BackQ&A with Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra
Q&A with Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra
PremiumSonam Kapoor and Abhishek Bachchan in Delhi 6
Why so long for your next film after Rang De Basanti (RDB)?
The script of this movie was written much before RDB. In fact even the script of RDB was with me for 8 to 9 years before I made it. All my scripts live with me and grow and I make the film only when I’m dying to make it. After RDB released I went to spend some time with American screenwriter Syd Fields. I wanted his point of view and we used to spend time talking about writing and did some screen writing exercises. In fact, he’s now writing the script for my film Paanch Kaurav.
What personal memories of growing up in old Delhi have you incorporated in Delhi 6?
How was it working with a relative younger star cast, after someone as experienced and involved as Aamir Khan?
Aamir Khan and Abhishek Bachchan are from different schools of acting. But everyone’s acting style is different. Even in RDB I worked with young actors like Kunal Kapoor and Siddharth. But Delhi 6 was a new learning experience for me too. I got to work with actors of different age groups ranging from Sonam Kapoor to Waheeda Rahman and everyone in between like Supriya Pathak, Raghuveer Yadav, Prem Chopra and Atul Kulkarni.
Can you tell us something about the music making process with AR Rahman?
Every moment spent with AR is a joy. The process starts much earlier with him. Prasoon Joshi, AR and I started discussing the music of Delhi 6 about two and a half years ago. We talk about it and through that what’s churning inside me is transferred to him. My songs are not lip-synched and there are no marriage songs or romantic songs in my films. Earlier he would be worried because I would edit the songs in the movie and don’t get them lip-synched but I think lip synching kills the music. The music of my film keeps developing, in fact I recorded one song two days before the music release.
Is there a political message in this movie?
This film is about people, their aspirations and the skeletons in their cupboard. There’s no political message but it touches on a few social issues like the caste system, Hindu-Muslim friendship and hatred, and explores the social fabric of our society. It’s not a plot-oriented film, the movie is like a journey.
Delhi 6 releases on 20 February
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