As Paheli celebrates 20 years, we have a fascinating throwback interview with Shah Rukh Khan and the time he told Subhash K Jha why he feels Paheli was so special.
I don’t think you’ve ever done a film like Paheli before?
And I hope I can do things like Paheli in the future as well. Paheli is very different. I could only make it when my production house could afford to take a risk. After Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani and Asoka I had to make films that were commercially viable. After Asoka my company was in the red.I hope the mood of the movie comes across to the audience. I love comedy. But Paheli isn’t a funny film, though it does have light moments.
Amol Palekar isn’t the first avant-garde director you’ve worked with.
Yes, I’ve worked with Mani Kaul, Kundan Shah, Ketan Mehta… But being the producer in Paheli, this was the first occasion when I got to observe a so-called serious director so closely. Earlier I was younger and brasher. I just did my job and went home. This is my first real brush with the mindset of an avant-garde filmmaker.
There’re stories of differences of opinion with Amol Palekar.
Isn’t that natural? We ARE different people. I’ve differences of opinion with Karan and Farah. But those are friends, so the differences didn’t seem like major things. Amol Palekar was an entirely new experience. And like I said I was the producer of Paheli…
And the leading man.
Correction. Rani Mukerjee is the hero of the film. I’m the supporting actor. Rather, supporting actors, since I’ve two roles. I like the story. I told it to my kids, in my own way. And they found it very sweet. And I’ve a child’s heart and imagination. I can’t be pompous enough to feel audiences will go along with anything I do. As long as they find Paheli entertaining , they’ll come to see it. Those who expect to see me in Armani and Kelvin Klein may be put off.
Are you in love with your new moustachioed look in Paheli?
Noo…It can get very sticky and uncomfortable when you’re shooting in Rajasthan at a temperature of 40 degrees. I don’t like it.
Since Rani is the hero of Paheli she should ‘ve used the moustache.
Not allowed for women. It’s all about the non-permissible things that woman without a moustache do.
You think the audience would take to a film about a woman who gets impregnated by a ghost?
I hope they don’t go home and try to make love to a ghost. People know cinema is makebelieve. And nowadays a lot of my friends like Karan Johar and Sunita Menon believe in ghosts. I don’t believe in ghosts. But if you believe a man can believe that a man can come back from the dead to save his wife (in Ghost) why not Paheli? If you can believe that a 80-year old woman can continue to love the man she loved as a young girl (Titanic) then why not the love story between a ghost and a woman? And if you can believe that a man can be in a prison cell for twenty years without speaking to anyone (Veer Zara) , and if you can believe smoking screen encourages smoking in real life, then you can believe anything.
Paheli looks like quite a puzzle for your fans.
Why is that? It’s a love triangle among a man, his wife and a ghost. I happen to play two of the roles. I do believe love stories are immensely liked by audiences in India and abroad. Out West there are much better love stories and action films, and there are better offbeats films too. But when it comes to love stories I believe we’re unbeatable. There’re so many love emotions which come naturally to us. A German friend of mine put it so well. ‘We’ve perfected the art of technology in our country. But we’ve forgotten how to cry in our films. For a good cry we’ve to go to your films.’ I think we tell love tales from our heart. That’s why they work so well.
You keep saying you’re tired of doing love stories.
Yeah..That’s like saying I’m tired of traveling in a car. Doesn’t mean I’ll start moving around in a chopper. Love stories are a way of life. And I do believe every story we tell is finally a love story. Even in a sci-fi like Star Wars there’s a love angle. I do get bored doing the same kind of love stories. That’s where Paheli comes in… just like Arnold Schwarzenegger who does a Kindergarten Cop in-between his action routine. I need to do just three films a year, and I do them very honestly. I try to make each of my films look as different as possible. Sometimes they all end up looking similar, as was the case during the year of Darr, Anjaam and Baazigar. But, Main Hoon Na, Veer-Zara, Swades are as different from one another as humanly possible. I don’t consciously work out strategies and phases for my films. I’ve reached a stage in my career where I just tell the story that I want to. I do my best along with the director. I don’t think about the end-results. But yes, I do want to say things in my films that have a social relevance. Paheli talks about the loneliness of a rural wife who’s left behind by her husband.
Again, you think it’ll work?
Swades may not have been a blockbuster. But I’m proud of it. Likewise Paheli. It’s targeted at an audience that would like to see more than just songs and dances, though there’re plenty of those, and I’m proud of them. If you’re in love you’d like to see Paheli.
