Sonam is like Waheeda Rehman: Delhi-6 writer

What must go in the mind of the man who has written hard-hitting films like Rang De Basanti, Beta, Dil, Aks, Tezaab, Chalbaaz and Khalnayak? Curious? We decided to find out. Here's what Kamlesh Pandey, the writer of all these films and the forthcoming Delhi-6 had to say over some piping hot tea and samosas. Read on…

Q. Where did you get the idea for a story like Delhi-6?

Kamlesh: It was Rakeysh's idea. He's from Balli Maran in Delhi. While doing Rang De Basanti together, he used to talk about his childhood. I used to find it interesting – the people, the moods, the insanity. I thought it would be an excellent backdrop for a film.

Q. How did you etch out the characters?

Kamlesh: I wanted it to be like A Big Fat Greek Wedding. In Delhi-6, Roshan (Abhishek Bachchan) is an Indian boy born and brought up in the US who hates India and the so-called stupidity of Indians. But slowly, he discovers the country and then it's inescapable for him. In the process, he falls in love with Bittu (Sonam Kapoor), who is almost like 'India' for him. Also, the boy's mother is a Muslim and father a Hindu. He's surprised with the discrimination and that it doesn't take much here to incite one community against the other.

Q. So, you have used Sonam's character Bittu as a metaphor for India?

Kamlesh: Yes, not an obvious one. She's middle-class, traditional but has aspirations and dreams like the country has today. And the dove Masakali is again, a metaphor for Bittu's desire to fly, to be free.

Q. How has Sonam Kapoor fared in the film?

Kamlesh: She's incredible. She's the next big star. She can be very disarming. I was the one to persuade Anil Kapoor to let her do the film. We were in a fix as to who will play the character, as Rakeysh felt 'Bittu is Delhi-6'. Sonam was perfect, she's like a young Waheeda Rehman.

Q. And Abhishek Bachchan?

Kamlesh: I've known him for long, and he's really grown as an actor and become dependable. He's the only actor today who can easily look boyish and also mature. He was supposed to make his debut in my film Samjhauta Express, before JP Dutta took him. He will have a long life as an actor.

Q. Do you think the story of Delhi-6 is more relevant today, after the 26/11 Mumbai attacks?

Kamlesh: Yes, it's most relevant in recent times. It exposes our gullibility and hypocrisy.

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Q. Where do you draw the characters from – their names, nature, background?

Kamlesh: Rakeysh and me pooled our memories for it. I belong to a small town called Ballia in UP, which had many interesting characters. And he got characters from the area he stayed in.

Q. Give an example of some of the characters inspired from real people.

Kamlesh: There's a guy called Gobar, played by Atul Kulkarni, from my village – I plan to write a whole film on him someday. Then there was a jeweller who had married a girl one-third his age, and she was having an affair with a young photographer. There were also two brothers who loved to hate each other. And, there was this sweeper who was an item in the colony (laughs). Also, there was a Muslim halwai who made excellent jalebis and absolutely loved his goat.

Q. Have you been to Delhi and do you like the city?

Kamlesh: I love Old Delhi – it has a personality of its own. It's like a human being. If you go to someone's house, they will still order Campa-Cola, even if the brand no longer exists. That's their loyalty. They try to exaggerate everything – a nosebleed will be put across very dramatically, as if the whole nostrils opened pouring buckets full of blood! Plus, the food is amazing in that part of Delhi. In Mumbai, people only know how to make money, not food.

Q. Do stories on cities work more than others?

Kamlesh: I don't think about it like that – I just write a story irrespective of the location.

Q. How has your journey been from Ballia to Bombay?

Kamlesh: My journey could make a feature film! I was not good at anything – I had no aspirations, no dreams. I was not smart enough to be a doctor or engineer and not healthy enough to join the armed forces. And being a teacher would've been boring.

Q. Then how did you begin writing?

Kamlesh: Amol Palekar used to be my classmate at the JJ School of Art. He had moved on from theatre to movies and was a star. I once bumped into him in Juhu, and luckily he was looking for a writer for his film Ankaheen. I wrote for him for the kicks. Gul Anand liked my script and asked me to write Jalwa. That's how my journey began.

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Q. What is that one thing you like about writing? How do you relax when you suffer from a writer's block?

Kamlesh: The best part about writing is – you are the first audience. I get a big kick out of it. When I'm stuck, I go for a walk or watch a film. Or I go to a bookshop and spend time there.

Q. What do you enjoy writing the most - dialogues, script or screenplay?

Kamlesh: I enjoy the art of storytelling. It is only in India that different people write the screenplay and dialogues because, in the earlier days many writers were from Bengal or the south. But I'm good with dialogues – as I was with Rediffusion, I'm good with one-liners.

Q. How do you approach writing – do you write the end first like suspense novelists? And how do you merge songs?

Kamlesh: First, I get a germ of an idea. Like last night I got a line in my mind – 'The truth is often illegitimate'. I'm now building a story around it. It will soon take a shape of a beginning, middle and end. It's a miracle how it happens, but it helps me pay my bills! When I'm writing something, I get excited like an 18-year-old. Every story is like a new toy, a new girl next door. As for the songs, I feel, a song is a scene. It should make a point and take the story forward, and not be a relief to go to the bathroom.

Q. What works best with the audience?

Kamlesh: I have no idea. Nobody can double guess. You have to go by your gut feeling and work with sincerity. I'm also an audience and share the same expectations and aspirations of a normal viewer.

Q. But where does the secret of writing a good story lie?

Kamlesh: It is not difficult to find a bridge to people – through life and the struggle. There's no formula. I may go wrong sometimes, like I did with Aks, which was a film ahead of its time. But I don't worry about failure.

Q. Are certain actors better storytellers than the others?

Kamlesh: I never think of actors while writing a script. It depends on who is available when. It's unrealistic and stupid to keep someone in mind while writing a script.

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Q. You had said in one of your interviews that the industry lacks competent writers. Why do you think so?

Kamlesh: Most writers are copying Hollywood or making remakes of Bollywood films. Many of these so-called young, successful filmmakers are bankrupt as far as stories are concerned. They don't know what to make next! Because, stories come from the life you have lived. Struggling in a Mercedes does not help. The corporate houses, too, don't understand the other India out there.

Q. You've written landmark films like Tezaab, Dil, Beta and many more. What went wrong with Yuvvraaj?

Kamlesh: Tezaab was the Rang De... of the nineties. People in the north have done a PhD on it. I didn't enjoy it so much then, but now I do. Maybe I will enjoy Rang De... and Delhi-6 a decade later! As for Yuvvraaj, Subhash Ghai, who is an old friend, used me as a bouncing board. The film was a little dated. I had told him so. A Deewar wouldn't work today.

Q. How much was your input in Rang De Basanti, which seemed like almost an original script?

Kamlesh: In Rang De Basanti, DJ (Aamir Khan's character) was me – from my college days. I was very popular, and more for writing love letters for friends! I wrote quite well and got maybe a plate of samosas or a movie in return. So, once I left college, I was missing my popularity and wanted to go back to reclaim my glory. I had written the basic story in school, 50 years ago. When I did research on Bhagat Singh, I wondered – what if he were alive today? What would he have done? That's how the story idea came.

Q. Did Aamir Khan take it to another level?

Kamlesh: Yes, he did. Our earlier choice was Manoj Bajpayee. But when Aamir agreed to do the role, Manoj was considerate enough to let go of the project. We were lucky enough to get Aamir, who then got Rahman on board.

Q. But many people say he's a perfectionist and interferes…

Kamlesh: Why shouldn't he be? If you're not a perfectionist, you have no business being in the industry. Aamir put his heart and soul into it. He underplayed his character in the film. This is very rare – he calibrated his performance down to the other boys'. He chose to become one of them rather than stand out. I think it is very intelligent acting and it is his greatest achievement.

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Q. You are also involved in an animation film called Life After Death, aren't you?

Kamlesh: Not only that, Reliance has signed me for a three-film deal for animation scripts, and they've also bought Life After Death. The genre will become very big in the next five years.

Q. What's coming up in the future?

Kamlesh: I'm doing a Rs 100-crore hardcore sci-fi project with Priyadarshan, which I'd written 11 years ago. Tentatively called Sarp Kal – the Age of the Serpent, it could be India's answer to The Lord of the Rings. I have drawn from Indian mythology for it. We're looking for a director and some foreign producers might also come on board. Then, I'm doing Mr India 2 with Shekhar Kapur, Kohinoor with Ravi Chopra, and another film, which Chopra's son will be directing. Plus, I'm exploring three-four options with Rakeysh. Also, there's Consignment on human trafficking with Anil Kapoor.

Q. How will Mr India's sequel take the story forward? Will Anil Kapoor and Sridevi have kids in it? And who will play Mogambo?

Kamlesh: If I reveal the story, then there's no point. But we're so thrilled – it's fun. We're looking for a director. We don't know who can match Amrish Puri's role, but we know that the villain in the sequel will be the biggest in Indian cinema.

Q. Shah Rukh Khan had said in an interview on CNN-IBN that one should detach oneself from a film after it's over. Do you follow that as a writer?

Kamlesh: As a writer, characters are not in your control – they take a life of their own, take the story forward. They become real, bigger than what you've written. Don't stop them. The story begins with you, and becomes theirs. So, I detach myself right from the beginning.

Q. Have you thought of taking up direction?

Kamlesh: I have resisted the temptation. I don't have the aptitude to be a director, where sometimes you have to abuse people to get things done. I'm a greedy boy in a toyshop when it comes to writing, and it's difficult to get me out of there! I get one good story idea a day, and have 50 written stories in the bank. I'm never going to be finished with writing.

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