Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra Is Not Happy That His Film Rang De Basanti Is Still Relevant

Filmmaker Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra is gearing up for the upcoming film, Toofaan. The director recently opened up about Toofaan and some of his best projects including the 2006 release Rang De Basanti. Mehra reportedly had begun writing the film a year ago when he moved to his small village in Maharashtra just before the lockdown.

Now talking about the film, he said, "The lockdown was liberating for me. I was working on it for 20 hours a day without any disturbances. We managed to establish an editing line with one of my editors, and the same with sound. This period also gave me space and time to finish other scripts."

He also revealed that he worked on the script for about five months while requesting the post office for an Internet connection. Mehra is excited to see the audience's response to his second film based in Mumbai. "It is a lovely story carried by a strong voice. Though it involved a lot of hard work, it was really fun working on it. Every moment on the set was enjoyable. I hope this feeling can be transferred to the audiences," he was quoted by a DNA report.

Talking about his previous projects, the filmmaker said he isn't happy that the 2006 release Rang De Basanti is still relevant. Calling it nothing short of a tragedy, he said, "Yes, I am not really happy that it's relevant. The film tackled multiple issues including corruption, tolerance towards each other, the idea of India -- which I feel is not an abstract term but all about people. All these issues still remain. The many gaps have not filled, sadly."

Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra is also known for films like Delhi-6 and Bhaag Milkha Bhaag. Toofaan is his second collaboration with Farhan Akhtar. Toofaan releasing on Amazon Prime Video on May 21, 2021, also stars Mrunal Thakur and Paresh Rawal in leading roles.