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'I've only time to be frustrated with myself'

Kamal Haasan. Click for bigger pic!

He's the producer, director, storywriter, screenplay writer, lyricist and chief protagonist in his latest venture. He is -- who else -- Kamal Haasan.

For this venture, he has collected an enviable star cast -- Hema Malini, Girish Karnad, Shah Rukh Khan, Rani Mukherji and finally Naseeruddin Shah as Mahatma Gandhi. This, despite rumours that Nasser has proved a little difficult to locate.

The story spans a period of 50 years, from 1946 to 1999. And, expectedly, India's struggle for independence form an integral part of the story.

Kamal Haasan started this film because he has had to put on the backburner his dream project Marudunayagam. Now, if Marudunayagam was a magnum opus, Hey! Ram is no shoestring budget product. But Kamal Haasan still plans to complete the film fast and release it by October.

Shobha Warrier interviewed Kamal Haasan over email, clarifying what felt about the freedom struggle, India immediately after Independence and modern India.

A still from Marudunayagam. Click for bigger pic!

Why did you decide to make a film with India's freedom struggle as the backdrop?

Hey! Ram is not a film about the freedom struggle. This is a film about a country, which struggled with the aftermath of its freedom. The diverse interests of the religio-political groups are tugging at the rope at both ends.

Do you feel today's India has forgotten those who have sacrificed their lives for the country?

There are enough politicians with vested interests today who keep reminding the populace of the who's who of the freedom movement. What is eschewed or blacked out are the passionate mistakes committed by the common man swayed by coloured slogans. We have not yet repented for our mistakes.

What comes to your mind when you visualise yourself as a young man living during the freedom struggle?

This country is still vulnerable to similar religio-political goading. As long as it is not from your arteries, blood letting seems a simple chore. Nothing has changed in the last fifty years except the cosmetic surface.

A still from Hey! Ram. Click for bigger pic!

The face of free India still remains as unkempt as it was. Hey! Ram is about that face. And that includes my face too.

You are born after India became independent. And you live in the southern part of India where the freedom struggle was not as intense as it was in the northern or eastern part. While writing the screenplay, did you feel very emotional or charged up?

Righteous wrath and whimpers of helplessness did come in nauseating waves. Hey! Ram's protagonist is as ignorant as any other Indian until he comes face to face with reality.

Do you feel our country is in a mess and the politicians are responsible for the sad plight? Why I ask this question is, today's generation is very, very cynical about everything.

I presume I can arrogate myself the privilege of belonging to today's generation. About politicians and politics -- yes, they are cynical or rather they have accepted themselves as the inevitable evil of this modern democratic society. The mess created though cannot be attributed wholly to politicians. You and I are equally responsible.

Are you frustrated, in anyway, with the way our country is moving?

Click for bigger pic!

I have the time only to be frustrated with myself. As a citizen, I move the country. Hence, the frustrations are better channelled towards me. Further, action is more important than dwelling on or brooding over temporary frustrations.

Do you feel the leaders and the people of India remember the Mahatma only on the 2nd of October and he has become just a photograph in the government offices? Is it to remind them about the Mahatma that you named the film Hey! Ram ?

I think repeated reminders have made Mr Gandhi a part of the syllabus one has to put up with even after school. Love for Mr Gandhi has turned into a ritual. Like all deified persons, Mr Gandhi suffers the fate of gods. My fascination has been with the man -- the vulnerable yet invincible Gandhi.

Do you feel sad at the way Indians are fighting among themselves in the name of caste and religion?

Yes. This sadness is handed down to me by the generations who lived before me.

Did you ever feel like saying Hey! Ram in frustration?

No, I shall leave it to the religious practitioners.

Are you optimistic about our country?

Yes.