The Passion Behind the Mission : Insight into the Man Behind One of the Year's Biggest Blockbusters

Interview By Fuad Omar.

Sony Entertainment Television has just announced Mission Kashmir's success. The films is now running in its 7th successful week in cinemas across the world and Vinod Chopra, the film's director is happy with the response to his venture and the overflow cheques he's receiving from his distributors proving the film is a hit all over.

Mission Kashmir is one of the year's biggest films and has certainly made an impact on the international arena and achieved a landmark status in the name of filmmaking.

Its explosive performance at the box office is a reflection of true appreciation and the depth it has on so many levels are only evident on repeat viewings. To gain an insight to the film, its making and its master filmmaker Vidhu Vinod Chopra, I caught up with the director who has so expertly presented a celluloid masterpiece and instilled in cinemas all over the world the essence of a paradise on earth.

Vinod Chopra is relaxed, dressed casually in a white sweater and cap and very involved in talking about his baby which hit the cinemas on Diwali and is still creating fireworks everywhere. I ask how he judges the film's success.

"I judge my film's success by whether or not we've succeeded in achieving what we set out to do, whether we fulfilled our aim and whatever intention we had when we began the project. That is the success of the film when it achieves what it set out to become," he says settling down on the sofa and sipping a glass of water.

Has he left any stone unturned in creating what is seen on screen?
"For Mission Kashmir we have spared no costs. We came to Shepperton Studios in London to use the best of facilities. Something like that is only for the betterment of the film, it may cost twenty five times what it would cost in India, but it ultimately adds to the movie's experience."

One of the film's strengths and a visibly obvious fact is that it was actually shot in Kashmir, despite the political situation, the conflicts and the danger. Vinod Chopra elaborates on his crew's dedication and what his aims are in filmmaking:

"While we were filming, 322 people risked their lives for one month when we actually went into Kashmir and that alone I think proves dedication. We as a crew all believe in striving for excellence in the field of cinema. Sometimes it works like we achieve international success and sometimes it doesn't, but it doesn't hinder our striving towards attaining our goal, which is excellence. The box office success of a film and the intention of doing good work are really two different things. So I've switched off my mobile as Mission Kashmir releases and am on vacation and am satisfied by what we have made," says a man who is clearly satisfied with the end result we are all enjoying on the big screen.

I question him about something I read that Mission Kashmir was not the original title, apparently he wanted to use the word Kashmiriyat. I probe and learn of the difference and his decision to change the title.
"Mission Kashmir was initially called Mission Kashmiriyat, but we thought people would be confused about what Kashmiriyat is all about. Let me tell you what Kashmiriyat is all about: Mahatma Gandhi in 1942-3 said Hindustanis should take inspiration from Kashmir and that it should be the role model of one divided India. I grew up in Kashmir and have prayed in so called Hindu shrines, Muslim shrines, Sikh shrines and Christian shrines all my life without knowing any difference. It was only later when I grew up that I realised there was a difference to the guy who was sitting on my right in school who was a Muslim and the guy who was on my left who was a Hindu. And then I thought 'was that a dream that I did not see any difference between these two?' and therefore Mission Kashmir ends with a dream. One of the main protagonists of the film has nightmares for ten years and finally it's his dream which ends the film. And so Kashmiriyat is what we are trying to get across with the movie."

As a movie with this title, didn't he risk making a political film, given the current situation?

"This is not a pro-anything or anti-anything film. To put it bluntly it's not a pro-Indian or anti-Pakistan film and nor is it a pro-Pakistan or anti-Indian film, if anything it's a pro-Kashmir film. All we are striving for in through our cinema is peace and joy and tolerance in the valley of Kashmir," he clarifies.

The film has many stand out points, one being its opening and its impact on the viewer from the word Go, it seems Vinod has gone to great pains to show as real a Kashmir as possible.
"There are no lies in this film, it's an honest film," he states before elaborating on his point. "All the outdoors are shot in Kashmir and the indoors are in Bombay because in Kashmir you do not have the facilities to make sets out there. I had two walkie talkies while on the sets in Kashmir, one was connected to my crew and the other to the police. There is one incident I'll narrate to you and it's when one of the characters Gufoor is running through the streets and it was being shot. At that point I heard on the other walkie talkie that there was an encounter in one of the neighbouring streets and I had to stop shooting. And Gufoor said why did you stop shooting and I told him how there was an incident in the next street where one guy was shot down and he was running. Now you would've looked like him running and who knows what could've happened, and his eyes widened and he hugged me and said 'Please hold me!'"

I smile as his enthusiasm comes across as well as the passion with which the entire crew has made this project. I ask as to whether there were any more such incidents.

"I was shooting in Kashmir and Hrithik was dressed up as Altaaf, and before I knew the cops came in and pushed away a crowd, and Hrithik was there and also pushed away and he was screaming at my "Sir! Sir!"! And I was like what are you doing there and he was saying they don't believe me that I'm a part of this film! So my bodyguard who spoke in Kashmiri told the officers this is my boy and he is an actor in this movie, and they said, "Ohhh, he is your hero? He looks just like a Kashmiri!". So that's actually one of the reasons I took Hrithik as he looked like a Kashmiri to the hilt."
"It was quite a big task because I was personally responsible for all those people in my crew for those 30 days while in Kashmir. But the dedication was amazing, we shot with gunshots going on and travelling in bullet-proof cars," he says reminiscing with a sparkle in his eyes.

Loyalty stands beside all this dedication as Vinod has repeated many of his crew members such as the ace cinematographer Binod Pradhan and even the set designer. Was it Jackie's success in his previous films with Vinod which made him sign the film?

"Jackie Shroff walked into my house and said 'I want to be in your film' and I said, I'm sorry Jackie but there's nothing really I can offer you in the film. So he went through the script and said 'aha! Hilal!' and I was like, what? Hilal is only in two scenes. He said I want to play Hilal and will not charge you anything, just tell me where to be and when. He has brought Hilal to life from a character which was only two scenes, we extended it to more scenes and he's done a powerful and brilliant job, and so Hilal Kohistani was born," he says taking another sip from his glass of water.

We again move onto the topic of the film's attention to detail and how he has created a cinematic wonderland in being able to replicate what is essentially Kashmir even when he was not shooting there.

"In Mission Kashmir there is a sequence where Inayat Khan (Sanjay Dutt) is wading through the water of Dal Lake to get into a jungle and in that particular sequence there is a very small beautiful moon on the right side of the frame and it's a false moon. Nobody noticed that moon was false, not even my mother. These small minute details are all fractions which make up the complete picture which is that we are striving for excellence. I know most people will probably not even notice that moon, only a small percentage will but what is important is that we created it and it works. There are many such details that have made this film, helping to execute it in the manner we hoped for and that is success. Mike who worked with us on this film at Shepperton Studios was with me and I said 'Hey Mike, you think anyone will notice that sound we've put in that's fused with the background?' and he said 'No, but when we are really old and watching this film on our DVD and wearing the headphones maybe we'll hear the king crow's sound on the right corner of the frame,' which is what we intended."

I marvel at the level of passion with which he speaks about his film and how engrossed he is in conversation as well as how many stories he has to tell of the making of the film. I ask him when he first had the idea to make the movie and what inspired him to do so.

"I had gone to Kashmir for the premiere of my film Kareeb. I was sitting their sipping my morning cup of tea in a houseboat and a shikar which was floating, and near the early morning lake I saw a woman who was singing a Kashmiri song. The boat moved on but what I saw was like a dream because in today's Kashmir the shikar would have blown up. And that inspired me to make a film like this. But it all began with this image of a beautiful lake, a beautiful shikara and that was it, I began working on the script."

The film is showing in cinemas nationwide and receiving rave reviews for its technical brilliance and intense performances, as well as expert direction indicating Vinod has come up with another winner. I ask what he would like the audiences to take with them when leaving the cinemas after watching the film.

"I hope the public who see my movie will take a bit of Kashmiriyat with them that I was talking about home with them. I hope when they see this film the corruption of the soul that has occurred over here listening to our leaders and politicians is pushed slightly away. There is a main song in the film called 'Dhuan Dhuan'"

He goes on to narrate the verse from the song which translates as:
Smoke smoke everywhere only smoke
Who has set fire to these tender fields of grass
The longing for life is written on every corpse
This is a war of the throne, a fight between politicians
The blood of innocence is the colour which the government uses to draw borders between our hearts

"And this is the theme song of the movie, and so yes we hope the people get entertained but also take the message home with them," he says with certainty.

Interviewing Mr Vinod Chopra is always an enjoyable experience as he knows his work inside out and always speaks with an infectious passion giving intelligent answers and taking the interviewee on a journey with him into the story that lies behind the film and the efforts he has poured into making it. What would be the biggest award he could receive for his efforts?

"The love of my family and friends is without a doubt the biggest reward I could ever get. That to me is all I want. The film is dedicated to my children and indeed he children of Kashmir and all children of conflict. The film is a hope for the future and it's also hope for the future of Kashmir. My film is dedicated to Kashmiriyat and its centuries old tradition of religious tolerance and harmony."

It is on that note that the interview ends and I leave with a burning desire to watch this film and experience again the passion Vinod has just let free into the room.

On the surface Mission Kashmir is a film reflecting conflict and promoting a religious tolerance and racial harmony, but scratch beneath and you find a work of art and mark of excellence in international cinema. The film exceeds Indian cinema and is one of the Indian film industry's greatest triumphs in a truly visual and audio experience which makes it's impact from the opening shot alone. It grabs your attention until the very last frame and feeds you with the essence of Kashmiriyat throughout succeeding in delivering Vinod Chopra's message and a film which people will be watching for a long time to come, finding a new aspect of the complex work of art they had not noticed before.