Tete-a-tete
When words become visuals
Nonika Singh

Wor(l)d of celluloid
As a filmmaker, Piyush Jha chooses his own subjects and has written all three films, including Chalo America, that he has made. But he is more than open to other producers translating his written word on to celluloid. Jha agrees with Alfred Hitchcock who would often adapt books and proclaim, "After reading, I throw away the book and make a movie based on what stays on my mind." Does that mean the producers can do the same to his Mumbaistan? He smiles and replies, "As long as they get the ethos and essence right, they are free to take liberties with my text."

As a rule, filmmakers are in the habit of making visuals out of words. Only writer-director Piyush Jha, who has made three movies including the much-acclaimed Sikandar, exudes excitement after having made words speak in the language of images. Fresh from writing Mumbaistan, a compilation of three novellas that shall soon be released, he says, "While through my movies I care to stimulate the intellectual quotient of audiences, with my books I hope to entertain my readers." So he was as pleased as punch when the queen of entertainment Ekta Kapoor, who has written the blurb called it a potboiler page turner with the major ingredient of entertainment in abundance. Only Piyush has chosen the genre of crime to hold the attention of readers, not necessarily young but "young-at-heart" book lovers. Mumbai, where he grew up, he agrees has been much written about but then he reminds, "In this microcosm of India not only is a story lurking in every corner but changing by the minute." His pen depicts its dark underbelly for crime has to have a dark edge. But it’s not the underworld, filmdom’s favourite leitmotif, that he is exploring. He quips, "Gangsters, cops, encounter killings…. all these are done-to-death subjects." His themes go like this. A prostitute, her lover and a policeman play for high stakes in Bomb-Day. Injectionwala exposes chilling medical malpractices. In Coma Man, a man awakens from coma after 20 years and sets out in search of his wife and himself. Interestingly, one of the characters jumps pages right on to his next novel. Right now he is not revealing the name of the character though.

He has been signed up by Rupa pubishers to write three books (besides the current one, two more are one the anvil) and he has already obliged them and put the finishing touches on all three of his writing endeavours. This also means he is set to make another film based either on his novella or on an adventurous comic caper.

He is an avid movie buff, who would often relax by watching five movies at a stretch. He says, "The creative process of filmmaking is a collaborative effort right from the stage of inception to the final culmination point of editing." Reminding us that filmmaking is no cakewalk, he states, "I empathise with every filmmaker worth his salt, irrespective of whether he has given good or bad films"

A votary of meaningful cinema, he believes in films that can make a difference yet not the kind which would be heavy duty message-oriented. Says he: "A message has to be encoded and can’t be an in- your-face sermon. Believe me, the audience is smart enough to comprehend the subtexts within a gripping narrative."

He considers movies like Vicky Donor as truly path-breaking. Shoojit Sircar, its director, is his current favourite and among the all-time favourites figure Woody Allen and Vijay Anand.

He would like to be remembered as a story teller with a difference… irreverent, too, as he was in King of Bollywood. Funny and incisive, he believes in holding the attention of his subjects. That’s why he has written in a simple and lucid style. From advertising to filmmaking to writing, this MBA doesn’t think he has switched lanes. "I am on the same track of creativity." And in the business of engaging people…. using words as images or making images acquire many meanings, the intention always is to touch a chord.

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