In 2007, Prawaal Raman had talked about making a film on the life of master criminal Charles Sobhraj. The director was fascinated with Sobhraj’s daring exploits, jailbreaks and mastery in disguises. The only problem was that Sobhraj, currently jailed in Nepal, threatened to sue Raman. Not ready to give up on the subject, Prawaal has take a different route to tell this story in Main Aur Charles, that’s currently playing in theatres and has Randeep Hooda playing a “fictionalised Charles”.
"If this had to be a crime drama, it would be a simple film of a cop and criminal. I’d like to think it is a lot more than that.... One man manipulated so many and made himself into such an enigma.... He is a fictional character inspired by true events."
You’ve been fascinated with Sobhraj’s story for a while now…
(Laughs) Yes. See, in Bollywood people keep repeating the same story formula over and over again. I keep away from them simply because they seem mundane to me. With this film, I was fascinated with how the human mind perceives things and gets manipulated. A person can transform into anything or anybody he wants and it just depends on the information that he projects.
This film is not about the crime, but an attempt to understand the psyche...
Exactly. If this had to be a crime drama, it would be a simple film of a cop and criminal. I’d like to think it is a lot more than that. The word ‘main’ in the title doesn’t refer to a single person but to all the individuals who come in contact with Charles. One man manipulated so many and made himself into such an enigma.... He is a fictional character inspired by true events.
It’s interesting that you used the word ‘fictional’ because there is some ambiguity about whether this is based on Charles Sobhraj’s life...
The film is based on the infamous jailbreak of 1986. I will also not deny that it was Tihar Jail. But I can’t just reproduce an incident that everyone knows about, so I had to fictionalise a lot. Not just the situations… I had to fictionalise the character a lot. So, the character you’ll see is not Sobhraj. The only character who I have stayed true to is Mr Amod Kanth (played by Adil Hussain) because I have officially taken the rights from him. This film is based on Mr Kanth’s investigation of the jailbreak.
Didn’t the rights issue force you to pick another view to the story?
Not at all. If I wanted to tell the story from Sobhraj’s perspective, I would have done all that I had to to go get the necessary permissions... I still want him to remain an enigma.
What kind of research went into writing this film?
For me, the jailbreak was just the tip of the iceberg. I travelled to Singapore to meet a fellow inmate. Apart from Amod Kanth, I also met Madhukar Zende, the cop who arrested him in Goa. This research took me a year. And then it took me almost 40 drafts to write the screenplay.
What was it about Randeep Hooda that made you think he would do justice to your version of Charles?
This is my first film with him, but I have known him for a while now. I find him to be an absolutely radical actor — whether it is in his approach to a film or experimenting with characters. After I first narrated the script to him, I didn’t think there would be anyone better to play this part. There were producers who wanted me to sign a bigger actor because it made sense for them commercially. I have had to return contracts, because I wasn’t comfortable with the idea of anyone else doing this film.
You’ve already finished shooting your next...
Yes. It is the official remake of a horror film called Oculus, which stars (brother-sister duo) Huma Qureshi and Saqib Saleem. We shot the film in London and I am editing it right now. It should release around March. After that I am working on a film called Dr Ajay. It is based on the life of a former IPS officer who was then elected as an MP from Jamshedpur. I think he is very inspirational.
Karishma Upadhyay
Here’s looking at you!
“Wrap on our first big schedule on #AeDilHaiMushkil.... the best crew ever!!!! Had so much fun....thank you to all....” That’s what Karan Johar posted on Twitter early on Thursday — with this picture of his Ae Dil Hai Mushkil leading man Ranbir Kapoor against the London skyline — after wrapping up the first schedule of his next directorial venture, for which the Kuch Kuch Hota Hai man and his team have been camping in Europe since September.
The first schedule of Karan’s first film as director since My Name Is Khan (2010) has been shot primarily in London, with the crew hopping over to Austria for a short schedule.
Also starring Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Anushka Sharma, with Saif Ali Khan and Fawad Khan chipping in with cameos, Ae Dil Hai Mushkil is the biggie of Diwali 2016.
Love is in the Air
Sooraj Pancholi — who debuted with the flop Hero this year — is reportedly dating British actress Amy Jackson, who was last seen opposite Akshay Kumar in the box-office success Singh Is Bliing. Amy — who was once in a relationship with Prateik Babbar (remember Ekk Deewana Tha?) — is said to be so serious about the relationship that she’s even shifted into an apartment close to Sooraj’s Bandra home.
In other news, Yuvraj Singh is reportedly all set to get married to girlfriend Hazel Keech next year. Hazel who? The pretty face who played Kareena Kapoor’s best friend in Bodyguard and also appeared in Bigg Boss two seasons ago.
Trust Viru to let the cat out of the bag with this tweet on October 30: @virendersehwag: @harbhajan_singh
n @YUVSTRONG12 if u guys want to know how to play straight drive in married life feel free to call me.... Ahem!
