New Delhi:
Individual stories don't appealto Prakash Jha. The director, who sparks a debate with everyfilm, has once again set out to dissect the politics ofreservation in his upcoming Amitabh Bachchan starrerAarkshan.
"I always see my characters in their social backdrop. Iam not interested in individual stories unless they have somekind of social context. My characters always representsomething," said Jha.
But contrary to the perception, Jha says he is not tryingto find a solution through the movie.
"And honestly, is there a solution?," he asks. The lure of reality is too strong for him to ignore.
Jha,who helmed movies like Damul, Mrityudand, Gangaaja',Apaharan, says the topic of reservation has been troublinghim since the 1980s when it sparked off nationwide protests. The director has been collecting material on it sincethen and finally decided to give it a shape four-years ago.
Henarrated the story to Amitabh Bachchan, who immediately agreedto play the character of a college principal, torn betweenreality and idealism.
"I keep noting my ideas and sometimes I find a characteror a topic to convert it into a movie. It is a slow andcontinuous process. I narrated the story of Aarakshan toBachchanji four years ago while I was already working onRaajneeti," Jha adds.
Reservation is not the only focus in the movie, which is set tohit theatres on August 12 with a star cast of Bachchan, SaifAli Khan, Deepika Padukone, Prateik Babbar and Manoj Bajpai.
The director is also turning his gaze on thecommercialisation of education, which he believes is aby-product of reservation.
"An issue which divides and causes such emotionalupheaval in our society is an important story. I want it to beinteresting, engaging, which says something new and representsa balanced view. May be what I says ends up being an utopiabut it needs to be told," says Jha.
The 59-year-old believes that the commercialisation ofeducation has made it a property of few people and has furtherdivided the society.
"I want to understand why this is happening. You can'tget an education without money. Primary education is okay butspecialisation is impossible without money. It is dividing oursociety in a different way. The rich India gets education andmoves forward whereas the India without money remains thesame," says the director.
"All these issues are related to education. Reservationcame, the number of seats decreased, competition increased andencouraged private coaching. Ironically, reservation's mainaim was to bring equality but it ended up dividing usfurther," he adds.
The director says that he always wanted to rope inBachchan for the part, which he says needed certain dignityand larger-than-life persona.
"When I wrote the character, I had only one name andfortunately for me he liked it. His personality completelysuits the character," Jha says.
"I always see my characters in their social backdrop. Iam not interested in individual stories unless they have somekind of social context. My characters always representsomething," said Jha.
But contrary to the perception, Jha says he is not tryingto find a solution through the movie.
"And honestly, is there a solution?," he asks. The lure of reality is too strong for him to ignore.
Jha,who helmed movies like Damul, Mrityudand, Gangaaja',Apaharan, says the topic of reservation has been troublinghim since the 1980s when it sparked off nationwide protests. The director has been collecting material on it sincethen and finally decided to give it a shape four-years ago.
Henarrated the story to Amitabh Bachchan, who immediately agreedto play the character of a college principal, torn betweenreality and idealism.
"I keep noting my ideas and sometimes I find a characteror a topic to convert it into a movie. It is a slow andcontinuous process. I narrated the story of Aarakshan toBachchanji four years ago while I was already working onRaajneeti," Jha adds.
Reservation is not the only focus in the movie, which is set tohit theatres on August 12 with a star cast of Bachchan, SaifAli Khan, Deepika Padukone, Prateik Babbar and Manoj Bajpai.
The director is also turning his gaze on thecommercialisation of education, which he believes is aby-product of reservation.
"An issue which divides and causes such emotionalupheaval in our society is an important story. I want it to beinteresting, engaging, which says something new and representsa balanced view. May be what I says ends up being an utopiabut it needs to be told," says Jha.
The 59-year-old believes that the commercialisation ofeducation has made it a property of few people and has furtherdivided the society.
"I want to understand why this is happening. You can'tget an education without money. Primary education is okay butspecialisation is impossible without money. It is dividing oursociety in a different way. The rich India gets education andmoves forward whereas the India without money remains thesame," says the director.
"All these issues are related to education. Reservationcame, the number of seats decreased, competition increased andencouraged private coaching. Ironically, reservation's mainaim was to bring equality but it ended up dividing usfurther," he adds.
The director says that he always wanted to rope inBachchan for the part, which he says needed certain dignityand larger-than-life persona.
"When I wrote the character, I had only one name andfortunately for me he liked it. His personality completelysuits the character," Jha says.
