‘UP has become filmmakers’ favourite destination’: Rahul Bhat

Actor Rahul Bhat, who was in town recently, recalled the time he had spent here while shooting for '

Daas Dev

'. And though the film may have not fared well at the Box Office, Rahul says he’s immensely proud that he was associated with a film he calls a ‘classic’. We caught up with the '

Ugly

' actor for a chat to know why he chooses films with political overtones and what brings him to the city.
U.P. GOVT’S FILM POLICY IS REALLY COOL!
With so many filmmakers coming to shoot in the state, I too am planning a film here. I wanted to check out the state government’s film policy and how I can make use of it. And I found it to be fantastic. I wonder why other states are not following this. A lot of filmmakers have come here and shot their films which is wonderful. The state has become filmmakers’ favourite destination. And the policy gives such a boost to the state’s economy. When you give that kind of discount to a filmmaker, he in fact, ends up spending that much or perhaps more here itself. I think the film policy is really cool. We’ll be shooting a lot of things here. The first will be a film followed by other stuff.
WHEN I THINK OF INDIA, I THINK OF LUCKNOW
This city has it all, the best of both worlds, the old and the modern. It’s sher-o-shayari, tehzeeb, nazaakat, nafaasat, is of course known all over the world but yahan toh log gaali bhi bahut tameez se dete hain…(laughs). But I have also seen the coolest people here in Lucknow doing the coolest things! Also, I think Lucknow is the melting pot of talent. So many great people have come from this place. When I think of India, I think of Lucknow. So many beautiful monuments, beautiful people of all religions living together. It has such a rich heritage and culture, all co-existing with peace and harmony with the new world. I had a wonderful time while shooting for Daas Dev here. I made so many new friends.
ACTING IS MY FIRST LOVE, I WON’T LEAVE IT FOR ANYTHING NOW
It has taken me a very long time to get back to acting and don’t want to leave it now. I have so many stories that I want to tell and that’s why I want to be a filmmaker too, but acting is my first love and I won’t leave it for anything now. Now one can say I’m back on scene and I feel it’s a very good time to be in the film industry. There’s so much happening and they need actors. Now, toh if you’re fairly talented, you can get work in films. Then you have such great, brilliant directors. Sudhir Mishra, Anurag Kashyap, Neeraj Pandey, Shiv Narain Singh, they’re all from two tier cities and they’re telling such amazing stories that are rooted and the audience wants to watch their films. So for people like me, it’s a great time to be in Bollywood.

Rahul Bhat at Gomti Riverfront, Lucknow (BCCL/ Aditya Yadav)

I AM DISAPPOINTED THAT MY FILMS DIDN’T DO WELL AT THE B.O.
Disappointments are always there because if your film doesn’t do well then you do get disappointed. And I think that’s a very logical and natural reaction to anything not doing as well as you expected. But then I also believe that the directors that I have worked with are intellectuals, they have their own way of making cinema. So these are the films that will live and 20 years down the line people will refer to these films. Whether it is 'Daas Dev', 'Jai Gangaajal' or 'Ugly', each of my film is a classic. People may not have understood them now, but in future they will be remembered. I am very proud of the films that I have done.And I believe my work will also be remembered. In fact, it’s been appreciated that’s why I am getting so many offers.
POLITICS SE MERA PURANA RISHTA HAI
It’s true that almost all my films have a political overtone. 'Daas Dev' is so politically relevant, so was 'Jai Gangaajal'. And that’s because I was born into a family, which not being political, had close political connections. My grandfather was close to Sheikh Abdullah sa’ab of Kashmir. So politics se mera purana rishta hai. Then, I’m married to Capt Satish Sharma’s daughter, nothing political in that, though. And though, I will never join politics, but politics has always interested me. I have a lot of friends in politics too.
— Itishree.Misra@timesgroup.com