Watch the truth

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Watch the truth

Monday, 05 August 2019 | Sakshi Sharma

Watch the truth

Director Nikhil Advani says that while doing Batla House, one needs to have multiple perspectives to be able to tell a story like it is. By Sakshi Sharma

Even before I sat for the interview, director Nikhil Advani fired his first salvo, “Yes, how do I help you?” I asked him about his forthcoming film, Batla House. He counter questioned, “How old are you? Where were you when the operation Batla House happened? And when 26/11 happened?” As I was about to respond, he said, “Ask the people of Delhi about this, their reaction will tell you everything.”

He told us that if you ask about the 26/11 incident from Mumbaikars, they will share their experiences like ‘they were at office working or probably sleeping at home’. When Nikhil asked the people of the capital about the incident, he got similar reactions. So, as a resident of Mumbai, who was there during the attacks, he could easily relate to their reactions.”

 There is no denial of the fact that the incident had shaken people to the core. “I was in great shock too, the moment I got to know about the incident. I knew about Batla House but was not aware of the aspects and dimensions of the case. So when Ritesh (Shah, writer of the film) came to me with the script, the first thing I said was, yaar Ritesh, Dilli police! He then told me to at least read the script first. ‘We need to change the mindset of people like you’, he said. I read it and asked him to show me everything that he has not included in it,” said Nikhil. He wanted to know every single detail of the incident so that he could decide whether he wants to do it not. He was curious to know the reason why one part of the story was kept out. And, after he knew everything, he met people who reported from the field when the encounter had taken place. He describes how the incident was interpreted differently by different people depending on which side of the story they were, either the police or the students. “I told Ritesh that we have to tell the second side of the story as well, ye ek tarfa nhi ho sakta (this can’t be one sided). So we took people’s view into account and rewrote the whole script,” added he.

The excitement with which Nikhil was narrating the story made it quite evident how important this film was for him. “I feel that one needs to have multiple perspectives to be able to tell a story accurately. When the encounter happened, everyone started saying that the students are terrorists and the police is corrupt,” he said. At its core, the film talks of truth getting lost. He said that we labelled five students as terrorists without any evidence and also forget that the lost truth is connected to a police commissioner (Sanjeev Kumar Yadav), who has been awarded six times for his bravery but we are calling him a murderer without giving a second thought to it. He is the film’s central character. Nikhil told us, “Most people will say that because the film is made on Sanjeev Kumar Yadav, it would show his side only. But no, that’s not the case. I want to showcase every side of the story.” Recalling a funny incident, Nikhil said, “He called me up one day and said ‘yaar wo Sumo (car) nhi thi humare paas, Qualis thi, wahi use karna.’ (We did not had Sumo car, we had Qualis, please use that only in the film).

The director said guessing, “During the incident, there must have been some evidence that the police followed to reach the door of the Batla House building and nobody knows what happened inside the door or that the police just went in because at the time, there were six bomb blasts in Delhi and they had the pressure of arresting somebody, so they just went and picked up those boys. Was it that? I have shown everything.” The film is kept open for interpretations because even though the court has passed the judgement but people are appealing it, so nobody knows the truth. “At the end, we are showing what the court accepted but it was very important to tell the another point of view also,” he added.

Making a film on a real life incident is nothing less than a challenge. Because it is a linear story, it might get confusing but, Nikhil said, “Because Ritesh is a good writer, we have tried to separate the threads of the characters to avoid any confusion.” Emphasising on how engrossing the story is, he said that one won’t be able to reach for their phones in the cinema hall while watching the film.

The film has a message, ‘Encounter ka matlab hai Surgical Strike, matlab keeping India Safe. Fark sirf itna hai ki humare borders shahar ke andar hote hai.’ (Encounter means surgical strike, which in turn means keeping India safe. The only difference that lies is, we have borders within our cities). “We have used the word encounter very loosely and often misinterpreted it. We asked proof for surgical strikes, not bothering about the soldiers and pilots, who have gone on that mission. Infiltration is not happening only on the borders, it is happening with our own people and within our cities.

How has this film enriched his journey as a director? Nikhil said after a long contemplative pause, “It has certainly increased my patience level. I did Kal Ho Na Ho, Salaam-e-ishq and Chandni Chowk to China, all because I wanted to prove it to everybody that I am still relevant. But I soon realised that I have started making films for all the wrong reasons till I made D-Day and everything changed.” He then made two more films, which he feels if he hasn’t made, he wouldn't have been as patient. “Batla House has taught me that it takes quite an effort and time to write a good script, research and get the material tog00ether. I am enriched as a director because today I realise I am very much satisfied with what I have done. Most people have said ‘yaar I have spent the whole time googling about Batla House’,” Nikhil said. He has understood the importance of figuring things out before jumping to the conclusions.

“I now know that I will have to do other things like making a show and producing a film for my daily bread and butter but personally I should tell the stories that I want to and not compromise on it,” he added.

(The film releases on August 15.)             

Photo: Pankaj Kumar

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