No one can ignore Gujarat: Govind Nihalani

In an exclusive interview to Kshama Rao, Govind Nihalani talks about his latest venture -- the Dev.

What is Dev trying to say?
The issue taken up in Dev is the communalisation of the law-keeping forces, of how it’s necessary to keep the bodies and institutions that are governed by the Indian Constitution non-partisan… You can’t have ideological differences or for that matter any other differences colour your vision or tilt your opinions while justice is being meted out.

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Is it true that the film is set against the backdrop of the Gujarat riots?
Gujarat riots are just one part. It’s very difficult for anybody to be left unaffected by what happened in Gujarat and it’s there in my film but then we are also looking at everything that happened post-Babri Masjid in the last decade in our country.

You have said in your interviews that Amitabh Bachchan as a cop in Khakee was more explosive and outwardly expressive whereas in Dev it’s more implosive. Can you elaborate?
We have tried to make Dev a very realistic film and by that I mean it is not just about creating authentic sets and costumes. But it should also reflect in the way scenes are written, dialogues are spoken and in the performances. In popular cinema the expression of emotions is always heightened whereas you need not express hate or anger by talking loudly, the intensity in your voice could be just as effective and leave an impact. We have adopted restraint in the way we have dealt with the script. The script doesn’t really depend on dramatizing of speech or actions; it is strong enough to make you feel the emotion without any loud mannerisms.

You have said in your interviews that Dev is a sequel to Ardh Satya in terms of spirit.
Yes, while Ardh Satya talked about a police inspector and explored the contemporary times of the underworld then, today it’s a larger level we are looking at. You can say that Dev is treated more at a macro level.

When you have someone with the stature of Amitabh Bachchan and an equally strong subject like Dev, how easy or difficult does it get to do justice to both? Isn’t there a risk of the star image diluting the impact?
Not just Bachchan but whenever I have cast actors I am looking at their personalities, their star images and their strengths. A good actor can always make you forget that he is a star. With Dev our effort has been to make the character come alive with the performance and that I think we have more than achieved.

Are the audiences going to see Bachchan as the ‘angry old man’?
(Smiles) Possibly but yes I’m sure the audience will get to see yet another dimension to his personality and his talent in Dev.

You and your two sets of actors Amitabh Bachchan on one hand and Fardeen, Kareena on the other belong to three different generations. How did you marry the three?

It was seamless. I could sense their willingness to go beyond their star persona and bring out the character they were playing. Amrish Puri and Bachchan have worked together in several films while Om and he were working for the first time, it was my first too with him, Fardeen and Kareena but everybody, everything melded into each other.

Lastly, what do you get from Dev as a director?
(Smiles) A lot of creative satisfaction though a filmmaker can never be completely satisfied with what he does. But yes, after Tamas, Dev is one film that has been truly a satisfying, exhausting and exhilarating experience. You know, Meenakshi Sharma is a young girl who’s written the script and has brought a refreshing perception to the whole issue. So having directed her script makes me feel connected with today’s times. I feel satisfied I’m moving with them.