The Last Lear is his first English film with three Bollywood stars, but Rituparno Ghosh doesn’t think it is very different from his other films.

A t2 chat...

What is the basic premise of The Last Lear?

The connection between theatre and film. The relationship between art and the artiste’s identity, their bonding and conflict. It’s there in both Amitabh Bachchan and Arjun Rampal’s characters. The concept has been well put in Utpal Dutt’s Aajker Shahjahan.

How much of King Lear is there in Last Lear?

King Lear is part of the narrative. With that comes old age, vulnerability and loneliness. In Aakjer Shahjahan, Utpal Dutt writes about a traditional style of theatre acting which has become obsolete. Last Lear is also about that. Utpal Dutt had DL Roy in mind while writing Aajker Shahjahan. DL Roy was inspired by King Lear when he wrote Shahjahan.

Was Amitabh Bachchan a natural choice for the role of Harry?

Yes. He had lived in Calcutta and done theatre.... What I liked about him the most is that he dealt with his environment very intelligently. There was nothing special about the way he would behave with people around him. He would treat them exactly the way they would treat him. There was a lot of equality on the sets.

He didn’t try to manipulate you while shooting...

No, he didn’t. He had told me at the outset that he would do whatever I asked him to do. He said: “I would do everything you ask me to. I would wear anything you ask me to.” And there was no nyakami in it.

Did Amitabh Bachchan do Shakespeare his way?

Yes, mostly his way. We had decided on some references after listening to recordings and he stuck to that.... For him, Last Lear has many firsts. It is his first film in English, first film where he plays an actor and he said it’s also his first art film (laughs).

How did you create Harry’s look?

He (Bachchan) was against growing a beard. He had done it for Eklavya and he didn’t like it. I had come across a picture of Muzaffar Ali (Umrao Jaan). I cut it out and sent it across to him and told him that I wanted his look to be something like this. He took a lot of initiative. We got loads of glasses on the sets and he tried out each of them. It’s not as if he blindly followed what he was asked to.

Why did you make the film in English?

Last Lear is about a Calcutta-based theatre actor who speaks English as he does Shakespeare. I feel English has become our language too. So it was a natural choice. Besides, the actors who have worked in the film speak English in real life. But I have not consciously made a different film. You would feel it’s my film. The acting styles and mannerisms of the actors have blended with my style.

Last Lear also won’t seem to be an ‘English’ film. I have not tried to make an English film where the accent and diction are all very perfect. I have kept it the way the actors speak English, their accents. I think there’s a kind of charm in this heteroglossia.

What made you cast Preity Zinta and Arjun Rampal?

I quite liked Preity in Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna and I felt she had the ability to do a ‘normal’ role. The bubbly image that she has is not there and I think she liked the fact that even she was being considered for a different role. I think this is something all the actors loved about Last Lear. They got their due respect as actors.... The character Arjun plays has a mix of compassion and stoicism. He is not over-friendly and is a different person as an artiste.... Jisshu has a very good role. He plays Arjun’s conscience just as Sharmila Tagore is her brother-in-law’s conscience in Seemabaddha.

In an interview to t2, Amitabh Bachchan said that Rituparno ‘build(s) a beautiful path... where all you have to do is simply walk...’

I think a director’s task is to create an environment which is conducive to his actor. When Amitabh Bachchan came down to Calcutta, he was amazed by the set which was turned into his (Harry’s) house. The house became a part of his costume. And I think it’s for the first time he had this kind of feeling, that the whole ambience was an extension of his persona. He said he felt as if this was his own house. He rued that we didn’t do the film in sync sound.

Arjun Rampal said that you shot the film with three-four cameras all around them...

We placed three cameras only because I wanted to finish the film fast. Besides, they would rehearse the scenes before shooting and I saw that they would fall into a rhythm and find their own internal timings, which I thought would work better if we shot a scene at one go. And Abhik (Mukhopadhyay, cinematographer) has done a wonderful job.

Producerspeak

Arindam Chaudhuri

What are your expectations from Last Lear?

The English film market in India is not very predictable. It has always been limited. We are releasing the film in the metros.... Expectations are high because Amitabh Bachchan’s performance has got awesome acclaim worldwide. Also, we are not underestimating Bachchan’s fan following.

How was the Bachchan experience?

He is one person who goes out of his way to make people feel comfortable because he knows that people around him are generally in awe of him. We had a great time during the shooting of the film.

Last Lear is your third film with Rituparno, after Dosar and Sunglass...

Last Lear was a fantastic experience. Any subject that has a relationship issue can’t be handled by anyone better than Rituparno. He brings out the best in people. And this will be one such film. It’s his best screenplay. It’s also Amitabh Bachchan’s best. Preity Zinta has a different look and is quite unlike her bubbly image. I think it’s her best performance too. It’s a very emotion-driven performance.

Besides, Rituda is so well-read that meeting him, in his room which has books all around you, itself is sheer pleasure! From a producer’s point of view, he’s very cost-effective in terms of money and days. He plans everything ahead and doesn’t waste any time on the sets. For a producer, he’s the best.

Last Lear is also the most ambitious project of Planman Motion Pictures...

Yes, it’s our biggest till now. It has been our toughest experiment. When there are three big actors it’s always a challenge to meet their expectations. Planning the film’s marketing was tough. We had to do it in a way that people didn’t think this film was not for them. Since it’s a different film,we thought that we should have international acclaim before coming to India. Last Lear reached the final stages at film festivals in Toronto, London and Rome. Releasing the film was also a challenge. We decided to release Mithya first and then Last Lear but the IPL happened and most big Bollywood films got stuck. Post-IPL, all big films began releasing.

Any plans to make films with other Bengali directors?

We are in talks with Anjanda (Das) for a Bengali film. I want to make at least one Bengali film a year.