"Abhishek barely speaks in Delhi-6" - Rakeysh Mehra
"Delhi 6 has been a sort of uniquely joyous experience from beginning to end. It was hard work, but it was just sort of blessed right down the line. I almost like to think that it's the karma of Rang De Basanti", said the busy Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra who was juggling time for his interviews in between his tea breaks, then going in the mixing studio, then heading back to the garden for a smoke, then ordering his tea again, then giving an interview and then back to where it all began.
If you allow him to do so, Rakeysh can cut an imposing figure. Towering somewhere above 6 feet, sporting a neatly trimmed grey beard, dark blue shirt and jeans, he looks like the type of person who won't put up with a whole lot of bull****. Hell, we've long heard rumours that he's nothing short of a taskmaster when on the set. But get Mehra talking about his work (filmmaking) and one of his major passions (filmmaking again) and you quickly learn that he's downright mellow and what's more, that all of those rumours are probably nothing but a bunch of lies. We could run through Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra's credits, but you don't need that. His career has been an exercise in the advancement of the motion picture standard. His first film Aks was made way ahead of its time for it to have worked well theatrically. And just after that, his second film, Rang De Basanti, went on to get nominated at the BAFTA's. How about that? His meticulous attention to the detailing and designing the story fetched him an international recognition. And with Delhi 6 he says, "I have now reached the first standard after passing out from nursery and senior kg".
Our correspondent met the BAFTA nominee film, Rang De Basanti's director at Anand Studios in Pali Hill at ten in the night, where he takes us out for a stroll in the garden at half past eleven and just seconds before we start the interview he said, "If the mosquitoes start biting just run inside". Over his 'god-knows-how-many' cups of tea he had during our two hour trip at the studio, he still recalled the last time we met him in 2007 at the Grosvenor Hotel in London's Hyde Park just hours before he put his feet on the BAFTA red carpet. Unaware of the fact that the clock struck twelve and yet another day nears the big release, under the beautiful moonlight, Rakeysh once again relights talking about Delhi 6, A.R. Rahman, his love for films, the doves and of course...some mosquitoes.
Does
Delhi
6
capture
the
real
essence
of
India?
Delhi
6
is
a
journey
to
discover
this
country.
When
I
started
this
film,
I
didn't
know
why
I
was
making
it,
but
through
this
journey,
I
found
out
the
reason
for
doing
this.
You
can
say
that
Delhi
6
is
about
the
people
of
our
country,
the
place,
the
beliefs,
the
disbeliefs,
their
contrast
in
religion,
how
they
live
in
harmony,
how
they
live
in
conflict,
the
whole
Hindu
-
Muslim
thing,
the
caste
system
in
our
country,
the
marriages,
the
dowry,
etc.
and
yet
Delhi
6
works.
Bureaucracy
prevails
but
yet
there
is
something
great
about
it.
Why
do
you
think
such
things
are
still
prevalent?
This
change
has
triggered
with
the
turn
of
the
century
and
I
always
wanted
to
know
why
such
things
are
happening.
It's
a
funny
place,
this
country
is.
Schools
will
have
no
books,
if
there
are
books,
there
are
no
teachers,
if
there
are
teachers,
there
are
no
exams,
no
results,
if
you
pass
out
from
your
college,
you
won't
get
a
job,
you
get
married,
find
a
house
where
there
is
tap
but
no
water.
You
are
back
where
it
all
started
from.
How
the
hell
does
the
country
work.
Along
the
line
we
discovered
that
it's
the
people.
I
didn't
touch
up
on
the
writing
process
but
as
we
were
closing
towards
the
final
draft,
we
realized
that
there
are
too
many
problems
which
a
common
man
himself
brings
up.
It
sounds
like
the
film
works
on
various
levels?
You're
bang
on.
The
film
works
on
various
levels.
Delhi
6
is
not
a
plot
oriented
film.
It's
like
a
fabric
you're
trying
to
weave.
Each
thread
is
like
a
person
with
different
colours
added
to
them.
Somebody
is
as
close
as
cotton
or
as
smooth
as
silk
and
they
all
come
in
various
sizes
and
shapes
and
yet
they
form
a
fabric
and
that's
the
society
we
live
in.
We
see
these
things
from
the
second
generation
Indian
played
by
Abhishek
Bachchan.
Was
making
Delhi
6
a
tougher
challenge
than
Rang
De
Basanti?
No
questions
about
that.
Yes,
I
was
very
nervous
attempting
Delhi
6.
Cinematically,
if
Rang
De
was
kinder
garden
then
I
am
in
first
standard
now.
I
can
feel
the
growth.
I
hope
when
I
come
out
of
this
film
(after
a
pause)
and
I
don't
know
when
I'll
come
out.
Maybe
couple
of
years
down
the
line
when
I
look
at
it
again,
it
will
all
fall
in
place
for
me.
As
of
now,
there
is
no
objectivity
in
making
Delhi
6.
Will
Delhi
6
weave
the
magic
like
what
RDB
did?
I
don't
know.
There
are
no
expectations.
We
haven't
structured
the
film
in
a
way
that
it'll
walk
the
red
carpet
across
the
world.
Though
it'll
be
wonderful
to
get
an
international
recognition
and
at
the
same
time,
our
Indian
recognition.
More
importantly,
if
it
can
strike
a
chord
with
the
audience,
that'll
be
great.
I
have
departed
totally
from
Rang
De.
There
is
not
a
single
thought
process
that'll
echo.
Somewhere
subconsciously,
I'll
be
trying
to
tell
the
same
story
in
a
different
way,
even
if
try
not
to.
Something
or
the
other
will
seep
into
it.
The
story
of
Delhi
6
permitted
me
not
to
repeat
myself.
Why
is
there
a
mirror
on
the
audio
CD
cover
of
Delhi
6?
Is
that
giving
away
an
important
message?
It
does.
The
film
tells
us
to
look
at
yourself
and
so
the
mirror.
The
pre-climax
gets
triggered
with
the
mirror.
It's
not
just
look
at
yourself
alone
though.
We
look
for
so
many
things.
We
look
for
God
in
our
own
way.
Some
look
for
Ram,
some
for
Allah,
some
for
Jesus,
some
for
Krishna,
etc.
Somewhere
it's
got
that
kind
of
a
'sufiana'
flavour
to
it.
Abhishek
has
an
accent
in
the
film.
How
was
the
preparation
process?
It
was
Abhishek's
process.
He
worked
on
the
body
language
and
the
American
accent.
Everybody
worked
on
their
individual
accents.
For
Abhi,
it
came
very
naturally.
In
fact,
he
barely
speaks
through
the
film.
He
hardly
has
ten
lines
in
the
film.
It's
his
voiceover
which
takes
us
through
the
film.
We've
seen
Rakeysh
Mehra
have
a
strong
penchant
for
music.
Is
it
Rahman,
Prasoon
or
all
you
three
together?
What
an
album,
isn't
it?
Of
course
it
is
A.R.
Rahman
and
Prasoon
Joshi.
I
don't
have
lip
sync
songs
in
Delhi
6.
If
you've
noticed,
in
Rang
De
also,
I
didn't
have
anyone
singing
songs.
For
me,
the
sound
of
the
film,
whether
it's
the
background
or
the
songs,
is
the
fourth
dimension.
It's
never
upfront.
It's
like
a
soul
in
the
film
which
you
cannot
see
but
can
only
feel
it.
You
can
also
see
the
energy
of
the
soul.
The
songs
interpret
the
film
and
take
it
forward
in
their
own
way.
Me,
Rahman
and
Prasoon
jam
a
lot.
Three
years
ago,
while
I
was
making
Rang
De
Basanti,
I
was
already
speaking
Delhi
6
with
them.
We
keep
talking,
meeting
and
discussing
as
to
what's
happening
with
the
world,
chat
about
music,
watch
a
movie
and
in
the
process,
something
starts
happening.
I
keep
telling
them
a
story
and
every
time
I
tell
them,
it's
a
different
story.
I
try
very
hard
to
confuse
them
and
they
think
I
make
some
sense.
Aren't
there
more
mosquitoes
interested
in
our
talk
today?
I'm
sure
they
are.
They
must've
been
snubbed
by
the
pigeon
which
I
have
shown
on
the
posters
of
Delhi
6
(laughs)
The
same
time
zone
of
Rang
De
before
release
and
Delhi
6
before
release.
Can
you
tell
the
difference?
During
Rang
De,
I
was
blank.
Now
I
am
blanker
(laughs).
If
Rang
De
was
a
political
drama,
Delhi
6
is
a
social
drama.
In
terms
of
expectations,
Rang
De
was
a
tough
act
to
follow
and
sometime,
your
success
becomes
your
biggest
enemy.
Everywhere
I
go,
people
recognize
me
and
talk
about
Rang
De
Basanti.
Now
we
did
some
test
screenings
of
Delhi
6
and
I
found
out
that
this
is
the
first
time
I've
sketched
romance.
That's
a
major
difference.
Isn't
A.R.
Rahman
making
your
job
tough
by
not
being
there
in
the
crucial
and
a
critical
stage
of
the
films
release?
Rahman
called
me
half
an
hour
after
he
received
the
award
at
the
BAFTA's
and
said,
"I
am
feeling
so
guilty
by
not
being
there.
Anything
you
feel
irritated
about
the
background
score,
just
change
that".
He
just
returned
last
night
from
the
U.S.
He
landed
in
Chennai,
was
talking
to
his
engineers
and
was
so
worried
about
the
music
of
Delhi
6.
In
fact,
the
background
score
is
much
better
than
the
songs
in
Delhi
6.
Background
is
the
film.
What
we
tried
for
the
background
was
that
we
didn't
score
for
the
shot.
We
just
sat
and
spent
the
whole
month
of
December
and
not
a
single
sound
came
out.
Everybody
was
getting
worried.
Then
Rahman
won
the
Golden
Globe,
came
back
and
he
again
sat
and
bits
and
bits
happened.
At
one
point,
I
and
Rahman
were
discussing
to
postpone
the
release
date
of
Delhi
6.
We
still
couldn't
crack
the
background.
So
we
decided
to
crack
theme
on
the
subject
of
the
film.
Not
on
some
particular
scene.
Rahman
went
into
a
different
world
all
together
after
that.
He
played
all
the
instruments
that
were
available
to
him
and
just
went
for
it.
He
came
up
with
ten
themes
and
at
one
point
we
were
confused
of
what
to
use.
He
is
a
true
magician.
When
we
put
the
theme
with
the
scenes
it
would
start
and
end
perfectly.
Can
you
believe
it?
Do
you
think
you
are
losing
your
creativity
by
making
one
film
every
three
years?
I
mean,
if
you
made
three
films
in
three
years,
it
could've
been
a
much
creative
process.
I
am
happy
to
make
one
film
in
a
lifetime.
Filmmaking
is
neither
a
race
nor
a
number
game.
Though
one
thing
(film)
is
stretching
too
much
(laughs).
I
write,
I
direct,
I
produce.
If
I
had
sealed
and
bound
scripts
and
good
scripts,
that
will
not
quench
my
thirst!
It
has
to
be
something
cool
which
we
can
experiment
with.
Visually,
the
director
is
the
writer.
Then
I
have
to
produce
because
the
kind
of
films
I
want
to
make,
it's
impossible
to
find
a
producer.
Rang
De
Basanti
took
three
to
four
years
to
find
a
producer
till
we
roped
in
Aamir
and
in
turn
Aamir
roped
in
Rahman.