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| Wednesday, May 28, 2008 |
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13th May, 2008
It's the eve of the release of my first film Jannat, as I sit back buckled up into Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) that lands into Lahore International airport I think to myself- "Why am I premiering my film in Pakistan?" A question that in the following week was asked by a thousand different journalists a million times during the pre-release and post release interviews? So here is the answer:-
30 minutes flying airtime from Delhi you find yourself in so called enemy territory as told to you by your parents and grandparents but the first thing you realise when you get into Lahore is that - you haven't left Delhi- its exactly the same!!!
The streets, the building, the people the shops, they all look the same. Yes; there are small differences: a Maruti Zen is called a Suzuki Zen; and your hoardings are in Urdu and not in Hindi. But the colour of the land is the same and the air smells the same!
We get past immigration and an excited security guard who recognizes Emraan tells him that there are at least a 1,000 people waiting outside for him. Lo and Behold! We were mobbed by 56 Pakistani news channels, everyone trying to get a glimpse of the entire team of Jannat. Emraan, Mahesh Bhatt and Sonal were their prime targets, while Vishesh and I quietly slipped away…
I could not understand the passion/frenzy and this over the top reaction/love that the Pakistani people were showing us. I am escorted into a Prado where a very well-dressed; well spoken girl, Henna; gave my room card and a Sim card. At the back of my head, I could hear my grandmother saying- "They're Pakistanis!" …..We checked into the Pearl Continental; which I am told is the largest five star in Pakistan and possibly the swankiest I have ever seen. From the door man; to the receptionist; to the lift man; to my security guard; all of them knew that we were Indians and why we were in Pakistan. But they seemed to be extra kind and generous towards us. You flip on the TV and you find the same Saas Bahu saga; they're all the same channels, Sony, Zee, Star and I look around and think to myself again 'where am I?'
That evening we were invited to a formal dinner at this placed called 'Dish'; to wine and dine with the page three of Lahore. I was expecting a mellow evening with Ghazals and polite conversation. But my surprise 'Dish' would give even Aurus; a happy night club in Mumbai; a run for its money. From the décor to the ambience to the food and beverages- everything just blew me away. The images I saw in front of me and the images of Pakistan which gets filtered through the media onto Indian television is nothing like what I thought Pakistan would be; Nothing At All!! May I add the women in Lahore are some of the best looking women I have ever seen!
After a hectic dinner with the likes of Wasim Akram and Imran Khan; we rushed back to the hotel and on my way back I as I was looking around the city; I was asked by Mr. Mahesh Bhatt- Tell me; why does your Pakistani bodyguard have to protect you? What are you doing for him that he needs to protect you? At that point I did not have any answer. We spent the next morning going from studio to studio- doing TV interviews for all the popular news channels namely Don and Geo TV. Wherever we go we are received with warm smiles and open arms, they seem to be so happy just to see us there… The premiere was more of an after thought…
This is supposed to be a country which is recovering from the killing of a political leader and currently with no stable political party ruling and we were told that the ISI were keeping a close eye on us because they had a problem with the censor of our film and they felt that Jannat was Hindu propaganda. What they had heard of Jannat was that it was story on Bob Woolmer and the Pakistani team which was absolutely untrue! However, after hearing this under normal circumstances, this would be a very edgy situation for an Indian in Pakistan! We human beings are animals; most of the times we don't react with our heads but with our bodies! We sense love, hate, fear, jealousy, and loathing as a bodied reaction. So my bodily reaction should've been discomfort, fear; but it wasn't? So how could I be in enemy territory??
Jannat was the first film to be premiered in Pakistan and the first Hindi film to be seen by a Pakistani audience before Mumbai. There were one thousand five hundred people for a theatre which would only accommodate five hundred people. Obviously with those numbers; there was stampede outside the theatre and the gates had to be sealed off. Emraan, Sonal, Mr. Mukesh Bhatt and Mr. Mahesh Bhatt made it into the theatre while I was left out. I somehow managed to get through the gates and the Media turnout was the largest I have ever seen!! The camera flashes were going crazy and it was like those red carpets scenes in Hollywood and for a split second I felt like Shah Rukh Khan!
The one thousand five hundred people who had made it outside the theatre; broke down the security barricade and made it into the hall. As I stood outside the theatre, I remembering telling Abhishek from Aaj tak; who had come to Lahore with us; that I had just missed my first premiere!
On entering the theater I see Mr. Mukesh Bhatt standing on a seat screaming at the projectionist that - "Shut the Film! Shut the Film!" I was thinking what on earth is going on and then I realized that there are 20 videocamera in the theatre and the trailer of the film had started. The projectionist told him to "Move away- your blocking the film!" Two and a half minutes into the first scene finally the film stops and Mr.Mukesh Bhatt is hopping mad and threatens to walk out with the print!
It takes us 2 hours to clear out the still cameras and video camera from the theatre. We had to move to a family booth because people were not looking at the screen but at Mr. Bhatt and Emraan himself. Who could blame them; I mean an actor you usually see on screen is standing ten feet away from you! Finally the movie started and I was amazed to see how a Pakistani crowd was reacting very similarly to a trial audience in Mumbai. They all laughed at the same jokes, they were quiet at the same moment and they all seemed to be distracted at similar points in the film…
The premiere was a roaring success and before the film could end, due to security reasons the Jannat team had to leave the hall. On the way to the Hotel, I started calls from people who had seen the film giving me feedback about how much they liked the film, the story, the ending. How it made them cry!! It was a heart warming experience for a first time director to get such a warm response in a foreign country.
As I boarded the PIA flight back to Delhi, I thought about the question Mr.Bhatt has asked me- why did my security guard have to protect me and what was I doing for him in return??? And why did I premiere my film in Pakistan? The answer to this is not totally tangible but what I realized was that I have been lucky enough to be one small brick in the peace building process.
Five years ago if you told anybody in Pakistan or in India that there would be an Indian film premiering in Lahore, they would laugh at you. But on the 13th of May, Mr. Sohail Khan (not Salman's brother) and Mr. Mahesh Bhatt made it possible. Hopefully, Jannat will do well in Pakistan and help the dwindling theatre scene in Pakistan; hopefully a young kid in Pakistan will watch Jannat and be inspired to make films. Hopefully the money Jannat makes will percolate down to the spot boy in Pakistan, maybe that's the only thing I can give back to the people of Lahore and my security guard. As my plane landed into Delhi and I prepared to get onto the connecting flight to Mumbai I realized that I did not fall in love with Pakistan and its people because of how similar they are to us, but I fell in love with all the differences!! |
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| Posted by Kunal Deshmukh at 11:05 IST |
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Last Post: 13/05/2008 |
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For the mortals of the world, there’s a famous saying about the city of Kashmir which says “If at all there is Heaven on Earth, it is here, it is here, it is here”. But for the immortals of Bollywood, the same saying can be rephrased as “If at all there is Jannat on Earth, it is Kunal Deshmukh, it is Kunal Deshmukh, it is Kunal Deshmukh”. We are very sure that all of you who worship Bollywood must have got the connection like a fish to water.
But for starters, Kunal Deshmukh is the name who has, to his credit of bringing Jannat on Bollywood’s Earth. Being armed with degrees in Film Direction Courses from the prestigious NYFA (New York Film Academy) & NYU (New York University), New York, and Kunal started his filmi career with as an Assistant Director to Mohit Suri, who gradually and eventually landed up giving Bollywood its very own Jannat, a film that has both the masses and the classes asking for more!
The multi-talented Kunal will be sharing and blogging his views and thoughts about the topics that he feels strongly about, only on Bollywood Hungama, the Biblical site of Bollywood about which you feel strongly about. |
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