'Yahaan' is my homage to Kashmir: Shoojit Sircar

Mumbai, Aug 9 (IANS) The initial response to his debut film "Yahaan" has been more than encouraging, and director Shoojit Sircar would've had more to rejoice if it hadn't rained so hard in Maharashtra, resulting in lower audience turnout.

But Shoojit is surprisingly not complaining.

"No one can control the release of a film, let alone the weather conditions after release. Sahara, our partners, have their own protocol for releasing films. As it is 'Yahaan' was delayed by about four months. I'm glad to see it in theatres," Sircar told IANS.

Is social relevance a pre-condition for Shoojit's cinema?

"I guess so! I can't bring myself to make 'Kal Ho Na Ho' even if I tried. 'Yahaan' tackled an issue very close to my heart. The Kashmir problem has plagued me for ever. I've been visiting the valley for 12 years now.

"I was there when Charar-e-Sharif (the 1995 burning down of the Sufi shrine) and Hazratbal (siege of the shrine around the same time) happened. I was there when Kashmir went up in flames. It troubles me greatly. We're all responsible for the persecuted and isolated feeling of the average Kashmiri. 'Yahaan' is my homage to those years of self-exploration that I've undergone in the valley."

Softspoken and self-effacing, Shoojit Sircar represents the triumph of understatement.

"You'll be surprised to know how much the people out there pine for peace. All the girls in Kashmir say all they want is to be able to go out and have an ice cream without the paramilitary soldiers challenging them. They don't want guns. They want peace.

"We're all responsible for Kashmir. When I wrote 'Yahaan' I did extensive research, then came up with this story in the Indian Express in 1996 of a soldier posted in the Valley who fell in love with a local girl, whose hand was all he saw for many days and was fascinated by."

He smiles. "It was like a fairy tale. The soldier wrote about his posting in the Kashmir valley. On night duty he would use the toilet in a local house and have tea there. A hand would come out with the tea. The soldier fell in love with the hand.

"That's where my romance between Jimmy Shergill and Minissha Lamba has its roots. Though the real-life incident ended abruptly the romantic liaison in my film has a happy ending. I guess that's the advantage of making a film on real life."

Shoojit faced several hardships in filming on location.

"I was just not granted permission to shoot on the locations that I wanted. I didn't want to shoot in the predictable places. I wanted to go where my story takes the characters. I had to meet Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Mohammed Sayeed, and then we were shooting in hardcore militant areas. We shot the film like a guerrilla team, often giving out false shooting venues so that the militants didn't reach there before we did," he says.

Shoojit shivers as he recalls how dangerous the situation became for his leading man.

"Jimmy was dressed as a soldier all the time. He could've been targeted any time. Hats off to Jimmy for his guts. I'm deeply indebted to him for his commitment to the project."

In fact Shoojit had gone to producer Jhamu Sugandh with "Yahaan". "He loved the script and asked me to get a big star. But I couldn't back out of my commitment to Jimmy."

And the girl? "We auditioned a lot of them and finally zeroed in on Minissha. She was truly committed to the project. In fact everyone was. 'Yahaan' couldn't have been possible without everyone completely surrendering to the theme and mood."

Now Shoojit is into his second film. Titled "Amarjeet" it's the story of a small-town girl, played by Lara Dutta who takes on the tobacco industry.

"It's not really inspired by the Hollywood film 'The Insider'. The only thing in common between their film and mine is that they're both exposes on the tobacco industry."

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