Prakash Jha is a strict disciplinarian who leads by example. He's done with politics, but not making political films. At 60, he would like to do all the things he always wanted to, be it learning the piano, flying a plane or going back to painting. His parental instincts are extremely strong, be it towards his father, daughter or his actors, and he is a man who knows his responsibilities. Ahead of his upcoming filmSatyagraha, he opens up to TOI about his unspoken relationship with Amitabh Bachchan, his father who he loves the most, and how the current generation lacks commitment to relationships. Excerpts:
In today's day and age, where the stars have such competitive egos, you are able to make them work with ease and produce big canvas multi-starrers. How do you manage that?
I don't look at them as multistarrers. My stories are about social movements and the moment you talk about society, there are many parts of it, which to bring out, I need strong actors to work with and, therefore, the film becomes a multi-starrer. I don't treat them as stars and they don't behave like stars with me. In Satyagraha, given the legend Mr Bachchan is, he is still hungry as if he is going to shoot for the first time and looks nervous before each day of shoot (I'm sure he is not inside), about whether his preparation is correct or not. Every time after giving a shot he would ask, 'Lagta hai aap khush nahi hue mere shot se?' I would say, 'Nahi achcha kar rahe hain' and we have a way of communicating with each other. We don't talk much, but share a great relationship and call each other bhaiya. I keep asking him, 'Itni bhookh kyun hai?' For a 9 o'clock shift, he will come and sit at 8.45 on the set. I am closest to Ajay (Devgn), but we don't discuss our personal lives. Ajay, as an actor, is someone who never ever bothers who else is there in the frame, and how he is being positioned. Our preparation for our film is extremely solid and, even with Ajay, who is a spontaneous actor and hates to prepare, I will have some sessions with him before he shoots. He is an economical actor not financially, but in terms of expression and will give only as much expression as is required.
What drives you at 60?
I have never felt the age. Even today, I am physically fit and have a gym at home. I get up at around 5 am and sleep at around 10.30 pm and never have shot beyond 10.30. I finish my dinner latest by 7.30 in the evening. Every day it's amazingly refreshing to get to office and create new things. I had decided that after 60, I will start doing things I have missed doing in my life. For instance, I have started learning to play a piano. I come in early to office to learn and it'samazing that I am able to do what I wanted to do and God has given me the capacity to do that. I always wanted to fly a plane and post Satyagraha, I will learn how to fly. I also want to start painting and sculpting as that is what, initially, I came to Mumbai for. I don't have much else in my life.
Who are you most attached to?
My father, who is 84 and lives in Patna. We speak everyday a couple of times, even if for two minutes. He is such an innocent child and it's so amazing to speak to him. After my mom died in 1994, he took to Vipassana and meditation. He also teaches Vipassana and while earlier he would travel to the eastern parts of India to teach, due to heart problems, I have restricted his travel now and he teaches at home, where we have built a centre for him. Everyone asks him why his son is not into it and he says, 'Woh toh aise hi karta rehta hai.' I can't sit and meditate. I feel extremely responsible and attached to him and know that he is thinking about me all the time.
Why did you think of making Satyagraha?
Satyagraha, primarily, is protest. Four years ago, what surprised me was how there was so much protest brewing all over the world at the same time — be it in India, US, Latin America, United Kingdom, the Arab world or even Bangladesh. It was happening because of the meltdown, with the middle-class suddenly feeling its pinch and realising that they were not being served well by the establishment. In history, we know that when the middle-class decides to have a voice, things begin to change. Earlier protests were organised by groups of leaders, but now no leader or group or ideology is required. The post-liberalised society has set completely new terms for its existence, be it for morality, sexuality, administration, idealism or idolism. This generation does not aspire to have a government job. It's a hard-working generation that is required to market. And the market is competitive and requires you to word hard and will not accept anyone who is not working. The current generation wants accountability, be it for their taxes paid or for Nirbhaya's rape. So, lakhs of people congregate to raise their voice, but the ruling class of society or the politicians or the generation above them are not geared, so clashes happen. Satyagraha is an emotional story about a father-son relationship, completely different from each other, against the backdrop of protests. Mr Bachchan is the father, who loses his real son who he has brought up based on his ideals. And Ajay Devgn, who wants to be his son, in the quest of not becoming an orphan again. And how Ajay gets sucked into his personal protests and problems and it blows into a whole revolution. Ajay is today's man for whom greed is good and success, important. The story is about how they will come together, in spite of their personal protests that turn into a social protest. We saw a protest swelling and then dissipating in our country recently. It's an interesting time we are living in. The current generation is compatible, but in terms of relationships and responsibilities, they are different from the earlier generation and are not able to commit blindly, be it to their relationships or their parents. The kind of relationship I share with my father, my daughter does not share with me. We work in the same office, yet there are days we may not exchange anything as she is busy doing her own thing.
Let's talk about your daughter, Disha?
I adopted Disha when she was eight days old. She is 23 now and wants to produce films. I had separated from my wife Deepti Naval and used to work in Delhi at that point in time and would often work with orphanages. One night I got a call from Aruna, who used to run one of the orphanages, saying that she needed medical help for a sick baby who had been found in the debris and needed to be taken to a doctor. I was free that night and offered to take her to the doctor. The doctor asked me if I could keep an eye on her for a few hours and so I brought her home. Phir woh Disha wapas gayi nahin. I brought her up for the first year of her life feeding, cleaning, bathing her, taking her everywhere in a basket. Then, of course, my mom helped me raise her till she was four after which, my mom died. Prior to living in Delhi, I was already a filmmaker and had made documentaries and two National award-winning films, but due to my personal and financial problems, I was driven out of Mumbai in 1988. When Disha was four, I returned to Mumbai to make Mrityudand. But after my mom passed away, my father was in a different state and I did not know how to take care of her. Financially also, I had dried up my monies and started living with her initially in a small hotel in Juhu for two months and had only myself to take care of her. My friend Manmohan Shetty offered me one of his flats to stay in and I put Disha in a boarding school in Panchgani. It was heart-breaking, but I had no choice and the ladies there really took good care of her. I then rented out a 20 ft x 10ft hut in Adarsh Nagar and set up an office there and started life for the second time in Mumbai.
You had earlier not fought elections with your friend Nitish Kumar's party as he being an ally with BJP, you had ideological differences. Given that he has now separated from the BJP, do you see yourself fighting the 2014 election?
Absolutely not. I am done with politics. I had set my years from 50 to 60 to be in Parliament and I have always maintained that I wanted that job to set an example on what you can do as a Member of Parliament, where you have access to every resource in the world. But unfortunately, at that time, I was not voted in. People missed the chance and so did I.
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