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His films are profound, incisive laced with a cutting edge that more often than not hits home. Yes, indeed Ketan Mehta, the award-winning director, is very much a thinking man’s answer to cinema. But this FTII graduate, who spent considerable time with the Indian Space Research Organisation where he made exclusive television programmes for villagers, is not a dry intellectual, who looks at the process of filmmaking as some academic exercise. Blessed with an innate sense of humour, even if sardonic, he delights as much with his one-liner repartees as he has been with his wide range of films. So ask him why he continues to make the kind of cinema that he does and the answer is, "must be a genetic deformity." Quiz him if it is easier to make films today than when he made his first much-acclaimed film Bhavni Bhavai and he answers, "First film is marked by a sense of bravado, it’s easier but with it, you exhaust all goodwill. Friends and dear ones are not ready to give you a second chance hereafter." Jokes apart, he has an enviable oeuvre that he can boast of ranging from films like Mirch Masala to Rang Rasiya. However, what is it with biopics and him? And the man who has given us films like Sardar, Mangal Pandey — The Rising and now Mountain Man says, "It’s like this. An idea obsesses you, infects your blood and till a film is made, you can’t get rid of it." For instance, Mountain Man acquired life when he read the story of Dashrath Manjhi, who laboured rigorously for 22 years and made a road through the Gehlor Mountain. He recalls, "I was completely bowled over with this incredible story of hope in the cynical times that we live in." Cinema, he feels, is above the art of storytelling. All other techniques he uses are merely a tool to narrate that story. To tell a story well, he agrees that casting is half the battle won. About Nawazuddin Siddiqui in the lead role in Mountain Man, he shares how he has been suitably impressed by the actor’s work and his intensity. Interestingly, Ketan zeroed down on him prior to the release of Gangs of Wasseypur and Talaash. In short, much before Nawaz became a big name. Not that big names bother him. Having worked with superstars like Aamir Khan and Shah Rukh Khan, Ketan has no unsavoury tales of starry tantrums to recount. But he reasons, "When they acted in my films like Holi and Maya Memsaheb, they were beginners." Of course, when he directed them again after many years (SRK in Oh Darling Yeh Hai India and Aamir in Mangal Pandey — The Rising) the only change he saw was, "they were more competitive, hungrier and more desirous of excellence." In this quest for excellence, he feels, technology is an important enabler. That’s why years ago he set up Maya Academy of Advanced Cinematics, as he puts it, "As an artist, you can dream but technology ensures that it happens." He has not only made use of special effects in his earlier projects like television series Captain Vyom but much of it in his forthcoming film Mountain Man too. As the film is nearing completion, he agrees, it has been a challenge to make it, getting up at 3 am and shooting in the treacherous mountain range. But the thrill of bringing alive, the tale of human triumph, indomitable spirit of an ordinary man has been worth the effort. Cinema, he believes, is the most potent medium. He reminds you how he has made 11 films — all markedly different from each other. If you think 11 films in 33 years is not quite prolific, he quips, "Only one in a 100 filmmakers gets to make his second film." But then, whatever be the odds, the man as obsessed with making films as he couldn’t have stopped at one. Of course, that he approaches each new one as the first one and treats it like first love is another matter. So rest assured, Mountain Man will not only be an extraordinary love story of Dashrath Manjhi but also a testimony to Ketan’s undying love for his muse.
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