A documentary film-maker comes to Mumbai with a dream: to make just one feature film. Now six films old, after his 2006 debut Kabul Express that was widely acclaimed but commercially unsuccessful (including the hit New York and the flop Phantom), with one more film planned as well as a web series on Netaji Subhash Chaandra Bose that will soon start, Kabir Khan considers whatever the film industry has given him as a bonus. Topping this bonus are his three films with Salman Khan: Ek Tha Tiger (2012) and Bajrangi Bhaijaan (2015), which topped those years, and now the third and what he calls his most difficult film, Tubelight, which has just opened to a mixed response.
We meet up the director for a frank chat about his work and films. The film-maker has travelled to over 60 countries to understand the political circumstances there, shooting film documentaries and thus getting inspiration for his feature films, which always have a real backdrop. Tubelight is his first adaptation: he has taken the rights of and the core idea being the 2015 Hollywood film Little Boy.
Drama that’s relevant
The man, considered to have changed Salman Khan’s career graph, says, “I do not like remakes or sequels. But there was something about Little Boy that made me think it could be worthy of adaptation here. I set the film against the backdrop of the Indo-China War in 1962. But we have made strong political statements that are relevant even today,” he says.
As he puts it, every man is a product of his circumstances and experiences, and he can only make a film from his own viewpoint. “Having seen so many political upheavals and relationships between countries first hand, I realise that everything you hear on BBC or CNN is not reality. There is often another reality that is not told to us but should be, and I like to write my stories in a way that I blend the true reality in,” he explains.
And while adding that a man without an ideology is “like an animal”, he also subscribes to the fact that his films will be watched and interpreted by individuals as per their own set of experiences.
Will he ever tackle a subject without a political base? “I don’t think I will ever make such a film,” he replies, shaking his head. “If you feel strongly about something, you must speak out, whether it is about your own country or not. But it should not be done in an offensive or preachy way, and the best way is to do it subtly. When I made Bajrangi Bhaijaan, I advocated a positive relationship with Pakistan. But the way the story was told, neither side could take offence. In fact, both sides ended up wondering what I wanted to say!”
But Tubelight has nothing to do with Pakistan, yet it is not being released there. “Unfortunately, such decisions are taken by politicians,” he states. “But then, Bajrangi Bhaijaan was one of Salman’s highest-grossing films there and since they have two major films releasing on Eid, I don’t think they wanted to take a risk.”
How does he blend a fictional plot and characters into a real backdrop? “The characters just come to me when I get a story. I also name each and every character in my films from people I have known, though obviously there is no similarity in traits. So, I know a Banne Chacha, played here by the late Om Puri, a Laxman Bisht that is Salman Khan’s character, and even all my earlier characters that way.”
He has a special word about Salman Khan, who has starred in three of his films and produced two of them. “I always thought that in Ek Tha Tiger, Salman was a bit blasé, thinking that he has done it all and that there was nothing new to do. In Bajrangi Bhaijaan, he made an effort to be consistent in his character, though it was easy for him as it was the role of a charming simpleton. If you know Salman, he has an easy and intrinsic charm. This one was difficult because his character is a bit ‘off’ here, and in such cases, the person can easily go over the top.”
Kabir adds that his actor was treading on a thin line here as he was playing a man-child. “Salman has always carried a baggage — he is the epitome of machismo. But for Tubelight, as a director, I will not take credit for a lot of his performance, because he has indeed brought a lot to the table.”
Roles to remember
He is also grateful to casting director Mukesh Chhabra for his choices, especially Matin Rey Tangu, who plays the child Guo in the film. “Mukesh gave me Harshaali in my last film, and this time, this adorable boy from the North-East, which is in every aspect a neglected part of India. Also, while people come to watch a star, the story works because of the world created around him — by the supporting artistes. This is where Mukesh contributes a lot,” Kabir states.
When the film was announced, many thought it was an Indo-Chinese love story set against the war between the two nations, especially after a top female actor from there, Zhu Zhu, was signed. How did it emerge as a story of two brothers? “It was always that way!” he replies. “Zhu Zhu was one layer of the story. She was to be here for the promotions, but her busy schedule prevented her from coming down.”
What does he have to say about Om Puri, who passed away just after completing the film’s shoot? “He was tremendous!” says Kabir. “He had a day’s shooting left, but we could manage to work around that. I had actually approached him for my first film, Kabul Express. He loved the role of the terrorist, but since shooting involved rough terrain, and he had a back problem then, his doctor forbade him from doing the film. When I offered him the small role in Bajrangi…, of the moulvi, he loved it and told me that I must write something major in my next film, which happened with Tubelight.”
And then Kabir spills the beans on another interesting member of the Kabul Express cast that did not happen: Salman Khan himself! Explain, we say and he laughs, “I was struggling in Mumbai, with the story of Kabul Express, and a supporting four-minute DVD of my work in Afghanistan among terrorists. A common friend took me to meet Salman, and he watched the documentary I had made, heard my story and stated that he would like to play the role of one of the main terrorists. I laughed and thought he was joking. But when the film started and we met somewhere, he told me, ‘You never came back to me!’ He had actually loved the film and had wanted to do the role!”