Zulfi Syed and Sonya Jehan in Taj Mahal — An Eternal Love Story

His Rs 50 crore magnum opus Taj Mahal — An Eternal Love Story was a no-show when it released in India. But now producer-director Akbar Khan has re-cut his period drama and the ‘director’s cut’ is going places. First at the Dubai and Abu Dhabi international film festivals and now at Damascus and Cairo. Sitting by the Nile, a few hours before the penultimate night screening at the Cairo International Film Festival, Akbar Khan spoke to t2 on how his film was “sabotaged” by Bollywood biggies on release in November 2005.

How does it feel to have Taj Mahal being screened (outside competition) in the land of the pyramids?

That is what I was thinking on the flight (smiles)! I have brought the Taj Mahal to the land of the pyramids. Maybe some film-maker here can make a film on the pyramids and show it in India. Who knows, even I may be inspired by the pyramids to make a film on it. But yes, the people here in Egypt should bring an additional sentiment when they watch my film. Because just like the pyramid, the Taj Mahal is a symbol of the passage of time, the culture of the place, the past, the glory, the might, the architectural marvel... Also, there is a spiritual quality about these wonders of the world. Ek junoon sa aa jaata hai... you get obsessed with it.

A director’s cut is usually longer than the original release. But yours is shorter...

This particular cut is an international version. It has a sensitivity towards mainstream European-American cinema. It has been cut in a different pattern. The original was highly appreciated from all walks of life. But this cut has been tailormade for the international audiences and it has been embraced in Dubai, Damascus and Abu Dhabi. I had raving reviews everywhere and it was one of the most talked about films at all these places. I am calling its screening at the IFFI in Goa (which took place last week) the India premiere of the director’s cut.

What have you cut out from the original version for the director’s cut?

It’s 27 minutes shorter. I have done away with three songs, which were an integral part of the film for the Indian diaspora, for the Indian sensibility. After all Naushad had composed the music for the film and it had come out really well. But the international audience has a different mindset... they have a different idea about pacing and I have tried to match that without disturbing any aspect of the story.

Also, films usually travel to festivals before their commercial release. But Taj Mahal’s festival trip started two years after its release in November 2005...

Akbar Khan

I feel it’s rather uncanny... And it makes me convinced that just like the monument Taj Mahal, which has become more and more glorious in the last 350 years, my film will become bigger and bigger with time. Taj Mahal is a perennial film. It documents the love and the dedication and the passion an emperor had that totally blinded him for 20 years... 22,000 workers were working relentlessly to create that mausoleum. That is the story that touches the heart of the people. Unfortunately, my film in India had a very bad release.

Can you elaborate on “a very bad release”?

In terms of distribution. I had not sold the rights of the film and that is why everyone sabotaged me. It is sad but it happens in our industry. It has happened to the biggest of makers like Raj Kapoor, when his Mera Naam Joker was totally sabotaged. When it had its second release, the film became the biggest hit among all his productions. A similar thing happened with my film. Thankfully I didn’t release the film overseas except the UK and the US, where it had a shabby release alongside the Indian release. A mediocre product with the right kind of marketing makes a mark. A good product with bad marketing doesn’t see the daylight.

Do you think you got a raw deal from the industry because you don’t go out and party with them?

You see, it was kind of a defiance of the system. Subhash Ghai was the main architect of this. Mr Yash Chopra was also a part of this. They did not like my guts — I made one of the biggest budgeted films ever with two new faces. They did not like my guts that I did not sell the film and was releasing it myself. They did not want an intruder to come and break their cosy nest. Today, Yash Chopra has become a victim of his own creation. He created a clout over distribution and theatre control. Can you imagine a horrible film like Neal ‘N’ Nikki had 500 theatres blocked not allowing any other film to release? They strangled my film. I became a victim of politics, envy, jealousy, which I never felt a film-maker should have for another film-maker. If you like someone’s film, go and pat his back and say: “Fantastic, brother!”

Do you think the younger generation, which constitutes the majority of our audience, stayed away from the film?

Before I released my film, I had done a sampling. I had organised about 30-40 shows and I had people from all walks of life come and watch the film. Youngsters, teenagers, old... they all loved it. Believe me, they all loved it. The sad part is, people across the country did not get a chance to see the film. You know, 50 per cent of the people believe that Taj Mahal is yet to release! I had 400 prints ready to be released and my distributors released 110 of those prints in the most shabby cinema halls with 11.30 shows. One crore rupees worth of posters, sent two months prior to the release, were kept in the godown. After the first week of the film, when I noticed what was happening to my film, I stopped the screenings. I said, I don’t want this to continue. At a place like Agra, which is the soul of Taj Mahal, the film was released at the most horrible of cinema halls called Bhagwan Talkies, where the stench of the toilet fills the hall and the rat jumps on your lap.

Do you want to release Taj Mahal commercially again?

Yes, I am now going country by country. I am dubbing the film in various languages like Arabic and Spanish. Indonesia is very excited about the film... I may be going there. Malaysia also. Russia is inviting the film in February. I am strategising the film in a whole different way. Once I get the momentum, I will get the film back to India.

As your film shows, Aurangzeb did not allow Shah Jahan to go to the Taj Mahal. Do you think you were not allowed to showcase your Taj Mahal?

This film has been a part of me for the past nine years. It has been in my mind for four-five years before I started working on it. It took me about three years to make the film. And now three years after the film’s release, I have not lost my trust in the film. Not because I am obsessed that I am a great film-maker and all. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had a special screening in his house for himself and many other dignitaries and the kind of letters they have sent me, you have to read them to believe me. Mukesh Ambani saw the film twice in his private theatre.

What are your future projects?

I have two interesting projects. First, I want to make a departure from historicals and make a film against terrorism. It’s a thriller called Taxi Driver, based in London, and it’s about a single mother and a 10-year-old kid. And then I want to make Genghis Khan internationally with American, Chinese, Turkish actors.