As communication services in Kashmir continue to be restricted, director Rahul Dholakia, who filmed Lamhaa there, and actor Ashwath Bhatt, a Kashmiri himself, try to reach out to students facing financial difficulties on account of being disconnected from their families in the Valley
Rachana Dubey (BOMBAY TIMES; August 29, 2019)

‘WE ARE ALL CONTRIBUTING TO FLOOD VICTIMS IN OUR STATE, WHY IS KASHMIR ANY DIFFERENT?’
Filmmaker Rahul Dholakia recently took to Twitter with a message — “#Kashmiris who are living in various parts of the country and can’t reach their homes in the valley — if there is anyway we can help, please connect. You looked after us when we made movies there, now it’s our turn #insaniyat #ourownpeople.” Dholakia, who once researched for his film Lamhaa by interacting with students in Kashmir, tells us, “I wrote on social media and I do believe it has created some impact, there are many people who are raising money. A lot more effort needs to be made. I have been doing my part. I think whoever wants to help, can.”

The filmmaker feels that this is a time to keep politics aside and help out those in need. He says, “I have been speaking to some friends who are in the Valley and some who are outside. One of them said, if we don’t get signal in our phones in Mumbai, we get irritated... Imagine being cut off completely from any form of communication for weeks! Parents are not sending children to school, banking is affected as internet is not working, and Kashmiri students outside the Valley have no way of finding out how their families are. Some of them don’t even have money for food and medicines and other basic stuff. And at this stage, if we are not by their side, who will be? Politics aside, it’s just a human thing. And, like someone posted on my timeline, do you think eight lakh Kashmiris are terrorists?”

Stressing on the necessity to rebuild trust, Dholakia says, “When I visited the Valley (to research for Lamhaa), I met many students. There is a generation out there that has grown up listening to the sound of AK47s. They have big trust issues. Let’s rebuild trust. And the only way to build trust is to stand up for a brother in trouble, in need, and that too without them asking for it. Aren’t we all contributing to flood victims in our state? So why is Kashmir any different? We need to do something, and do it now.”

Does he think educational institutions can help Kashmiri students in need? “I have heard of cases of ragging where some Kashmiri students were asked about their stand on Article 370! That’s very low and insensitive. We need to create an environment of trust and it needs to be built right from our schools and colleges. We can’t humiliate people or make callous comments about them. This is not the time to ask them to prove their loyalty, this is the time for us to show our loyalty.”
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Abhimanyu Mathur (BOMBAY TIMES; August 29, 2019)

Film and theatre actor Ashwath Bhatt was born in Srinagar and lived there during his childhood years before his family had to migrate to Delhi during the Kashmiri Pandit exodus some three decades ago. Now, when Kashimiri students outside the Valley are facing cash crunch due to shutdown of communication lines in J&K, Ashwath has been trying to help them by setting up a fund which can loan them money to sustain for now. “I want to help these kids because I have faced hardships too. I know what it is like to have no money for sustenance. And these kids are from my community. They are Kashmiris too,” says Ashwath on his motivation to set up a fund for the students.

The actor, who has also shot for films like Raazi and Haider in Kashmir, says that he has now partnered with several Kashmiris living in Delhi, Bengaluru, and other cities to reach out to such students. He says, “This is the time of real-time communication. With mobiles and internet, we are used to being in touch with our families 24x7. But now, many Kashmiris studying in other parts of India are facing shortage of money. Because of the lack of internet connectivity in many parts of the Valley, their families have been unable to send them money. What people don’t get is that Srinagar is not all of Kashmir. There are places like Kupwara, Pulwama, Shopian, and Handwara, where the communication channels are still not fully up. Kisi ko exam fees bharni hai, someone needs to pay his rent because the landlord is pressurising him, but paise nahin hain. We are reaching out to these students and trying to help them by loaning them the amount they need right now.”

Ashwath says that he initially feared the students might be facing other issues like bullying and harassment, too, but was pleasantly surprised to find that isn’t the case. He tells us, “I was initially worried if these kids might be facing bullying of some kind, too, but thankfully, none of them reported anything like this. They say ki inko koi pareshan nahin kar raha. Bas paise ki kami hai. There was one odd case of a girl facing some issue but that was sorted out easily.”

So far, Ashwath has helped around 20 students to pay for rent and fees, and he hopes to reach out to more as word spreads. However, he has faced reluctance on the part of several students to accept this aid. He explains, “These are kids from well-off backgrounds. They have never faced shortage of money like this before. They are hesitant to ask for help. Kuchh bachche kehte hain ki sharam aa rahi hai paise maangne mein. I say, ‘I’m like your elder brother. Just take this as a loan, not a gift. When you get money from your family, return it. Mann ho toh interest bhi de dena’. I want them to still feel dignified while going through this.”

Other difficulties remain, too. Ashwath says, “I am going through the proper legal channels that exist for fundraising and donations. But since I don’t have any FCRA registration (Foreign Contribution Regulation Act that governs foreign contribution to NGOs and other welfare organisations), I cannot accept money from people abroad. A lot of friends living overseas have showed interest in donating, but I ask them to request their friends living in India to donate on their behalf. As of now, I cannot accept their help. I hope somebody can help me overcome this problem so that we can help more students going ahead.”

Roshmila Bhattacharya (MUMBAI MIRROR; July 30, 2018)

After the 2017 crime-drama, Raees, with Shah Rukh Khan in the title role, Rahul Dholakia is once again joining hands with his producer-partners, Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani, for an action-thriller which is expected to roll early next year. Set in Mumbai, this close-to-life story revolves around a fire-fighter named Tukaram and how he motivates his team to tackle various SOS calls. The project is not a biopic of any one person but will weave in several real-life incidents, along with an emotional father-son story, with an antagonist thrown in to create friction.

The National Award-winning director who after Raees dabbled with a lot of ideas before zeroing in on this one, has been developing this unique concept for the last year-and-a-half, and points out that with the exception of Ravi Chopra’s 1980 The Burning Train, the subject of fire hasn’t been tackled in Hindi mainstream cinema in a big way. “But a series of fires in the city of late makes me believe that it’s time for a film that celebrates these unsung heroes. For me, the firefighters are on par with cops and soldiers, but their heroics have gone largely unacknowledged even in a city of skyscrapers. They put their lives on the line every other day to put out and save us from fires which sometimes spark off from our own carelessness and violation of safety norms. They are also called to pull a child out of a borewell, rescue a kitten from the roof, clear an uprooted tree from the road and help during a building collapse or a deluge. Even during the 26/11 attacks they played a significant role in the rescues but went unheralded,” says Rahul.

He goes on to admit that even as a child he was fascinated by these firefighters, and during his research, has met many in person, visited fire stations and even been on few trails with Randeep Hooda, the face of the Mumbai Fire Brigade and the brand ambassador of fire services in India. During his prep, he observed from up close that sometimes, despite the lack of equipment like long ladders, arduous working hours and other hurdles, these men with their never-say-die spirit are always up for a challenge, showing indomitable courage when battling fires like the one at ONGC.

“A film like this offers plenty of scope for emotions and drama, action and visual thrills, with a larger-than-life protagonist at the centre, the surroundings and story-telling technique bringing in the realism,” Rahul points out.

National Award-winning dialogue writer, Vijay Maurya, who has films like Chillar Party as a writer and Tumhari Sulu as an actor to his credit, and is now working with Kabir Khan on his World Cup cricket drama, 83, and Zoya Akhtar on her upcoming musical Gully Boy, has been collaborating with Rahul on the dialogues. When Farhan read the first draft, he was so impressed with the world they have created, he gave his go-ahead.

“Farhan has contributed a lot of inputs to the script and Ritesh is a brilliant producer. This is a big film and will cost a lot. It requires sensitive makers because while being visually dramatic, it needs to be an ‘experience’ for the audience to see and feel. Having worked with Farhan and Ritesh on Raees, I can’t think of anyone better to take this film forward with me,” says the perfectionist director.

Rahul has a final narration with the producer duo in a couple of days after which they will start on the casting. “I need a 40-plus actor to play Tukaram,” he informs. Farhan is 40-plus, you point out. “He is,” laughs Rahul. “So is Shah Rukh and smany others. We will definitely cast an A-list actor but right now both the title and the cast are under discussion.”

Rahul Dholakia on creating "engaging" films across genres, avoiding controversial subjects
MID-DAY (May 19, 2018)

Eighteen months after he delivered his last film, Shah Rukh Khan-starrer Raees, Rahul Dholakia tells mid-day that rumours of a second instalment have little merit. "There will be no Raees sequel," says the director, quick to add that he does, however, have a series of ventures, primarily with Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani's Excel Entertainment, in the pipeline.

"I've written about four scripts over the past year-and-a-half, which are expected to go on floors. They're all of various genres — social drama, thriller, a relationship film and another hardcore, realistic low-budget venture. I am also in talks with Red Chillies [Khan's production house]."

For his upcoming projects, Dholakia hopes to keep an arm's length from subjects that may fuel controversies during the time of release, even as he laments the lack of change brought about in the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) after the replacement of the infamous chief Pahlaj Nihalani with Prasoon Joshi. "Nothing has changed since [Joshi took office]. I remember, when he was appointed, I was so excited because Prasoon is such a wise [ad] filmmaker. I thought he'd be the change we all wanted, because he understands cinema, and is sensible and sensitive. But, that has not happened. We still have issues with films like S Durga and Nude."

The director says the fear of the CBFC's scissors has them "censoring in our mind while writing the script itself". "Even when a character like Raees is crafted, we have to consider if we should show him as someone who smokes. Because then we have to consider that two minutes will go in adding the disclaimer, apart from including it each time he is shown doing so. So we conclude that we'll be better off showcasing a gangster who does not smoke. In turn, the character loses its charm."

Sanyukta Iyer (MUMBAI MIRROR; June 6, 2017)

Soon after his Shah Rukh Khan starrer Raees released, Rahul Dholakia embarked on a journey around the world that kicked off with a “detox of the mind” visit to the US. At the end of the four-month trip that covered several countries, the filmmaker had four scripts in different genres almost ready. “Next up, I plan to produce a smaller film. It will be an emotional father-daughter tale served in a Western-esque recipe,” Dholakia informs Mirror from Birmingham, where he has been holed up writing for the last two weeks.

While the idea for the yet-untitled story was his own, the filmmaker wanted an American 18-19-year-old’s writing to lend authenticity to his protagonist. “One of my friends sent me a couple of pages written by his son, Aditya, who was studying at a film school in New York. The writing was mature and nuanced for a 20-year-old and brimming with the ruthless, quick-thinking and tech-savvy energy of the new generation. I went to the US in February to develop the story with him,” Dholakia recalls, adding that he is flying to the US again today to finalise the schedule of the film, which he will also direct. “I am searching for a young actress to cast in the lead,” he adds. The film is expected to roll by August.

The second of his four scripts has been written entirely by him but he will direct it only after the father-daughter film. “I will move ahead as a producer by getting new writers and directors to develop the other two scripts. I don’t plan to work on the film entirely by myself,” he says.

Meanwhile, he is keen to work with his Raees-actor SRK, whom he met recently at a party in Kolkata but is determined to steer clear of all things political, war and gangster related in his next. “Shah Rukh bhai and I got our teething troubles out of the way with Raees and I will definitely be involving him in the making of my upcoming films. I had the best time of my life while shooting Raees and I would love to team up with him again,” he says.

Before flying to the UK in the later part of May, the 47-year-old director, former ad-man and documentary filmmaker, was at the Cannes International Film Festival to seek inspiration and write. He was particularly taken by the international films, Loveless – a Russian drama directed by Andrey Zvyagintsev, which competed for the Palme d’Or and won the Jury Prize, and Visages Villages – a French documentary by Agnes Varda which won the Golden Eye award in the out-of-competition section.

“It helped me rethink the kind of concepts I wanted to develop through my next film. Many people told me that I should capitalise on the success of a big-budget film like Raees and announce my next immediately but I wanted to take my time. I wanted a break from shooting to enjoy world cinema and look back at my writing once again,” he explains, pointing out that his best work till date continues to be the 2007 film, Parzania, which won him the National Award for Best Direction and his lead actress Sarika the National Award for Best Actress.

Director Rahul Dholakia on how his Shah Rukh Khan-starrer 'Raees' gradually evolved into an underworld masala picture
Mohar Basu (MID-DAY; January 25, 2017)

Sometime in 2010, in the midst of a discussion that revolved around the booming business of the illegal purchase and sale of liquor that continues in the underbelly of the dry state of Gujarat, filmmaker Rahul Dholakia first conceived the idea of 'Raees'.

"It was meant to be a docu-drama, but went on to become an indie film. The material kept pouring in. The more time we spent in creating the world of the bootlegger, the more elaborate the story became," says Rahul.

Ask him how the film transformed into a masala movie, and Rahul says, "The writing decided the fate of the film. My co-writers and I visited a lot of pockets in Gujarat and met with people in the business to understand the milieu. Once the story was complete, I met Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani who decided to back it. When they got SRK on board, it just became a lot bigger and then took this shape."

Rahul says he was obsessed with the nitty-gritty. "It was challenging to strike the balance between creating a palpable world on the tapestry of realism. Every element like the prop, costume and artistes, have been paid attention to. I sent my assistants to every market and pol (colony in Ahmedabad) to shoot a regular day," he said.

Though Rahul didn't write the script keeping Shah Rukh in mind, he was ecstatic when the superstar gave his nod. "He says it's good to be bad and there are few people who can play a negative role with as much panache as he does. Somewhere in between the 40th and the 50th draft, I knew it had to be him. He brings that dramatic edge with the affability that the character needs. I never let his presence intimidate me. On the first day, he asked me to join him for lunch but I passed the offer since I eat with the unit. 10 days later, he joined us and ever since, it's been a party."

Purvaja Sawant (BOMBAY TIMES; January 11, 2017)

Filmmaker Rahul Dholakia opens up about his upcoming action-thriller and insists it’s just an entertaining commercial film and a work of fiction
Roshmila Bhattacharya (MUMBAI MIRROR; December 6, 2016)


He’s been shooting all night and has just come out of a dubbing session. Yet, Rahul Dholakia sounds ebullient as his three-years-in-the-making Raees inches towards the finish. “I don’t use the word 'great' to describe my work, so I’ll simply say I’m quite happy with the way the film has shaped up. For me the journey has always been more important than the end result and this one which has spanned almost five years for me has been fascinating,” he exults.

But there must have been times when he grew impatient, even anxious, as after the first schedule, his leading man, Shah Rukh Khan, wrapped up Dilwale and Fan before returning to Raees? “I might have been but when he resumed work after seven month, he was completely in sync from day one, not a word, move or mood out of character,” Rahul marvels, pointing out that one teaser had sustained audience interest for a year-and-a-half and he can only hope that the momentum continues till its Republic Day week release. “Shah Rukh assures me picture achchi bani hai and from the makers to the actors and technicians retained their initial enthusiasm and conviction,” he says.

For the National Award winning writer-director, Raees started in the US around 2010-2011 when his friends in the liquor business urged him to make a film on prohibition, assuring him that they’d get him funding. “I decided to weave crime, politics and prohibition into an interesting story about a cop and a gangster and called up a reporter friend, Ashish Vashi, asked him if he knew anyone who could help me with the research. He’d written on the subject and was happy to jump on board, along with another journalist, Harit Mehta and a writer friend, Neeraj Shukla, who’d worked with me on a TV show,” narrates Rahul, who between 2011-2012 travelled from Umbergaon to Bhuj, fleshing out his story and creating a world set before the millennium.

At the time he was thinking of making a small, indie film and when he met Nawazuddin Siddiqui on Diwali he narrated the script to him. Nawaz instantly agreed to play the cop and they were discussing dates when Dimple Kapadia put Rahul through to Farhan Akhtar who not only offered to play the same role but also produce the film. Eventually, Nawaz returned to the project after Farhan had to drop out because of date clashes.

For the title role, co-producer Ritesh Sidhwani asked Rahul for his wish list of five actors. Rahul came up with one, Shah Rukh Khan, who had been the unanimous choice for his filmmaker friends and him earlier too but at the time he had no access to the actor. With Farhan on his side he met with the Badshah who was on his way to an award function abroad and asked him to sketch the story for him in 10 minutes. It took Rahul 45 minutes to reach the interval at which point SRK wanted to know what happened next, assuring him he’d decided to do the film.

He then asked Rahul why he wanted him in particular. “I told him there’s a line in the film which describes the protagonist Raees and is apt for him too. Instantly he quipped, ‘Baniye ka dimag aur miya bhai ki daring and I was amazed at how quickly he’d grasped the gist of the film and his role,” Rahul recalls.

Reportedly, Raees is modelled on Dawood henchmen, Abdul Latif, a bootlegger-turned-don. Rahul who’d in the midst of a court case, denies this saying the film and the character are works of fiction created by four writers.

Comparisons are being drawn between him and Amitabh Bachchan’s Vijay in Deewar and Trishul. Rahul looks surprised, “That wasn’t the intention but these are iconic films and being a Bachchan fan I’ll take it as a compliment,” he avers.

Raees is an important film for SRK who is at the crossroads, looking to break from his image of a star. Asserting that it’s an important film for all of them, Rahul says, “There’s nothing of SRK in Raees, not even his trademark gesture. In my film when he lifts his hand, it is to slap someone,” Rahul chuckles, adding that the actor brings an element of romance, action and commerce to his film, yet is still real and subtle. “There are no compromises,” he asserts.

Except for Mahira Khan, you remind him. The actress’s role has been truncated and a song dropped after the recent border tensions and the ban on Pakistani talent. “We cast Mahira long ago and had we stuck to our original plan, the film would have been out on Eid. It’s unfortunate what happened but we respect the sentiments of our people. Luckily, we’d finished most of our work with her,” Rahul says carefully.

And will Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s demonetization drive and the resultant wave of discontent affect the film’s box-office performance given that it is set in Gujarat? “It’s set in pre-Modi Gujarat which was very different. I’m not making a political statement here. Nor did I want to create any controversies. Raees is an entertaining commercial film which Mr Modi will enjoy as much as the common man,” he asserts.

The film has taken Rahul into the big league. How does it feel? “Leagues are for Bollywood folks, I’m here only to make movies. For Raees I came halfway to meet Shah Rukh on a different turf but at the end of the day, for me it was a lot like Parzania experience when I’d call Naseer (Naseeruddin Shah ) from his hotel room at 3 am for a shot and he did it without cribbing. This time too, there was no grumbling,” he exults.

Quiz him on the Friday clash with Hrithik Roshan’s Kaabil which opens on the same day and Rahul argues that had it released earlier, it’d have clashed with Sultan. “My job is to make a good film, I’ve given my all and as John McEnroe said, I’ll let my racquet do the talking now. Raees as a character goes through a lot of challenges to emerge victorious, maybe that’s my destiny too,” he smiles.

Director Rahul Dholakia opens up about his upcoming film
Subhash K Jha (DNA; February 21, 2015)


The second-half of the script had to be reworked a bit. “Not much. But changes had to be made, because it was the unusualness of the script that appealed to Shah Rukh.”

What blew Rahul’s mind was SRK’s memory. “I went back to him with the second half of the script after almost a year. He remembered details from the first narration that even I had forgotten. This kind of dedication coming from a superstar of his stature left me deeply impressed.”

Rahul, who begins shooting Raees in February-end, is now working on the actor’s look and accent. “He plays a man from the ghetto in Gujarat. He dresses and speaks in a particular manner.”

Buzz is that Shah Rukh plays a real-life character in Raees. Says Rahul, “His character started off as a real-life person. But as we wrote and re-wrote several drafts of the script, his character become more and more fictional.”

The idea for the film started with the issue of prohibition. “We wanted to make a film on the issue. And since Gujarat is the only state that has prohibition, we decided to set the story there.” The last film Rahul shot there — Parzania — had a bitter aftermath. But that’s not the reason he is staying away from the state. He explains, “It’s practical to not take Shah Rukh into the crowds. He is a star with a mammoth following. To shoot with him on the streets in Ahmedabad is not only impractical, it’s suicidal. I remember when we were shooting with Sanjay Dutt in Kashmir for Lamhaa. Huge crowds would gather and obstruct shooting.”

Rahul says he didn’t want a repeat of that situation. The film will be shot on a sprawling set in Mumbai standing in for the slums of Ahmedabad.