Director Samar Khan reflects back on the making of his court room drama Shaurya, which starred Kay Kay Menon, Rahul Bose, Javed Jaffrey, Deepak Dobriyal, and Minissha Lamba, as it clocks 17 years.
How do you look back on Shaurya?
I think Shaurya for me has been a life- defining film , it’s amazing that even after 17 years the film has a life of its own, and is interpreted in many ways by people who watch the film . I would have never imagined that the film would have become such an integral part of public discourse and people’s memories.
Some of Kay Kay Menon’s dialogues are being given a new interpretation after the Pahalgam incident?
I don’t think anyone ever imagines how the dialogues of their film would be interpreted or how much of an impact they would make, when we shot the scene with Kay Kay we were all aware that he has given an outstanding performance and that the lines would have an impact. But how lines are used in a political context , well no one ever imagines that .
Do you think Shaurya would have a bigger impact if released today?
I think the film released at the right time and maybe in today’s day and age it would have been difficult to imagine the film and its relevance .
The film was compared with A Few Good Men?
I don’t even mind the comparison because somewhere A Few Good Men remains one of my favourite films and yes, the climax of the film and Kay Kay’s character took inspiration from that film. I always wanted to tell the story through a court room drama and A Few Good Men was one of the very few films that had used a court room drama in its storytelling so yes the comparisons were obvious.
Tell me about the cast?
I was always very sure about Kay Kay Menon, and the rest of the cast fell in place organically. Every film has its own destiny and I was lucky that I got Rahul Bose, Javed Jaaferi bhai, Minisha, and Deepak Dobriyal and even Pankaj Tripathi for the film.
Shah recited a poem?
SRK has always been someone very very close to me and has always encouraged me in whatever I have done… so when I told him about the film and about the poem he immediately agreed as he knew how important the story was to me personally. I would always be grateful to him because today the poem is played out in so many army regiment centres and other places… and has added so much to the film and its life.
Closing thoughts?
I am very proud of Shaurya. Today also I meet so many army officers who speak so highly about the film .Yes sometimes if saddens me that Kay Kay’s dialogues are taken out of context in a political debate. But for a vast majority it’s not the same.
