New Delhi:
Recreating through a movie a trueincident that is still fresh in public memory is not easy forany filmmaker and Rajkumar Gupta, who struggled to puttogether the story of Jessica Lall murder case on celluloid,says he had his share of apprehensions.
The one film old director says it was the "inspirationalnature" of the incident, which drew him to the 11-year-oldincident for the upcoming Rani-Mukherjee-Vidya Balan starrerNo One Killed Jessica.
"The 7-8 months that I spent writing the story were themost difficult. The material is very sensitive and I had tobring it in the realm of cinema. There was hesitation. Will Ibe able to do justice to the spirit of the story? I was notsure. Finally, I took it as a challenge. It's myinterpretationof the events," the director told PTI in an interview.
It is not Gupta's first brush with reality. In his debutfilm Aamir, he depicted a common man's struggle withterrorism.
Gupta, however, admits that Jessica was a differentballgame altogether because so much has been written about thecase. The challenge, he says, was to introduce new elementsand make it an engaging thriller rather than relying on thedocu-drama format.
Gupta calls the film a mix of facts and fiction inspiredby the 1999 murder of model Jessica Lall, who was killed in aDelhi party by Manu Sharma, the son of a wealthy Haryanapolitician.
In the ensuing trial, Manu Sharma and a number of otherswere acquitted on February 21, 2006 due to lack of proof. Butmedia attention and public outcry saw a re-trial. Manu Sharmawas found guilty and was sentenced to life imprisonment in2006.
"The film is inspired by a series of true events. Theinspiration angle to the story attracted me. The case broughtpeople together. So many unlikely heroes emerged. But it isnot a biography or docu-drama.
"I wanted to take the spirit of the story and add drama,emotion and thrill. It is part fiction and part fact and veryengaging and entertaining thriller. As a filmmaker I thoughtit was worth raising the questions," says Gupta, who startedhis career as assistant director on Anurag Kashyap's debutfilm Black Friday.
Rani plays a feisty reporter, who refuses to be a mutespectator as the culprits go free as one by one all the 300witnesses turn hostile. Vidya Balan has done the role ofJessica's younger sister Sabrina Lall in the movie, which isslated for a release on January 7, next year.
Gupta may be young but that did not stop him from gettingthe best for his second film and the director credits it allto a powerful script.
"Script did everything. The story became so inspirationaland important that everyone started connecting to it UTV, Raniand Vidya. They all thought that the story needed to be told,"he says.
The director says a lot of him has gone into the making ofthe movie but he is not in the mood to rest. He has alreadybegun work on his next project Rapchik Romance.
One thing, however, is still shrouded in mystery. Who isJessica in the movie? "For that, you will have to see thefilm," is his reply.
The one film old director says it was the "inspirationalnature" of the incident, which drew him to the 11-year-oldincident for the upcoming Rani-Mukherjee-Vidya Balan starrerNo One Killed Jessica.
"The 7-8 months that I spent writing the story were themost difficult. The material is very sensitive and I had tobring it in the realm of cinema. There was hesitation. Will Ibe able to do justice to the spirit of the story? I was notsure. Finally, I took it as a challenge. It's myinterpretationof the events," the director told PTI in an interview.
It is not Gupta's first brush with reality. In his debutfilm Aamir, he depicted a common man's struggle withterrorism.
Gupta, however, admits that Jessica was a differentballgame altogether because so much has been written about thecase. The challenge, he says, was to introduce new elementsand make it an engaging thriller rather than relying on thedocu-drama format.
Gupta calls the film a mix of facts and fiction inspiredby the 1999 murder of model Jessica Lall, who was killed in aDelhi party by Manu Sharma, the son of a wealthy Haryanapolitician.
In the ensuing trial, Manu Sharma and a number of otherswere acquitted on February 21, 2006 due to lack of proof. Butmedia attention and public outcry saw a re-trial. Manu Sharmawas found guilty and was sentenced to life imprisonment in2006.
"The film is inspired by a series of true events. Theinspiration angle to the story attracted me. The case broughtpeople together. So many unlikely heroes emerged. But it isnot a biography or docu-drama.
"I wanted to take the spirit of the story and add drama,emotion and thrill. It is part fiction and part fact and veryengaging and entertaining thriller. As a filmmaker I thoughtit was worth raising the questions," says Gupta, who startedhis career as assistant director on Anurag Kashyap's debutfilm Black Friday.
Rani plays a feisty reporter, who refuses to be a mutespectator as the culprits go free as one by one all the 300witnesses turn hostile. Vidya Balan has done the role ofJessica's younger sister Sabrina Lall in the movie, which isslated for a release on January 7, next year.
Gupta may be young but that did not stop him from gettingthe best for his second film and the director credits it allto a powerful script.
"Script did everything. The story became so inspirationaland important that everyone started connecting to it UTV, Raniand Vidya. They all thought that the story needed to be told,"he says.
The director says a lot of him has gone into the making ofthe movie but he is not in the mood to rest. He has alreadybegun work on his next project Rapchik Romance.
One thing, however, is still shrouded in mystery. Who isJessica in the movie? "For that, you will have to see thefilm," is his reply.
