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'I haven't compromised'

Raj Kumar Santoshi

It is touted the biggest blockbuster there has been in Bollywood, the costliest film ever to hit the Indian marquee, the one with the maximum expenditure on publicity, the biggest multi-starrer ever, the biggest thing to happen since Sholay, close even to the legendary Seven Samurai of Akira Kurosawa...

Well, with everything on such a grand scale, with all that hype flying around, director Raj Kumar Santoshi finds himself in the limelight and in a pretty vulnerable position: If the film works, he's a star; if not, well, he won't be the first dream-maker to tumble into a nightmare of his own making.

It hasn't helped him that he's already had to nearly slash one role, that of Mamta Kulkarni, and squeeze in a song and dance number figuring Urmila Matondkar to lighten the film. Then he has to divide the story among ten characters. Even Kurosawa in his film had it easier with seven characters. In a chat with V S Srinivasan, the director explains his motives and expectations when making China-Gate:

A still from China-Gate. Click for bigger pic!

First, why is it such a costly film?

It is one of the most lavish films of all times. I haven't compromised at all in terms of quality in this film.

So have you shot and re-shot the films umpteen times as reported?

No, no, please don't write that. It is a rumour that has been spread about the film. I have reshot, yes, but I do not think that it is a major change. They were very essential from the point of view of the film.

See, I had so many actors in the film, so many heroes. I had to balance the film properly.

With a cast comprising Amrish Puri, Om Puri, Danny Dengzonpa, Naseeruddin Shah, Tinnu Anand, Paresh Rawal, Anjan Srivastav, Viju Khote, Sameer Soni, Mamta Kulkarni and a new villain called Mukesh Tiwari, it must have been difficult pandering to all their egos...

No, I never had to bother about all that. I've worked with them before and know them very well, from the time I was assisting Govind Nihalani. I just have had to tell them what to do. See I worked with Amrish Puri, Danny Dengzongpa, Tinnu Anand, Anjan Srivastav and Om Puri in Ghaatak, and they've been very co-operative. All of them behaved like nice schoolchildren," he laughs.

Click for bigger pic!

So there has been no compromise in this film?

Yeah!

Was it difficult getting the financier to agree to funding a film with no established hero?

See, the film would have never been complete without the unstinting support of (financier) Bharat Shah. He has stood like a pillar beside me. Whatever I wanted, he never refused me. He hasn't compromised on the making of the film, so why should I?

If you are talking of me adding the song, Chamma Chamma, at the last moment, there was already a provision for it in my film. I had the option either to go in for a montage of earlier events or add a film when the villain is captured.

It isn't that I wanted to make a film without songs or something like that. There is already a theme song in the film, shot in Hyderabad. It's about the mission these people undertake. They do not sing it; it just goes on in the background.

Click for bigger pic!

So what's with the title? China-Gate is a little different, isn't it?

Well, you have heard of Operation Blue Star, when the army entered the Golden Temple? It was a code name for the same mission. My film is about 10 men on a mission that failed. They are aroused into another mission that will help them redeem lost prestige. They have nothing to lose except their lives.

The first mission was called China-Gate. Hence, they keep the same name for this mission too.

There was this thing about you booting out Mamta Kulkarni and she going to the press alleging sexual harassment and then withdrawing the charge... It was even rumoured the underworld effected the patch-up.

Let bygones be bygones. Whatever happened is past. Now everyone has performed very well in the film.

What about the grand set up at Gangavati, near Hampi in Karnataka for the film. You are believed to have lavished a great deal of money and attention on it.

A still from Santoshi's Andaz Apna Apna. Click for bigger pic!

Yes, the set itself cost over 15 million. But I still wasn't getting the right kind of feel. So I ordered all the shrubs and the bushes to be cut and cleared from the area. The whole area was cleared of unwanted greenery. I also had a few rocks brought in. But I wanted a rusty look to the backdrop, so I had even the rocks painted over..."

You are clearly inspired by blockbusters like Mackenna's Gold and Sholay.

I have been inspired by films like Seven Samurai and Sholay. These are films where one sees something called 'collective heroism'. In a film like Seven Samurai, no one man can be called the hero of the film. It's a collective effort. That is what has inspired me so many times.

I have no reservations accepting that my China-Gate was inspired by Seven Samurai.

Click for bigger pic!

That film is still fresh in my minds and I am dedicating my film to the director. I want it to be a fitting tribute to Akira Kurosawa.

And is it a great film then?

Now that is left to the audience, but they are bound to like it.

The youth will definitely love the film -- and there is material for the older people too.

The PRO did tell us that the looks better than Sholay.

(Sounding a little perturbed) I know that the film is bound to be compared to Sholay because of the mounting of the film... Even the sets because the Sippys had set up Ramgarh (also in Karnataka). But then, my film is different.

It's not a tale of vendetta like Sholay. My heroes don't want to do what Sanjeev Kumar did in Sholay, chopping of the enemy's arms and all that. This is a story where there are 10 men on a mission. The story is about the mission.

But why make such a different film in the first place?

Click for bigger pic!

If you have seen my films, they've all been different from each other. Ghayal and Ghaatak were different from what Damini and Andaz Apna Apna were. When I got to do this subject I was very happy.

What about your next film, Pukar? When will it be releasing?

I launched Pukar for Boney Kapoor at the same time as China-Gate. That was two years ago.

It was very difficult co-ordinating the dates of so many stars in this film; they were so busy with other films. So I could never shoot at a stretch.

A normal films takes around 30 to 40 days from a star. It took me five times longer, but, of course, they were all very co-operative. But since I was sitting idle for quite sometime in between, I started to shoot for Pukar.

It's been two years and both films are complete. Pukar will release in March now.