorna's mentor, Dr RS Praveen Kumar, who the actor-filmmaker is playing in the film, won't be able to accompany her, the youngster's trainer, Shekhar Babu, reunites with her after the Everest expedition.

"We are three weeks away from receiving the first copy of the film so I can't think of going anywhere. Also, I would have had to undergo training if I wanted to make the climb," reasons Rahul who is eyeing a November release and will kick off promotions two months in advance with a country-wide campaign where, besides the trailer, he will also showcase actual footage, giving audiences a firsthand experience of the climb.

Poorna was just 13 when she pitched the Indian flag at 6 am, followed by Sadhanapalli Anand, a 17-year-old student from the remote Khammam district, a couple of hours later. Both were students of the Andhra Pradesh Social Welfare Residential Schools and mentored by its secretary, Dr RS Praveen Kumar. Aditi Inamdar, a Telangana girl, was chosen to play Poorna on screen after Rahul auditioned 109 girls.

The actor is all set to bring the real-life story of 13-year-old Poorna, the youngest girl in the world to scale the Mount Everest, with his first production and second directorial
Roshmila Bhattacharya (MUMBAI MIRROR; May 23, 2016)

Soon after Dil Dhadkne Do in which he played Priyanka Chopra's misogynist husband, Rahul Bose went off the radar for 13 months. One assumed that he was busy with the cinematic adaptation of Mohsin Hamid's 2000 novel, Moth Smoke but despite an extension he lost the rights three years ago because he couldn't raise funds for the beautiful but emotionally wrenching journey. For the last year, the actor who returns to direction 15 years after Everybody Says I'm Fine has been quietly working on another movie, his first home production, Poorna.

His 'closely guarded secret' is the inspirational story of Malavath Poorna, a poor adivasi girl from Telengana who created history on May 25, 2014, by becoming the youngest girl in the world to scale the Mount Everest. She was just 13 when she pitched the Indian flag at 6 am, followed by Sadanapalli Anand, another 17-year-old tribal student from the remote Khammam district, a couple of hours later. Both were students of the Andhra Pradesh Social Welfare Residential Schools, mentored by its secretary Dr RS Praveen Kumar who Rahul is playing. Aditi Inamdar, a Telengana girl from another impoverished family, chosen after he'd auditioned 109 girls, including a few tribals brings Poorna's superhuman feat to screen.

"I bought the rights from Poorna's father and Dr RS Praveen Kumar but knew how easy it'd be for someone to change the names and come up with a 'me too' film. But now that Poorna has been shot and will be ready to be screened for a studio in six weeks, I can talk about it," says Rahul, who has yet to show the film to Dr Kumar or even Poorna, but plans to take it to her village where they shot for 11 days.

He describes Poorna as being at the other end of the spectrum from his 2001 directorial debut, Everybody Says I'm Fine. "It's not as dark but it's just as emotional. We can be obedient sons but we can also rebellious boyfriends. It has no jhalak of Bollywood, yet makes you cry. That's because Poorna is one of the most remarkable people I've met... Focussed, disciplined, thoughtful yet fun-loving. She has Malala's strength, determination, optimism and desire to change society by joining the civil services. Her story needs to be told to world," he says.

Rahul is equally impressed with the man he plays on screen, an inspiration to the 1,000 kids in tribal schools, having made it possible for them to live, study and eat there for free from class 1 to 12. "Poorna calls him her God. This is the first time I played someone living and that made the task more daunting. Hopefully he will be happy with my portrayal," admits Rahul thanks to whose efforts six kids from the Andamans, now 22, are studying in colleges, another six from Kashmir, at 16, are tense about their ICSE exams and six more from Manipur have entered the New Era School in Panchgani.

Did he climb the Everest literally? "The film is faithful to every single geographical punctuation mark in Poorna and Anand's journey," he says.

Was he rusty returning to direction after 15 years? Rahul for whom directing was always more satisfying than acting, admits that since the film was shot on digital and not film and had lots of vfx, he ended up learning 20 per cent more of the technical process from his DoP Subhranshu Das. He also admits that this time the first two financiers he approached, were ready to give him 75 per cent of the funds, the third he went to for the remaining 25 per cent heard the story and agreed to finance it completely.

"We're confident of its box office potential but while its pleasant to make money, that's not the reason for making Poorna. It's a story that every girl child from a backward community should see and also every privileged child. In fact, it's a film for everybody because what these two kids achieved was staggering," he asserts.

Rahul who has worked with three Telugu dialect coaches and one who helped him with the dubbing has signed on another lead role as an actor and promises to make many more films, both as a producer and a director. He is planning a sequel to one of his most popular films under his banner but won;t reveal more.