‘You can re-invent yourself with every film’

Ketan Mehta (TOI Photo)There���s one thing to be said about Ketan Mehta. He���s one of the few filmmakers who���s experimented with a variety of themes.
After films like Bhavni Bhavai, Holi, Mirch Masala, Hiro Hiralal and Aar Ya Paar and his last film Mangal Pandey: The Rising, the director is back with his next offering ��� Rang Rasiya. And this time, Ketan delves into the life and times of Raja Ravi Varma, the father of Modern Indian Art, often termed as ���The Painter amongst Princes, The prince amongst painters���.
What inspired you to make a film on Raja Ravi Varma?
Raja Ravi Varma is one of the greatest Indian artists.He���s influenced Indian art and Indian cinema like no other artist has. He was a wonderful and colourful character himself. He was a passionate artist as well as a romantic artist. He was the first to actually mix the oriental and western school of art and used technology to reach out to the masses. His contribution to Indian art has been immense.
I happened to read a novel on him by the great Marathi author Ranjit Desai and it was an amazing revelation that 100 years ago, a man who was considered one of the greatest artists of his time was actually prosecuted and charged for obscenity. He fought the case and he won. I realised that similar things are happening all over again. So this film in a sense, is also about freedom of expression and creative freedom. On one hand, it is the story of an artist and his muse and on the other, the artist and society at large.
What sort of research, apart from the book, has gone into Rang Rasiya?
Apart from an extensive research on Raja Ravi Varma and his work, we travelled around wherever his paintings were. We met a lot of people and did all the necessary research.
A film based on a historical character invites a lot of criticism from people who may not agree with the portrayal...
Do we condemn Shakespeare for writing on historical figures? We don���t. Do we condemn Ved Vyas and Valmiki for writing on historical figures? We don���t. Have they taken liberties? They have. For me, history is raw material to communicate an idea that is relevant today.
Do you think an audience that is fed on ���real��� movies like Life in a Metro or Cheeni Kum will come to watch this film?
They will because the issues he fought for are same issues that are relevant today. Secondly, there���s an audience today for well-made films no matter what you make. There���s a whole new generation of audience which has come up, which is exposed to world cinema, much more learned in terms of cinema and this generation is ready to accept exciting cinema, even if it���s dramatically different. That���s my hope and belief.
How did you decide on taking Randeep Hooda as the central character? Wouldn���t you have rather signed somebody relatively more popular?
Randeep has given a brilliant performance by any standard and I���m really happy I made that choice. When we were looking for actors, we were looking for somebody who will give their entire focus to this film as it���s a passionate film that requires a lot of concentration. Deepa (Sahi) had given me a DVD of Randeep which I saw and thought that Randeep is an extremely talented actor. I met him and in the first meeting itself, I knew he was the right choice.
When do we see a contemporary film from Ketan Mehta���s stable?
I have done contemporary films earlier. Just two films doesn���t make a pattern. Every film of mine is different from the other. At the moment, I���m working on a sci-fiction film. That���s the excitement of being a filmmaker, you can re-invent yourself again and again.