After the stellar success of his dark comedy Dev D, Abhay Deol says he was unable to handle the fame, and he left the country. In Chandigarh for a film festival, Abhay spoke about how he feels vindicated today about his choice of films in his initial years.

“Cinema, with its larger-than-life persona, was considered a means of escapism back in the day,” he said, adding, “But while growing up I didn't want another escape, I wanted to retain my authenticity.”

On the question of catering to popular tastes while making films, he said, “I didn’t agree with that idea because I thought if I didn't like my movies, how will the audience appreciate it? Indian filmmakers were making only one kind of cinema and by always conforming, how can we create change?”

However, after Dev D, Abhay got scared of fame. “I had issues with fame because I had seen its repercussion on my family and found it intrusive. So, I ran away from the country and thought the worse was going to happen. I didn't like the idea of marketing myself, and thought it was cheap. So, I missed the fame that followed, which I kind of regret now,” he said.

Abhay’s choices of films were met with skepticism during that time. “When my films didn’t work, they criticized me. When they did, they said, ‘you are 10 years ahead of your time’. The struggle of dumbing yourself down was always there, though I proved my point with Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye!”

Commenting on modern day content Abhay says despite the evolution of cinema, the struggle remains. “Just because my web series Trial By Fire was a success, doesn’t mean acceptance comes easy now and is still a struggle,” he said, adding, “Though digital space is limitless, OTT is also looking for subscribers. Till there is resilience of some filmmakers to create change, and as long as they have strength to do so, change will continue.”

In Privacy, Deshpande plays the role of a Mumbai surveillance command and control centre operator

One look at the teaser of Rajshri Deshpande’s new film Privacy, which comes six months after her much-acclaimed Netflix offering Trial By Fire, and you would think that the actor is drawn to dystopia as a genre. “Isn’t dystopia a reality?” she says thoughtfully, as we sit down to chat about the film that will première at South Korea’s Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival (BiFan).

Sudeep Kanwal’s directorial offering is a social thriller that explores themes of voyeurism and mental health. The film’s intention to depict the harsh reality drew the actor to it. “This is a genre-breaking film that wasn’t easy to get off the ground,” she says, gearing up to go to South Korea next week.

“I’m not seeking entertainment that’s always happy and shiny. Some are trying to show the world something escapist, while some like me choose shows and movies that depict the real picture. From being Ismat Chughtai in Manto [2018] to Neelam Krishnamurthy in Trial By Fire, I want to depict what we all are going through. When people see me, they see an actor who is able to strip their vanity off and be the character.”

Over the past decade, Deshpande has consistently chosen roles rooted in reality—from Angry Indian Goddesses (2015) to Sacred Games. She isn’t interested in fantasy characters, she asserts. “I don’t want to play women who have the perfect figure. Our cinema shouldn’t be filtered like social media. Not everyone is thin and has clear skin. We have to normalize all bodies and skin colours. I want to be raw, natural, and find work that echoes. It takes time. I am happy to do less, but gratifying work. I am fine not jumping on board the next big-ticket series or movie.”

After Trial By Fire, she has been inundated with congratulatory calls as well as offers. How did she navigate the noise to remain grounded? “Praise and appreciation are the real gratitude. I am still waiting for great characters post Trial By Fire. I don’t believe in parties and networking. I want to work well, and be immersed in a story as an artiste.”

Talent over social media followers, that’s what actor Rajshri Deshpande hopes people “see through” during the process of casting. The Trial By Fire actor shares that she’s heard about actors being cast only on the basis of their Instagram followers. Deshpande shares,

“I remember hearing someone say ‘Cast that person, PR ke liye achha hoga’. There are good casting agents, who don’t follow this trend and that’s where actors like us are discovered. [I hope] there comes a time when people realize the craft matters and that influencers, and their followers, likes or reels are not the craft.”

Recently, the actor’s latest film, Privacy, a dark social thriller, which was selected for the 27th edition of the Bucheon International Film Festival, and it will have a world premiere at the event.

While the 40-year-old got her big breakthrough with the OTT series Sacred Games, it was her show, Trial By Fire, that made people sit up and take notice.

Ask if not getting her due is a source of irritation and the actor agrees, “You definitely get irritated, but you have to learn to live with it. As an artiste, especially living in India, it’s not easy. There are a lot of people who work and don’t get any recognition or mention.”

However, “doing good projects” is what keeps the Sexy Durga (2017) actor going. “Whenever I wonder — why a lot of people don’t know me, don’t see my work, are not talking about my film or why am I not on magazine covers? — I always think back to [to the fact that] I am here [in this industry] because I’m absolutely in love with acting,” she signs off.

In an industry where a lot of actors prefer diplomacy over frankness and prefer to follow the herd mentality, Abhay Deol has always stood by his own rules. He has a mind and a voice of his own that don’t crumble under pressure. And, of course, his choice of movies and other projects strongly reflect his belief and thought process. In an interview with Bombay Times, the actor talks about his career, beliefs, choices and how the industry accommodated him though he dared to do things differently. Excerpts:

In our space, speaking up can be mistaken as disrespect. All you are doing is speaking your mind and being honest. No one’s there to tell you whether you are right or wrong. You are just frowned upon, but that’s okay. I don’t think I was labelled as a troublemaker, so I would say the film industry has been accommodating towards me.

They may not have agreed with my methods, but they respected the stands I took. It’s highly possible that I may have lost work because of my outspokenness, but that’s okay. It’s just the consequence of you being you. There will always be work. It’s been 17 years, and I am still around. People like my work and I feel grateful. I have no regrets, anger or bitterness towards anyone. I am in a good space, and so is the industry.

I did find myself out of place. I was born in the industry, so I am very much an insider, but I became an outsider. However, I can’t be considered an outsider because I was born into a film family. So, I am neither here nor there. There was a learning process for me. I still don’t necessarily fit in, but there are a lot more people like me in the industry today than at the time that I started out. Time heals everything. I am glad I stuck to my guns.

It wasn’t difficult getting into the role because the tragedy was so hard…. The pain of losing a child. So maybe you can imagine what your parents would go through if you had died. None of that is easy to deal with. Falling into that sort of tragedy because it’s a true story was easy, but getting out of that zone was difficult. This was a real incident; these are real people. You are not portraying fiction, so you can empathise and understand these people easily. It was hard to get out of it because you couldn’t shake off the fact that you just reenacted a trauma that some people went through.

There’s a lot more of provocation, experimentation and bringing out individual artistes and their voices today than when I started out. Getting non-formulaic movies made back then was more difficult. I mostly worked with directors at the beginning of their career because they were the ones with the freshest ideas. They weren’t under the pressure of commercial constraints. I came up with more indie movies because when I was working on them, the multiplexes were just coming up. For a brief period, there was experimentation so I could bring out films like Dev D, Honeymoon Travels Pvt Ltd, Ek Chalis Ki Last Local, Oye Luck! Lucky Oye and Manorama Six Feet Under. Once the multiplexes were established and stopped expanding, things went back to what they were before, which means less experimentation. With the OTT platforms coming in, they have opened doors for people like myself too.

“OTT ki aaj ki date mein himmat nahi hai, Tandav ke baad sab dar gaye hain,” Anurag Kashyap said recently while responding to a query on Sacred Games Season 3. At least three criminal cases were filed against Tandav’s cast and crew, citing disruption of religious harmony. Tandav isn’t the only one. In recent years, series such as Mirzapur and Trial By Fire or films like Gangubai Kathiawadi and Samrat Prithviraj were also dragged to court over complaints.

Lawyers who have represented these films and series say that until a decade ago, film litigation was mostly limited to international studios claiming copyright infringement, but now – from defamation to ‘hurt sentiments’ – almost every other film is being dragged to court over an endless list of complaints. An expert legal team has now become crucial for a film/web series and their legal budgets have also gone up. We spoke to a few lawyers to understand this scenario.

Ruby Singh Ahuja, senior partner, Karanjawala & Co, who was involved in litigation related to Jolly LLB, Tandav and Mirzapur, says, “Filmmaking involves huge expenditure and no filmmaker can afford a prohibition order on the telecast of the film, especially in today’s day and age when the shelf life of a film is relatively short.”

“To avoid unnecessary litigation it is common not only for in-house legal teams to review the script, but also for production houses to take advice from external counsel, especially when it comes to issues of defamation or infringement of copyright,” she adds.

Meghana Chandorkar, partner, TMT Law Practice, says, “Depending on the film’s budget and other factors, the portion that is attributed to the legal team on board could be anywhere between 3-10% of the film’s budget. Roughly, legal team budgets have increased by 100-200% over the years.”

Pritika Kumar, founder, Cornellia Chambers, adds, “The legal budget of a film depends on the overall budget of the production and the studio involved and can range from 1 lakh to 12 lakh or more.”

Chandrima Mitra, partner, Media and Entertainment Practice, DSK Legal, says, “Film litigation has almost become a means of publicity. The bigger the film or the stars involved, the higher the chances of claims and litigation. Unfortunately, for many, it’s like getting their five minutes of fame. Besides, it’s easy to send notice to anyone. The instances of frivolous litigations have increased significantly over the years and most of these litigations get filed in the last two weeks before the release of the film.”

Pritika Kumar, founder, Cornellia Chambers, says, “Earlier, cases were usually filed for copyright infringement, especially by foreign studios where Hollywood movies were being remade in India without acquiring their rights. Now, with the advent of OTT, content has become bolder and so there has been a rise in litigation against movies for hurting cultural and religious sentiments. Filmmakers are also filing more cases because they are starting to understand the value of their intellectual property and the consequences of its exploitation.”

Meghana Chandorkar shares that legal teams are involved in the process from the stages of ideation to until the final cut of the film is ready. “The legal team reviews the concept, story, character descriptions, dialogues and the entire script as far as possible to assess the originality or identify and assist with the acquisition of all required third-party rights. They also carry out a risk analysis of the script,” she adds.

“After the script is cleared, the legal team is also consulted during the production process, with queries pertaining to the use of third-party content, music, clearances, use of brands and names, depiction of emblems, and revision of dialogues, script deviations and changes, etc. The legal team also watches the edited film to highlight issues, non-compliances, censorship violations, etc,” Meghana further says.

“Vetting scripts and content has become a crucial function of legal teams. Most big studios and OTT platforms have in-house teams to carry out this function, while some engage external legal counsel for this work. Vetting allows one to gauge the likely legal risks involved and the legal and creative teams work together to create solutions to reduce the legal risks while also maintaining the authenticity of the production,” says Pritika Kumar.

More than a decade ago, Anurag Kashyap and Abhay Deol had united for the pathbreaking Dev D (2009). While the audience wished for another brilliant collaboration between the duo, Deol and Kashyap only grew apart. In the latest edition of Sit with Hitlist (OG A-B of Bollywood Indie 21/01/2023), Deol, who is basking in the success of Netflix’s Trial by Fire, opened up about his falling-out with Kashyap, over the latter’s scathing words in a 2020 interview. The director had called working with the actor “a painfully difficult” experience. He had said that Deol wanted to do artistic movies but also wanted the mainstream benefits—the luxuries of being a “Deol”.

In the recent episode of Sit with Hitlist, Deol reacted to Kashyap’s allegations, saying, “[Kashyap] went in public, and told a lot of lies about me. One was that I demanded a [five-star] hotel room [during the shoot of Dev D]. He had actually come up to me and said, ‘Listen, you can’t stay with us, you are a Deol. So, I want to put you up in a hotel room.’ He literally told me that. What he told the press was that I demanded it.”

When mid-day contacted the Gangs of Wasseypur director, he says he had apologized to Deol once and “is ready to apologize again”. He further says that he understands if the actor felt attacked by his previous comments in the press. “It is okay if that is how he feels. Everyone has his own version of the truth. Maybe he felt attacked about what I had spoken about him earlier. I have personally apologized to him for hurting his feelings,” Kashyap says.

While he is apologetic, the filmmaker also insists that his opinion was based on how the actor was in the past. “What I said was what he was [like] in the past,” he emphasizes. Kashyap added that he doesn’t wish to drag the matter, and instead hopes to celebrate Deol’s latest work. “We all evolve with time. He has done a great job in [Trial By Fire]. I think it is time to celebrate his strong performance rather than playing the ping-pong of who said what.”

Still from Socha Na Tha (2005)

Shanghai (2012)

Abhay Deol with Anurag Kashyap, Kalki Koechlin, and Mahie Gill during the promotions of Dev D (2009)

June 13, 1997 was like any other day, until it wasn’t. J P Dutta’s Border was playing in theatres, and Neelam and Suresh Krishnamoorthy’s daughter Unnati and son Ujjwal went to catch the 3 pm show at Uphaar Cinema in Green Park, Delhi.

“My daughter kissed me goodbye,” recalls 65-year-old Neelam, “and said ‘Mom, I have left my lippie on your cheek’. I responded saying it is okay.”

Then she and her husband had lunch. “As we were leaving home, Shekhar said ‘Aren’t you going to remove this?’ And, I did. There are days when I wish I hadn’t.”

Considered one of the worst tragedies in the country, the fire at Uphaar Cinema took 59 lives, including that of the 17 and 13-year-olds. About 103 people were injured.

“They didn’t have to die, they all could have exited unscathed,” says Neelam. “All they [management of the cinema hall] had to do was raise an alert…”

However, series of dysfunctional processes culminated in the tragedy. The public announcement system didn’t work, the emergency light was out, one exit door was blocked by an eight-seat private box for the proprietor’s family. The gangways were also obstructed by extra seats. The entry door for balcony seating was locked from outside to avoid people without tickets enter the cinema hall. “Had the manager alerted Delhi Fire Service instead of moving the cars and cash, it would have been different,” says the distraught mother.

The parents accused the brothers Sushil and Gopal Ansal, who owned Uphaar Cinema, of neglect and have been fighting them in court for 26 years. A part of this struggle was documented in the 2016 book, Trial By Fire (Penguin Random House), which is now a Netflix series helmed by Prashant Nair, starring Abhay Deol and Rajshri Deshpande.

“To be honest,” confesses Neelam over a Zoom call from Delhi, “I wasn’t keen on it [screen adaptation]. I have become very averse to the medium and haven’t watched any films. But Shekhar and some friends said this story could inspire others, and that’s the only reason that I agreed.”

The couple saw the series just a few days ago. “They sent us the link many days ago,” say the Krishnamoorthys, “but we couldn’t open it, and when we did, we switched it off in 10 minutes. But then we gathered some courage. That’s all we have been doing all these years—gathering courage.”

The series, they say, is sensitive. “I didn’t want it to be melodramatic or have masala,” says Neelam. “It has succeeded in showing how ordinary people struggle for justice in this country, which runs at the speed of a bullock cart.”

“We had anticipated [the legal process] to take a couple of years,” adds her 66-year-old spouse, “but didn’t know it would take so long.”

Over the years, the parents have been advised to move on. “At least now we will be able to show our faces to our children,” says their father, adding, “Wherever they are. As parents, it is our duty to get justice for our children”.

Director Prashant Nair read the book in 2019. He was moved to the point of outrage by the lengths the couple had to go through: They went to Uphaar cinema to see where their children sat and understand the violations to strengthen their case. But he was also inspired by how the Krishnamoorthys stood up against all odds. “If they can find that strength, we hope others can too,” says Nair, adding that they endeavoured to capture the minutiae of the combat “for the audience to understand why went to court again and again. It was a huge sense of responsibility”.

The last 26 years have changed dramatically for the Krishnamoorthys. They used to run a business together, but now “spend more time in court”.

“Initially,” says Neelam, “I didn’t know anything and would feel handicapped. I would go to the court only to find the matter was adjourned, and didn’t know why.” They began reading all the legal documents, understanding the Code of Criminal Procedure, Indian Penal Court, bylaws, etc to know what rules were violated so that they could assist their counsel.

“When children are born, your lives revolve around them,” says Neelam, “You don’t stop being a mother if your children aren’t there.”

Though the justice system has failed them repeatedly, the couple says their fight is far from over. “I lost faith in the justice system in August 2015 when the Supreme Court allowed them to walk free after paying a fine of Rs. 30 crores each for a trauma centre in the main case. But it was restored in October 2021 when the metropolitan magistrate convicted the Ansals. But they filed an appeal and the sessions judge allowed them to walk free on the grounds of old age. It didn’t pronounce them not guilty, it convicts them beyond reasonable doubt but their seven years of imprisonment was reduced to eight months and 12 days on the grounds of old age. I felt cheated, but we aren’t giving up.”

Sushil Ansal, the 83-year-old real estate tycoon, has moved the Delhi High Court seeking a permanent and mandatory restrain on the release of the Netflix show “Trial by Fire” set to be released on January 13.

Ansal has also sought a restrain of the further publication of the book ‘Trial by Fire — The tragic tale of the Uphaar Tragedy’ authored by Neelam and Shekhar Krishnamoorthy published by Penguin Random House India Private Ltd on which the said series is stated to be based. The matter is listed before Justice Yashwant Varma for hearing on January 11. Apart from the main lawsuit, Ansal has in the interim sought an “ex-parte interim” restrain on the release of the book and the web series.

Ansal’s lawsuit claims that the official teaser of the web series, produced by y Endemol India Pvt Ltd, was released on January 4 and shows “direct references” to Ansal and his dramatized role in the June 1997 Uphaar Cinema Fire and its aftermath. It has been further stated that his portrayal in the trailer and teaser of the web series has caused and has the propensity to cause “immense and irreparable harm” to his reputation and his right to life under Article 21 of the Constitution as well as his privacy.

Ansal has claimed that he is now 83 and has been punished “both legally and socially” for his association with the Uphaar Tragedy. “The family of the Plaintiff have also suffered extensively on account of the incarceration of the Plaintiff. Further, the Plaintiff has struggled to achieve a semblance of normalcy in his life along with the lives of his family members in light of the mammoth effects of the Uphaar Tragedy, the conviction, and the social ramifications thereof,” the suit states.

The book was stated to have been released in 2016 when the review petitions in the main Uphaar case were still pending before the Supreme Court. As many as 59 people were killed in the fire.

“The Plaintiff had apologized before the Hon’ble Supreme Court to the families of the victims and had expressed deep remorse towards the unfortunate incident. While the Plaintiff is sympathetic towards the pain and grief caused to Defendant Nos 4 and 5 (Krishnamoorthys) along with several others who lost their loved ones, the Defendants ought not to make the Plaintiff perpetually liable to be rebuked by the public time and again, especially after having served the sentence and complying with the Orders of the Hon’ble Supreme Court,” the plea states.

The lawsuit states that when he found out that the web series is based on the book authored by the Krishnamoorthys, he bought a copy of the same and was shocked to find that the book entails “a one-sided narration of the unfortunate incident” and that its tone is “highly emotional” and has instances of exaggerated, prejudicial and hyperbolic statements made against Ansal.

New Delhi: The Delhi high court on Thursday rejected a petition moved by real estate baron Sushil Ansal seeking an ad interim stay on the release of an upcoming web series — Trial by Fire — based on the 1997 Uphaar fire tragedy, stating that the incident had made the “nation bow its head in shame”.

Ansal alleged that the show and the book, on which the show is based, defamed him and violated his right to privacy.

Observing that the OTT show alleges a systemic failure, manifests a cry of anguish against the manner in which the incident was prosecuted and tried, represents the perspective of parents who lost their teenaged children, the single bench of Justice Yashwant Varma said, “A fictional rendition of their trials and tribulations cannot, prima facie, be presumed to be defamatory. More fundamentally, their personal experience and perception of the incident or the culpability of the plaintiff would remain their belief, impression and understanding of the entire episode.”

One of the biggest dichotomies of being an actor is the desire to be a known face and a chameleon at the same time. A struggle often faced by Rajshri Deshpande, whose career is peppered with starkly distinct characters in films like 'Angry Indian Goddesses' (2015), 'Sexy Durga' (2017), and 'Manto' (2018). Deshpande is elated that people watch her work but fail to recognize her.

“[After watching the trailer of Trial By Fire], people have been wondering about me. I am glad that nobody knows me or how I look,” she says.

The actor says that she is inclined to characters that require her to shred every bit of herself and transform into a new person. “Who wants to look the same in every [film]? You want to experiment. In fact, I want [the director] to break me into pieces, construct me, and then get me together again. I like playing such characters,” says the actor, adding that her role in the Netflix’ series, 'Trial by Fire', falls in line with her pursuit for complex roles.

In the series inspired by the 1997 Uphaar Cinema tragedy, Deshpande plays Neelam Krishnamoorthy, who lost her children in the fire, and subsequently has been fighting a civil case against the cinema owners. The actor not only relied on the script and media interviews that Krishnamoorthy had given over the last 25 years, but also worked hard to find [the traits of the character] within herself.

“It’s not an easy character to play. You can’t just switch on with the camera. You have to have [the character] inside you to perform. The emotional truth has to be there. [That’s why] actors are never really on a holiday. We are always working, observing, learning, and unlearning. Since Neelam is not a fictional character, it was important to play the characters authentically.”

In May 2020, mid-day had reported that director Prashant Nair had bowed out of the second season of 'Made In Heaven' to develop a series on the Uphaar Cinema tragedy in Delhi (Busy working on Uphaar Cinema tragedy, May 7). A year on, the director has begun filming the drama — which will narrate the aftermath of the 1997 fire at the Delhi theatre that claimed 59 lives and injured over 100 people — at a set in Malad. Given the subject, a chunk of the series will be shot at Navrang Cinema in Andheri.

A unit hand reveals, “The art design team is working at the site, redesigning the façade of Navrang Cinema to make it similar to the Delhi theatre. The auditorium too is being reworked to suit the requirements of the narrative. The team has developed a detailed storyboard to ensure that the shoot can be done in a start-to-finish schedule in a bio-bubble.”

Nair has doubled up as the director and creator of the series that is based on the book, Trial By Fire, by Neelam and Shekhar Krishnamoorthy. “The show will be primarily told from the Krishnamoorthys’ point of view. They fought for justice for 19 years for their children, Unnati and Ujjwal, who lost their lives in the fire,” adds the source.

Endemol Shine India, which is producing the offering, will announce the cast in the coming weeks.