Hazaaron dreams...

Director of ���Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi���, Sudhir Mishra explains why the 70s was the last time when young people had a vision and passion for politics
Filmmaker Sudhir Mishra might have made a very political film in Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi, but he doesn���t think political films coming out of Bollywood are complex enough. In fact, he calls them ���na��ve���.���Most filmmakers have little political understanding. So they present politicians in a certain way,��� he says. ���Also, filmmakers form their impressions from the kind of people they get in touch with. A lot of people don���t meet politicians like Manmohan Singh. But otherwise, the stereotype is not essentially untrue,��� he says.
But Mishra harks back to the 70s, to the period and movement he depicted in Hazaaron..., as being perhaps a time of idealism that���s not there anymore. ���I have a political lineage, which I rejected,��� he says. ���I came to Mumbai and started lifting Vinod Chopra���s cans. My father���s sort of left-liberal. I myself have been involved in Marxist politics. And the people I presented, in the 70s, were the last ones with idealism in the country.���
Referring to Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi and the milieu depicted in it, Sudhir Mishra says, ���There were people in the 70s who gave up a lot to see the larger view of life. What is politics and what is rebellion? When you don���t accept the state in which your country has been handed over to you. Hazaaron... was an idea of that rejection of the country that was handed down to them. I think that to have a political point of view is to know how there are factors and people outside you trying to control your daily life. It is a belief in democracy in its truest sense. The 70s was the last time when people were looking for a more equitable society. They might have failed, but at least they tried to achieve something,��� he explains.
Is what cinema shows today the ground reality? ���It���s a bit more complex than that. Sometimes, good is possible, if people start being vigilant and force politicians to do something in order to stay in power. We have to start seeing politicians as our representatives. Throw them out if they don���t represent you,��� he says passionately.