Yes, finally saw Aamir Khans last film No not Thugs of Hindostan
Rubaru Roshni shows Sister Selmi with Samundar Singh, the man who brutally murdered her sister in 1995. Pic/Youtube
Don't know if you recall teasers leading up to producer-anchor Aamir Khan's path-breaking talk show, Satyamev Jayate (SMJ), possibly the finest journalistic series to appear on Indian television, in 2012.
Brainstorming with his restless crew, the promos had Aamir explaining how entertainment didn't just mean jokes and songs, boss: 'Nach liya, hass liya; entertainment ka matlab yeh thodi hain?' And that entertainment equals engagement. Nobody at the time really knew what Aamir's television debut was going to be about.
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It's when it finally aired that one realised how some of those apprehensions were quite understandable. For, who will watch stories on female foeticide, or rainwater harvesting, for their Sunday TV anyway? And that too as an hour-long, non-fiction, public service chat show, being simulcast across Star Network channels, in multiple languages, along with the national broadcaster, Doordarshan!
A still from Aamir Khan's
Never since SMJ have I known an Indian show that through its effective storytelling could merge audiences, across classes, to readily discuss significant social issues - from pharma malpractice to alcohol abuse, and other boring stuff. Which is really the power of mass media - mainly unharnessed, because it lies in the hands of FMCG number-crunchers alone.
That initial nervousness though was also quite in line with how Aamir's known to be, before his films release. Self-admittedly, he gets sleepless nights - surely everyone does. Furthermore, he sleeps the night before in the projection room of a theatre where his movie is going to hit the next morning - just so he doesn't get noticed while wandering in, and is fresh to catch public reactions to first day's first show.
This, while he's also tested the film's rushes before a focus group, and has already rejected a whole lot of scripts before zeroing in on the one he wishes to bet time and money on. Over the past couple of decades, applying a cautious approach, and yet taking risks that few others have, putting his stardom at stake, he's hit box-office gold with subjects as disparate as rural, period drama on sport (Lagaan), satire on farmers' suicide (Peepli Live), or an emotional weepy on education, with a child at the centre of the frame (Taare Zameen Par) - turning into one of India's greatest curators of mainstream content, at the script level, to start with.
He also sounds quite methodical, distilling his approach. For one, he says with scripts, what he's interested in is 'what happens next' - a fundamental question that drives one's interest in a plot. And most massy movies are, whether you like it or not, plot-driven. For example, he cites a lesser known Govinda picture he loves - Sandwich - because you just never know what happens next in that film!
Beyond this, he looks at the opportune point when the film's 'goal' (or the centre-piece of the plot) is locked; ideally before the audience begins to look sideways. With script in place, the authentic setting in order, and a cast that fits in well with both, Aamir says you're in "good wicket". As he has been, with audiences relentlessly reposing trust.
This is the reason I haven't seen Aamir's last feature, Thugs Of Hindostan, yet - being out of the country when the movie opened to eggs being pelted from every place under the sun. Also, this is a reason Thugs broke box-office record on Day 1 (earning around R50 crore), and tanked on Day 2 itself. Nobody wants to waste their time and money - meaning, leaving their feelings behind - for an Aamir film. It's a tough brand association to nourish.
His most recent film as producer (along with partner Kiran Rao), though, is a documentary. It's titled Rubaru Roshni, directed by SMJ co-director Svati Chakravarty Bhatkal. It dropped on Hotstar on January 26. The film comprises three separate stories: Of an orphaned daughter, and the man who gunned down both her parents. Of a nun's family, and a farmer who murdered the nun. Of a woman who lost both her husband and daughter during the 26/11 attacks in Oberoi-Trident.
From one end, these are stories of forgiveness - the only possible anti-dote there is to frightening propaganda and hate crimes. From the other, it's a story of how life ought to give you a second chance. Either way, what you feel is a strange sort of connection and empathy that only real stories, or smart, strong documentaries, are most capable of.
This is a genre that one can already sense registering spike in audience interest, sooner than later - what with the Internet allowing for more and more solitary viewing, and the astounding fall of the mainstream television news media.
But yeah, nobody wants to watch documentaries; they're considered boring, generally. Which is the fear, I'm told, Aamir expressed to the press while hosting the film's screening: "Please don't say it's a documentary," he apparently requested. He starts Rubaru Roshni, with a piece-to-camera, calling it his "most important work" over a 30-year career. Given the times we live in, totally agree. Was in tears, man.
Mayank Shekhar attempts to make sense of mass culture. He tweets @mayankw14 Send your feedback to mailbag@mid-day.com
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