‘The film was not made for political reasons’ 

Shoma A. Chatterji on Kamaal R Khan, whose Deshdrohi, based on attacks against
north Indians in Maharashtra, has been a big draw

Kamaal R. Khan’s name would never have rung any bell before his maiden film Deshdrohi hit 50 television channels with high-end promos hitting you every other minute. Then came the news that despite the Central Board of Film Certification’s having cleared the film after Khan agreed to delete the word "Marathi" in a couple of scenes, the Government of Maharashtra stopped the film’s release in the state for fear that the film would create a ‘law and order’ situation. So, when Deshdrohi was released across the world with nearly 300 prints, it remains banned in Maharashtra for two months since its release on November 14.

"My film is about people from the northern states being asked to go away from Maharashtra. I made Deshdrohi not for any political reasons, but to make people aware of the reality here," says the dapper, leather-jacketed Khan, who has written, produced, and acted in the film besides writing the lyrics.

Has the ban made Deshdrohi a big draw in other states that have not banned the film? "The film has been a big hit in other states," said Khan, "but not because it was banned in Maharashtra. This happened earlier when DVD and CD copies of the film were not available for distribution within a week of the film’s release. Nowadays, this is no longer feasible."

Kamaal’s claim to fame is his work in some Bhojpuri films but this is the first time he has cast himself as hero in a Hindi film. Deshdrohi would not have made news but for Khan’s terrific sense of timing. The promos began to hit the small screen around the time when Balasaheb Thackeray’s estranged nephew Raj Thackeray’s group MNS was targeting the north Indians in the State. Senior police officers saw the film at a special screening after which they gave a report to the government leading to the ban. The aggrieved MNS feels it must raise its voice because Maharashtrians now form less than 50 per cent of the city’s total population of 17 million. But why North Indians from Bihar and UP alone? No one knows.

"Deshdrohi revolves mainly around corruption as a way of life and how the media plays an important role in contemporary India both in positive and negative ways. I have tried to portray the reality of North Indians being driven out of Maharashtra that had begun much before Raj Thackeray came on the scene. But they became shaky and decided to ban the film without assigning any reason," he states without emotion.

"The Chief Justice of the Mumbai High Court has ordered an inquiry and asked those who banned it for two months in Maharashtra to produce an affidavit giving the reasons. Deshdrohi is centred on a man from Bihar who comes to Mumbai with lots of dreams but eventually gets involved in a fight with anti-social manipulated. Khan has not used big Bollywood stars "because I did not wish to impose the image of the star on the character. It would have ruined the very purpose of my film because the audience would have identified with the star and not the character. So I decided to cast myself in the main role. But several of the 24 characters are famous names. I have cast Yashpal Sharma, Nirmal Pandey, Aman Verma, Syed Zulfi, Aryan Vaid, Manoj Tiwari and others in supportive roles. Besides, there are four important female actors like Gracy Singh and Hrishitaa Bhatt."

Though the film has been badly bashed up by critics as a badly made film with terrible acting, Deshdrohi, claims Khan, "is keeping the cash boxes ringing everywhere, including Dubai. After having spent Rs 5 crore on the film and another Rs 7 crore on publicity and marketing, I do not think we have reason for regret because I have already announced Deshdrohi II," Khan sums up.

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