Director Raj Kumar Gupta’s latest, India’s Most Wanted, like his past outings, draws inspiration from an actual operation to capture a terrorist, says Saimi Sattar
Dressed in a white shirt, blue jeans and black rimmed glasses, Raj Kumar Gupta could pass off as just any man in the crowd. Not many might take a second look at him as there is an inherent ordinariness in his demeanour and attire. And it is this quality that has been imbued in the characters that people his newest film, India’s Most Wanted, which stars Arjun Kapoor alongside four newcomers.
The film is based on the real story of five RAW agents who pool in their money and go out and capture one of India’s most wanted terrorists and that too without firing a weapon. The trailers have been garnering eyeballs and the men who are a part of it have an everyday ordinariness, which is in sharp contrast to the beefy protagonists that one usually sees in Hindi action films. The director, whose debut film Aamir (2008) still sets the benchmark in realistic cinema, says, “Being well built is not proportionate to bravery. People who are physically strong might not rise to the occasion. It is about mental courage, tact and trade craft. I met a lot of people who work in RAW and they look like very real people.”
He points out that for any intelligence operations officer, the ability to blend in with the surroundings is essential. “They were regular men. They might have been walking here and doing regular jobs and you wouldn’t be aware that these are the people who protect us by risking their lives,” he says. Reflecting on their sacrifices, he felt a compulsion to celebrate these unsung heroes for a reason. “What do they get in return for their services? They stay away from their family for so long. They do not even expect gratitude and rather see it as their duty. This made the story very humane and personal,” says he.
Gupta remembers that the story came to his attention when he read something in the newspapers and decided to pursue it further. “I started meeting people and reading about the incident which got me more and more interested. There was a lot of layering. You feel that these people, who go on a mission, would have weapons and government support but my research revealed something to the contrary,” he says.
Like No One Killed Jessica (2011) and Raid (2018), his other films, this, too, is rooted in reality. Gupta prefers to stick to this genre and even the manner of approaching a film, for a reason. He says, “It is something that breathes life into storytelling. People are emotionally more connected with stories that they hear or read or when something comes out of reality. It gives you a sense of belonging or a connection. For us, filmmakers, it is important that when we hear a story, it should touch us intellectually or emotionally.”
When Aamir, his first film was released, which too was based on terrorism, the socio-political climate in the country was very different as was the way people reacted to acts of terror. “The tragedy and emotion remain the same. When an act like this occurs, people suffer as innocent lives are lost. There is a human and an emotional cost. That remains the same even now. However, the consumption of how we see information and how we conceive it, has changed because of social media and fake news. Whether these are responsibly consumed or not depends on the individual and his/her understanding of right and wrong. Maybe one doesn’t handle it responsibly and that is the real change that we are witnessing. People receive a message in a WhatsApp group and start believing it. A restrained reaction is essential rather than a knee-jerk one,” he says.
In the current context, Gupta also points out that love for a country does not mean proclaiming it from rooftops or hyper nationalism. “One would always have love for one’s country and motherland, for that is inherently why one lives here. It doesn’t mean that one starts shouting that ‘I am a nationalist and love my country.’ However, in a certain kind of situation you might end up saying it. In the film, people, who are working for the country and serving it because they love it, do say so. This is done in context and has to be seen within it. There is more to nationalism than the hyper variety that we see on social media,” he says.
The film stars Arjun Kapoor whose last outing, Namaste England (2018), did not fare too well at the box office. Considering that the film making business often works on the saleability of a star, did Gupta consider any other actor, maybe Ajay Devgn, who was the lead in Raid, for the role? “I never thought in the manner of hits of an actor. It took me three years to complete the script as I was also doing Raid. When that released, Arjun called to congratulate me on its success and this just happened instinctively. I was looking for a very normal kind of character who could mingle with the crowd and blend in without being noticed. I instinctively offered him the script and he loved it. And that’s how we came together,” explains he.
As in the past, this time too Gupta has shot at live locations. He says, “The nature was such that it had to be shot in real locations in Patna and Nepal. It was because the reality that I wanted to portray would not come through otherwise.”
However, shooting outside studios can be a logistical nightmare as there are incessant crowds and the fact that things cannot be controlled. Gupta agrees, “It is quite challenging to do a film like this. While shooting in real locations, nothing is in your control so you try to do your best in the given scenario. It is undoubtedly difficult, but if one is passionate one just does it. In a studio, I wouldn’t have been able to achieve the same flavour or reality.”
Even the elements of humour in his film come from real life situations that Indians can relate to. There is a particular sequence in the trailer where one character complains that more money is spent on floral showers during Republic Day than on an intelligence mission, which makes one laugh. “I don’t write for the sake of writing. It is written to identify and strike a chord by drawing it from reality,” he says.
Gupta has written the script of all his films, including Ghanchakkar (2013), though not Raid. How does he wear the two hats and balance them? “When you are writing a script, you are not thinking of direction. Writing is a very isolating and different process. It takes time and is done within four walls so, it is a little painful and excruciating. But once I finish, I let the director in me take over.”
With India’s Most Wanted, he has also turned producer which means an additional responsibility. However, he has found a way to balance that by handing it out. “My partner helped in the production and so did the team. I concentrate on the writing and direction but what does happen when you turn producer is that you start seeing things in a different perspective. But I leave it to my partner,” he reiterates. He got married last year to his long time partner, Myra Karn.
Gupta is currently working on a script of a film on Ravinder Kaushik, India’s foremost spy, who was conferred the title of ‘The Black Tiger’ for his service to the nation. He has acquired the rights to Ravinder’s story from his family. “It will take time and I don’t know when I will finish it,” he says.
Gupta, who hails from Hazaribagh, got interested in writing during his graduation days at the University of Delhi. “I was interested in creative writing and made my way to Mumbai. The move to direction happened organically. I became an assistant director and later an associate director. I kept writing for three, four or maybe five years. Aamir was the fifth script that I wrote. The others are still lying with me but I have no intention of putting them on screen as they are not good enough,” he says.
Of course, an outsider coming to Mumbai entailed a certain amount of struggle especially given the fact that the industry often works within cliques and coterie. “One goes through a struggle in every field, especially when you are in a city where you don’t know your way around and you should take in stride. But I don’t wish to elaborate on it,” he says.
Talking about the influences on his craft, he says, “I am not influenced by anyone. Reality and the way I see things differently have shaped me more than any other person. I take a situation and think about it which influences my film-making.”
Clearly, while he might not be influenced, but given his filmography, the soft-spoken director is bound to influence a generation of filmmakers to come.
(The film releases on May 24.)
Photo: Pankaj Kumar
