The late politician was once so close to the Bachchans that he was considered part of the family. Then came the rift, which never healed
Rasheed Kidwai (MUMBAI MIRROR; August 3, 2020)

Up above, if Amar Singh gets to hear the many who are waxing lyrical about him, he would let out a rich, throaty chuckle.

During his chequered political and social life, spread over decades, Amar courted the high and mighty – Madhavrao Scindia, Mulayam Singh Yadav, Adi and Parmeshwar Godrej, Tina and Anil Ambani, Sanjay and Manyata Dutt, Sridevi and Boney Kapoor – and, most famously, the Bachchans. Yet virtually no one was with him in the end.

His close relationship with the Bachchans and their eventual falling out perhaps most drew the attention of the public. In February this year, he sought forgiveness from Amitabh and was said to have sent an emotional video. There are some friends of Amar who feel the gesture was unilateral and perhaps unwarranted. According to them, the Bachchans had dropped him long ago. Amar could not get over the fact that he was not invited for Big B’s 70th birthday bash a few years ago. “Even his [Amitabh’s] spot boys were called, but not me,” he told one interviewer.

Like many mortals, Amar had a weakness for wealth, power and celebrity. A manipulator par excellence, he loved flaunting his extraordinary skill in performing dubious arts. Early in his career, he was considered close to a ‘lottery king’ in the Northeast named Iqbal Chand Khurana. Amar used to say “paploo fit ho gaya” whenever he fixed something using dirty tricks.

Amar had been accused of many gory deeds – from preventing Sonia Gandhi from becoming prime minister in 1999 to mustering crucial support for the Manmohan Singh government in 2008, when the UPA regime appeared to be in danger over the India-US nuclear deal. He took great pride in owning up to them. But he always denied creating a wedge between Amitabh and Sonia. That was one charge he was wholly innocent of, he insisted. He would passionately argue that the Bachchan-Gandhi relationship dated back to a time before his birth. At one point he said: “I have no authority or competence to comment on the ties of two great families. Only they are competent to comment on each other. All I know about Amit ji is that he is a man of great dignity, depth and emotion, and he’s convinced that there’s respect only for utility and no place for emotion.” In private conversations, he would say the Gandhi-Bachchan fallout had been the result of human failings, ego clashes and one-upmanship.

EYES AND EARS
Amar appeared in Amitabh’s life after Rajiv Gandhi’s death in 1991, and soon became the star’s “brother” and virtual eyes and ears. For years Amar acted as a shadow of the actor and his family. When Amitabh was issued a flurry of tax notices during the UPA I tenure, he issued a veiled warning: The Samajwadi Party general secretary warned the Congress that his party could use the actor in the 2007 Uttar Pradesh assembly election. Amitabh distanced himself from Amar’s statement that the actor could stage a political comeback. Amar clarified: “I did not say he will enter politics. I said if you continuously keep humiliating someone, he could be compelled to join politics.”

Amar was able to prevail upon Amitabh to let Jaya join politics, despite Amitabh’s deep misgivings, and even campaign for the Samajwadi Party. For many years he hovered around the family with Hanuman-like devotion.

Between 2010 and 2012, the Bachchans fell out with Amar. Delhi and Mumbai’s social circuits claimed that the fallout coincided with the politician’s own banishment from the capital’s durbar. The bitter spat began when Jaya Bachchan insisted on keeping her Rajya Sabha seat after Amar was shunted out of the Samajwadi Party. Jaya’s decision to ignore Amar’s advice reportedly had the support of Aishwarya. (Incidentally, Aradhya, Aishwarya and Abhishek’s daughter, called him ‘Dada Chacha’, which is actually Ajitabh Bachchan’s right.) It was then that Amitabh forced the two sides to retreat into dignified silence; he himself vowed never to speak anything about Amar in public or in private.

During that two-year period another controversy from the past – the 2008 cash-for-vote allegations made following the trust vote in Parliament – returned to haunt Amar, and he was arrested and sent to Tihar Jail. Although he was eventually acquitted, Amar remained bitter about the fact that none of his influential friends visited him in prison. He should have known better.

‘DON’T EXPECT ANYTHING’
Jaya once told Amar: “You will be very disappointed, as you are more giving than any one of us [the Bachchans]. If you expect any reciprocity, you will be a very sad person.” Amar may have understood the full import of Jaya’s remark in his last days. Had he pondered some more, he would have remembered another, older gem from Jaya, pronounced at Sidhaur in Barabanki District way back in October 2004. The occasion was an assembly by-election and Jaya was seeking votes for the Samajwadis. She said: “Mere devar Amar Singh sach mein Thakur hai. Jo kehte hain woh karte hain. Aap Samajwadi Party ko vote dijiye. Yeh log vaade aur rishte nibhana jaante hain.” (My brother-in-law is a real Thakur. He does what he says. Please vote for the Samajwadi Party because these people know how to keep promises and relations.) When she said this, Jaya had the Gandhis – once close friends of the Bachchans – in mind. Speaking bitterly of the past, Jaya remembered Rajiv and Sonia thusly: “Jin logon ne humko rajniti mein aage badhaya, unhone beech mein hi hamara saath chhod diya. Saath tab chhoda jab hum taqleef mein the. Yeh log hamesha dhokha dete hain.” (Those who brought us into politics left us midway. They left us when we were in a crisis. They are known to betray people.)

NO REGRETS
In May 2015, Amar had to vacate his 27, Lodhi Estate bungalow, once the hottest address in New Delhi, visited by the rich and the powerful, including the Bachchans. (In fact, Amitabh and a newly-engaged Abhishek and Aishwarya were said to have stayed there once.) “Mr Bachchan, according to me, is contrary to baghban (gardener), the role he played onscreen. Off-screen, he is bagh-ujar (someone who uproots a garden), at least emotionally. I am saying this on record,” Amar later complained.

There was more to follow. He told a newspaper: “Remorse is for human beings, not for the house. Families like the Bachchans, if there was a death in the house, they would have my and my wife’s names on the cards as family members. For the wedding of their sons and daughters, they used to print cards referring to us as family. I also treated them as family. I don’t regret doing anything for them. Whatever you do for the family, you don’t regret. I regret the way they treated me opportunistically. But I maintain that a good human being can be a bad actor and a good actor may not necessarily be a good human being.”

Towards the end, the man who had once been a king had been reduced to a pawn on the chessboard of life.

After eight months of battle with cancer, Nafisa Ali Sodhi has emerged victorious with a new zest for life, hunger to play meaningful roles in films and a deep-rooted desire to be part of Indian politics and serve the country
Sonil Dedhia (MID-DAY; July 7, 2019)

In 2017, Neena Gupta put out a post on Instagram seeking work. And just last week, veteran actor Nafisa Ali Sodhi, in an announcement that she has beaten cancer published a similar post. However, Ali says that she is not looking for work, just an outlet to celebrate life after eight months of battle. In conversation with mid-day, she talks about trying her hand at comedy, joining politics, and the scary state of affairs in India.

Excerpts from the interview.

You published a post on Instagram expressing a desire to get back to films.
I am not looking for work per say and neither am I seeking roles for monetary purposes. When I wrote that I am looking for a perfect script, I meant I wanted to celebrate my health and let the world know that I have won the battle against Cancer. I want to be part of films just for the joy of acting. It's liberating to work and being busy is a great healer too. It's always good to be surrounded by positive energy and like-minded people. At the same time, I don't want to be burdened with too much work. I want to work at my own pace. I don't have much hair on my head, so I may not wear wigs. Maybe, I could get the role of a patient or a monk (laughs). I have not worked in a comedy and it is definitely something I'd like to explore.

Earlier, Neena Gupta used social media to seek work, so did Amitabh Bachchan.
They are serious actors, who have achieved so much with their craft, yet they have no qualms in asking for work. It is the greatness of Mr Bachchan who isn't afraid to ask for a great role. I feel senior actors should be given credible work. Our culture asks us to respect elders; the same thing should apply irrespective of an actor's screen time.

Did you get any response to your post from filmmakers?
It's not even a week since I published the post. It is going to take the required time. A post cannot convert into work immediately. I remember Nikkhil Advani had called me a few months back [for a project], but I was still recovering. I was too frail and didn't want to make any commitments. But things have changed now.

You came out in support of Zaira Wasim who has decided to quit the film industry.
At her age, I went through the same thing she is facing. I felt for her. My message was that work is a choice. It is your freedom and independent right. Young people are surrounded by too many pressures, but if you have a choice, make sure you think and take the right decision. Till date, I look back and regret, 'Why did I give in? Why did I listen to my father instead of listening to myself?'

No one questioned her decision. However, people have chided her for bringing religion into the mix.
I had a similar issue. I was born into a Muslim family and my father told me 'girls in our family don't work in cinema'. I gave in to that pressure. I won the title of Miss India in 1976. Around the same time, Rishi Kapoor saw my photo in a magazine and his father Raj Kapoor approached my father expressing a desire to cast me in a film opposite his son. My father wasn't comfortable with the idea and turned it [offer] down. A few years later, I met Shashi Kapoor and Shyam Benegal at Rajji's birthday in Mumbai, where I was offered the lead role in Junoon (1979). Because I had turned 21, he told me to make my own decision. So, I took the chance and moved to Mumbai. My father didn't speak to me for two months. During the shoot, Benegal asked me to go home and show my father a few stills. I was going to feature in Zamaane Ko Dikhana Hai with Rishi, but my father objected to a few clauses in the contract. I respected his wishes and moved back to Kolkata. And I regret that decision. In retrospect, I feel I should have stood my ground. Cinema is so empowering and stimulating; it lets you transform into anyone that is the greatness of it.

You have contested elections in the past. Now that you have regained your health, would you consider joining politics again?
I would love to be a politician. If someone asks me to come to the Parliament and work for India, it would be a dream come true. I cannot rant or debate, but I can ensure I'll work towards the betterment of the country. I would like to take up any opportunity in any capacity.

Sonia Gandhi met you during your treatment. Did you consider speaking to her about your political ambitions?
A common friend informed her about my health when I was diagnosed with cancer. We met and had a nice chat. It's nice when friends reach out during testing times. She has a heart of an angel and a mind of a saint because she genuinely cares about people. Unfortunately, you see so much bad press against her; it's like a dirty political game. When I meet her again, which will happen soon, I'll ask her if I can join the party in any capacity.

What is your take on the current governance of the country?
The xenophobic and dictatorship approach is just too harmful. The media is being manipulated and it is happening in the name of democracy. We have movies being made with a political agenda that receive funding from political parties. Imagine history is being altered through school textbooks. History is to record and remember things that have benefited the community and country. It should not be changed to suit someone's convenience. It's a dangerous time that we are living in. The youth should not be blinded by hero worship, which is the case with Narendra Modi and Amit Shah and that is because they feel they are going to bring about a change. However, the harsh reality is that there is no change. The common man continues to suffer.

What would be that one question you would ask if you meet Narendra Modi?
I congratulated him when he became the PM and after that I have sent him two letters, but he is the first PM who has never replied to me. I believe he is biased against me considering all my other friends have received a reply. I am aware where I stand for him so, I don't think I would want to ask him anything.

It took three sari-drapers and innovative makeup strategies for Suzanne Bernert to turn into the UPA chairperson in The Accidental Prime Minister
Anjana Vaswani (MUMBAI MIRROR; February 10, 2019)

The courier delivery man at the door stares at Suzanne Bernert. It appears as if he is trying to place her, locate her in some sort of context. Has he unwittingly stumbled upon some secret Mira Road hideaway of the United Progressive Alliance, a chamber that somehow also doubles as a time machine? And, is the woman before him, a younger — if, inexplicably, blonde — Sonia Gandhi? Stuttering, he summons the courage to ask the tall foreigner if she’s an actor, and then, of course, comes the selfie request. Bernert complies with a smile. The actor, who happened to find her way into the Indian entertainment industry somewhat serendipitously, has been in Mumbai for 14 years, and has acted in some 24 TV shows, including some Balaji Telefilms productions, and two Bengali films. But it’s her recent role as Sonia Gandhi in The Accidental Prime Minister that has brought her real recognition.

“The reaction is interesting, because I have played Sonia Gandhi before, too,” says Bernert. Bernert, who is in her 40s, plays both a younger Sonia as well as the mature politico who is shown giving PM Manmohan Singh much to fret about through the two consecutive terms that the Congress-led UPA was in power. But, indeed, Bernert first essayed the role of the UPA chairperson in the 2014 miniseries 7 RCR. The German national’s journey — she hails from Detmold, near Hanover — to Bollywood started with her being approached by a line producer for a Hindi movie when she was holidaying in Dubai in 2005. While that movie was never released, Bernert moved to India, met her husband, actor Akhil Mishra, and stayed back, acting in plays and television series.

“I had a few lines of dialogue in 7 RCR, but they may have been edited out of the version that aired,” says Bernert who learnt Hindi on the fly, through her interactions with Mumbaikars. When she speaks, she switches automatically between English and Hindi, which now comes as naturally to her as German, French and Italian.

But being Sonia meant speaking a different brand of Hindi altogether. “I had played Queen Helena in Chakravartin Ashoka Samrat (2015 TV drama), so I was familiar with that very formal sort of Hindi,” says Bernert. Mishra, who she married shortly after she moved here, was a great sounding board for her dialogue practice, and it didn’t take her too long to master Gandhi’s pitch and intonation. “She has a distinct way of saying ‘Can-gress’, ‘party’, ‘Rahool’. I knew that if I could just hit these, the effect would be complete.” Bernert says that she is not a political animal, and does not follow it thoroughly. “Indian politics is overwhelming, and I’m just a German chick,” she says, throwing her hands up.

Bernert also scoured the internet to find a clip of Gandhi speaking Italian, “but I couldn’t find a single one,” she says, with a laugh.

While the accent and language came easily to her, the role did pose other challenges. “I’ve learnt Hindi, Marathi, and even Lavani, but I don’t know how to tie a sari,” says Bernert, whose audition tape on YouTube shows her draped in her mother’s shawl. Three stylists were entrusted with the task of getting Sonia’s sari drape just right. “And there was one dedicated hairstylist who had to ensure that my wig flicked out at the ends, just so.”

Then, her jaw also needed some widening, and her skin needed to reflect decades of experience. “They tried to use a gummy substance, and then tried stuffing cotton into my mouth, and I tell you, I don’t know how Marlon Brando did it — but it was impossible to speak,” says Bernert. “Then, exercising typical Indian jugaad, a young makeup artist cut pieces of makeup sponge and stuck those on — that had the broadening effect and made the jawline sag.”

The toughest part for her, however, was that each scene had to be shot first in Hindi, then in English. “It causes a hop and a jump in the brain,” says Bernert, who’s also still trying to wrap her head around how people recognise her as the woman who played Sonia Gandhi. “I don’t think I look like her,” she says. 

Nafisa Ali on how she plans to defeat the cancer that has taken her by surprise
Roshmila Bhattacharya (MUMBAI MIRROR; November 21, 2018)

On November 16, Nafisa Ali revealed to the world through a Facebook post that she had been diagnosed with stage 3 cancer. “Life is so full of surprises and presently I am not in control. So, make a wish for me to get well in a few months. I have miles to go. I thank my family and friends for giving me the strength to enter a zone I know nothing of,” she wrote on her cyber wall.

Four days later, talking to Mirror from Delhi, the actress who was last seen in the third instalment of the Saheb Biwi Aur Gangster franchise, admitted that she was overwhelmed by all the affection, advice and applause that had poured in from all over the world, some of it coming from perfect strangers. “I didn’t know people cared for me so much. And I am glad I put out the news as it may help others to know more about the illness,” says an emotional Nafisa who arrives in Mumbai on Saturday and will check into the Tata Memorial Hospital on Monday to start her treatment.

She informs that two months ago, in mid-August, she had visited the doctor in Delhi complaining of “cramps in the tummy”. The ultrasound reports and CT scan were clear, and she was subsequently put on a five-day antibiotics course to weed out the infection, following which she took off to Goa. But the pain persisted, and on her return to the capital, she consulted an old friend, radiologist Dr R K Mathur who detected some fatty tissues in her colon and abdomen and referred her to another doctor. “By then I was running a fever and since the pain was centered around my appendix, I told the doctors that they had got it all wrong, I had appendicitis,” she laughs.

But the CT scan reports revealed that it was something far more serious. Her stomach had bloated with acetes and cancer cells were detected in the fluid. Laparoscopy, biopsy other tests confirmed that it was primary peritoneal cancer (PPC), a relatively rare cancer mostly common in women whose cause is unknown. It occurs when certain cells in the peritoneum, a cellophane-like tissue which covers the abdominal cavity as well as the surface of all organs in the abdomen, transforms into cancerous cells. Advancing age is a risk factor and at 61, Nafisa is vulnerable.

“I’ve lost some time in wrong diagnosis which I have since learnt could have been averted with a simple CA125 blood test. It’s not very expensive and I would urge all women over 50 to please go in for it. I knew nothing about all this because no one in the family has ever had cancer,” she points out, as she prepares herself for a surgery that will assess the extent of the disease and involves removal off all visible traces of the disease as also certain organs. “The good thing is that my oncologist, Dr Nitesh Rohati, General Velu Nair who has just retired as Director General of Medical Services in the army, Dr Darius Ankelsaria, my childhood friend and a top surgeon in Kolkata, and Dr Anita Borges, the pathology expert in Mumbai, are all coordinating with each other and consulting with oncology experts at Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York to ensure that I get the best possible treatment. If all our political parties and governments got together to work like this, India would be a great country,” Nafisa says lightly.

Meanwhile, when Sonia Gandhi learnt that her fellow Congress member was ailing, she invited her over immediately. “I went with my daughter and she greeted me with a hug. We chatted for almost 40 minutes. I know how strong she is and how much she loves this country and its people. The meeting was very inspiring,” she avers.

Now, as she gears up for a long treatment, Nafisa confides that she was always physically fit and feels caged in her body now. “I never went to the doctor and on the rare occasions that I did, I’d do the opposite of what they prescribed. I am quite a badmash. Now, Pickles (husband Colonel R S Sodhi) brings me my medicines and makes sure I take them. He is 75 and shattered by the diagnosis, but my family is rallying around me. I tell them now that the reason for my bloated tummy was all the fluid that had accumulated inside. The doctors tell me I will lose weight so there’s something good coming out of all this,” she laughs.

On Sunday, she celebrated daughter Pia’s birthday and posted pictures with both her daughters, Pia and Armana, her “cuddly son” Ajit and her husband. “My children are the reason for me to overcome the cancer. My daughter is three months pregnant, she’s due in the first week of June. I have to get better by then in time to welcome my third grandchild,” Nafisa signs off optimistically.

BOMBAY TIMES (November 19, 2018)

Veteran actress Nafisa Ali has been diagnosed with cancer. Through an Instagram post on Saturday, the actress revealed that she has been diagnosed with stage 3 cancer.

Nafisa shared a picture with Sonia Gandhi and wrote, “Just met my precious friend who wished me luck & to get well from my just diagnosed stage 3 cancer.”

The actress, who was born in West Bengal, made her film debut in late Shashi Kapoor’s Junoon in 1979. Her other popular films include Major Saab, Life In A Metro and Yamla Pagla Deewana. Recently, she appeared in Tigmanshu Dhulia’s Saheb Biwi Aur Gangster 3. She also starred in the 2007 Malayalam film Big B.

Nafisa also had a short stint in politics, having contested the 2009 elections on a Samajwadi Party ticket. She is now a member of the Congress party. She was also the chairperson of the Children’s Film Society of India in 2005. Nafisa is married to Colonel R S Sodhi. The couple have three children. This year, two other Bollywood actors were also diagnosed with cancer. While Sonali Bendre has been undergoing treatment in New York, Irrfan is being treated in London.

Nayandeep Rakshit (DNA; May 7, 2016)


You are everywhere. On Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook. Why an app?
Because I think it’s a natural progression to what I was doing before. You consolidate everything together and then add to it. That’s when I felt I needed a platform which was created specifically for my needs and Disciple (the creators of the app) came in. My friend Varun Talreja (from Disciple) who I’ve known since I was very young came up with this idea of doing it the way we have done it. And I feel they have done an amazing job.

When and how did the idea strike you?
It happened about less than a year ago. The idea was initiated by Varun. All of a sudden, he decided that he wanted to do this and I loved the idea.

You are the first Indian actress to have got an app made for yourself…
Ya! There are many people who have the app. Kardashians are the most popular. But mine is nothing like them. It’s very different. But even being the first Indian actress it doesn’t feel any different. I feel it’s good to start a trend but it’s always difficult to start it because if you are the first to do that, you have nothing to look at as an example. And the market is fairly new. Also, you have the distinct advantage of being the first as well which is really cool. That’s the same thing I am going to try and do with Rheson (her high street fashion line). We own the IP, it’s completely designed by us. So we always want to do something which is different and not conform or put ourselves in boxes.

How different will your app be from others?
If you ask me this, with all honesty, I have to tell you that my app is extremely different from everyone’s. First of all, they have a different format. The great thing about celebrity personal apps is that every celebrity has their own set of likes and dislikes. That’s what is showcased in it. So it caters to the personality and following of the celebrity.

Is that where the Sonam Tribe comes in play?
Yeah! (She almost jumps in her couch smiling) Do you like the name?

Yeah, people call it groupie, squad, team. But tribe’s a first….
I feel groupie was a name that got lost in the ’70s. Tribe is like a community who are like minded and who follow you because of the values and things you represent.

You devised an entirely new digital promotional move with Dubsmashes for PRDP and now it’s caught on…
I am glad that people are giving me the credit for starting it. But Dubsmash was something that I thought will be fun and cool. I really didn’t think that ‘Oh my God, I am going to start a trend or invent a new promotional strategy.’ It just happened and I guess that’s again about doing it first because when you do something first, it becomes all the more relevant than when you do it second or third.

You’re social-media friendly. How important is the medium to you?
It’s extremely important, don’t you think? Look in the room, everyone’s on their phone right now! Just notice. Except one person, everyone is busy on their mobiles, responding to messages or checking pictures or putting up stuff on their social media handles. That’s how the world has become. It’s what the present is, it’s what the future is going to be. So you walk around and you spot everyone’s busy on their phones, on their tablets or laptops. That’s how people communicate. I even read the news every morning nowadays on social media.

Other than you, three people whose life you think will make for interesting apps and why!
Salman Khan for sure! Because he’s fun and there are a lot of things going for him. There’s his charity, there’s him supporting different other causes. People just like watching what he does and his fans will go crazy knowing what Salman does throughout the day. It would be interesting! Then, Sachin Tendulkar should also have an app. I think he will be amazing. But you know there’s one person I would love to see on social media. Sonia Gandhi! I wanna know what’s happening. She’s quite mysterious, no?

Social media has the good, the bad, the ugly. How do you deal with trolls?
I don’t! I block them! You know what trolls are? They are short, ugly, scary little creatures who you read about when you were young. So you should just avoid them. Because you wouldn’t want nightmares!

Do you think social media also helps to maintain a certain public image, especially for a celebrity?
People like to slot you in a box and create an image of you. That is something which social media gives you a control over.

So, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Snapchat now — which one’s your favourite?
My app is my favourite (smiles)!

Other than that?
Snapchat! Because it’s so much fun. It’s really quick and everything goes away in like 24 hours. So there’s no history and nobody knows what you did if they missed it. I do really stupid stuff on Snapchat.

What’s the thing you love and hate the most about social media?
One thing that I am not very sure of is, it’s very addictive. Sometimes, you can forget to live your real life and you start seeing everything through a lens, as opposed to seeing through the naked eye. That can be overwhelming, but then again, the most amazing thing is that it gives you the ability to connect with people. The world has become much smaller because of that.

Who’s your favourite social media personality?
Kate Hudson is amazing on Snapchat. In Bollywood, I think Salman, Shah Rukh, Amitabh Bachchan. They are fun.

I have been told that you have this new found interest in photography…
(Cuts in) You have not been told. You have been following me on Instagram so you have seen my pictures. (Smiles) I love photography. I hope you like my pictures.

Which one do you like clicking more — places, people or selfies?
I like taking pictures of everything but if I had to pick one, I would say human beings, any day. I love clicking pictures of people and their different moods. It’s so candid.

Travelling more?
You just told me in the beginning of the interview ‘Don’t travel, do more films’. (Laughs) But now, I am going again. I am going to Cannes now and then immediately after coming back, I fly to Europe again. Yay! I need a break now before I start Rhea’s film this July end.

Director Manish Gupta reveals that he’s waiting for the green signal from 10 Janpath
Nayandepe Rakshit (DNA; June 26, 2015)

Recently, in an interview to After Hrs, Vidya Balan confessed that she’d like to play Indira Gandhi on screen. Soon after, she was approached for a biopic on the former India PM by Rahasya director Manish Gupta. Despite liking the script, Vidya is a little sceptical about taking it up. Manish confirms, “She has liked the script, but hasn’t given a go-ahead yet. Given that the film is on Indira Gandhi, there are precautions needed to be taken before we start.”

Gupta further adds that the script needs to be approved by the Gandhi family. It has been titled Indira. He reveals, “My film will be a tell-all tale about Indira Gandhi — right from her birth to her assassination. It’s the story of her childhood, youth, rise to power as the Prime Minister of India, her fall to near-oblivion, her comeback as PM, her final battle against extremists and her refusal to discriminate on the lines of faith, that eventually led to her assassination.”

VIDYA’S THE ONLY CHOICE
“I approached Vidya almost three-four months ago. It would be wrong if I claim she has okayed the script. She feels it’s a nice story but she just told me, ‘How will you make the film? You don’t have the permission from the family’. I had been trying to get the permission months before I approached Vidya.”

GANDHI FAMILY’S CONSENT — The Hurdle?
Gupta knows that ‘it’s a sensitive issue’ so getting the permission won’t be easy.”I have been in touch with Sonia Gandhi for the last eight months. She is aware that I am doing the film. I want to meet her personally and take a direct commitment from her. That’s what I’m trying to do. Everyone who I have approached to be a part of the film wants a written permission before they can greenlight the project,” he adds.

Gupta has done his research. “I read 26 books about her,” he revealed. Indira, the life of Indira Nehru Gandhi by Katherine Frank, Indira Gandhi — a Biography by Pupul Jayakar, Operation Blue Star— The True Story by Lt Gen KS Brar, Tragedy of Punjab, Operation Blue Star and After by Khushwant Singh and Kuldip Nayar and Durbar by Tavleen Singh are just to name a few books that have been a part of Gupta’s R&D for the project.

But has he spoken to someone close to Indiraji? “I haven’t met or spoken to people close to her, but the books I read are written by prominent people themselves. Pupul Jaykar was very close to Indira Gandhi, he was her best friend. One of the books is written by the army man who led the operation Blue Star. After reading their books, it was easy to create the narrative because they have given a very detailed insight into Indira Gandhi’s life and her political agenda.”

PRODUCERS BHI MIL GAYE
Manish is all smiles as he’s already found a producer to invest in his dream project. “A very big studio is interested in producing the film, provided I get the permission from the family. It’s one of the corporate houses, but I cannot name them because we haven’t worked out the technicalities yet,” he revealed.

NO NAACH GAANA
Unlike other biopics, Indira won’t be a typical Bollywood film. He argues, “The film is not of the typical Bollywood sensibilities. There won’t be any naach gaana in the film. We wouldn’t be showing Indira Gandhi dancing in the film! It’s like a Hollywood movie, much on the likes of a film like Gandhi! It’s on that scale."

RAJIV AND SANJAY THERE TOO!
Other than Indira, there will be characters for Indira’s sons Rajiv Gandhi and Sanjay Gandhi as well. “Obviously, the film will be incomplete without their characters but I have not approached anyone yet because honestly, the movie will focus on Indira Gandhi’s character only. So the other people will be side characters and there won’t be any other A-lister in the film. It will be one of those supporting heroes instead. But I haven’t decided who to cast till now,” he signed off.

Priya Gupta (BOMBAY TIMES; May 28, 2014)