At the pen’s mercy
When you come across the man who wrote Ranbir Kapoor’s character in Rockstar, you categorise him, inevitably. The icing on the cake is his upcoming film, also a directorial venture, asking for mercy for Sanjay Dutt.
When you come across the man who wrote Ranbir Kapoor’s character in Rockstar, you categorise him, inevitably. The icing on the cake is his upcoming film, also a directorial venture, asking for mercy for Sanjay Dutt. By now, he’s undeniably a rebel in your head; then, he answers your last question with: “I’m very emotional. I’m able to express only what I feel strongly for,” says writer Muazzam Beg.
Thanks to those feelings, the audience got to indulge in Rockstar. “I wrote Rockstar after my first break-up, during mass communication at Jamia Milia University, Delhi. Most of the film was based on my personal life. Meeting Imtiaz Ali was a coincidence that happened when I was an in-house writer at Subhash Ghai’s Mukta Arts (2003 to 2004). We got along well and I narrated the script to him. It took six years for the film to materialise, since there was always a conflict about the climax. My climax was not the one you saw in the film. In my climax, the pain in the artiste’s life takes his art to another level. But, the Rockstar that released portrayed him as an obsessive lover.”
While Rockstar is past, Munna Bhai, Sallu Bhai —Killers or Healers is present, the auditions for which was also the reason for his visit to Chandigarh. “When Supreme Court passed the verdict on March 21, 2013, I was sitting at Ajmer Sharif, where the idea came about. The story came to me later; the thought struck suddenly. I just wanted to express my views through the film, which revolves around two die-hard fans of Salman Khan and Sanjay Dutt. They are those typical fans who believe in bodybuilding, six-pack abs and all that jazz. The film is about these two fans asking for mercy for the stars by bringing together 25,000 fans. One cannot question Supreme Court’s verdict; but, there’s always the mercy plea,” shares he.
On what made him write the film, he says, “My question is — why should one go into the past? Subah ka bhula agar sham ko wapas aa jaye, to usse bhula thodi kahenge…? These actors are being targeted only to prove that the law is equal for everyone. Where is the law for those who commit crime on a regular basis and get away with it? Moreover, they committed those crimes a long time ago. Since then, Sanjay has been in the jail for 1.5 years, done social work and lived like a law-abiding citizen. Do we realise that by putting him behind bars, we’re at loss? From giving movies that do business in crores to proving employment to thousands — it’s all a part of the working wheel.”
Since it’s an idea that developed just three months ago, Beg himself is producing the film. “The budget of the film will be about R15 crore. I’ve launched my own production company called Hindustan Light and Sound Movie Service, which is producing this film.”
The shoot of the film starts on July 29 (Sanjay Dutt’s birthday) and is scheduled to release on December 27 (Salman Khan’s birthday).