What you hear in 'Kaalakaandi' is how these people speak: Akshat Verma

Comments [ 0 ] By IANS | 09 December 2017 | 12:30pm

I remember the then-chairperson of the CBFC Pahlaj Nihalani warning me: "The gaalis that you will hear in this film is what you've never heard in your life."

Verma laughs, "Thankfully 'Kaalakaandi' has been rescued from being butchered by the censor board. The CBFC had asked for more than 70 cuts, and that was mostly the language that Pahlajji told you about. But that's how people speak in the milieu that I have gone to. You can't gag the characters because their style of talking doesn't suit you."

So was Verma trying to live up to the reputation of the colourful quirky colloquial talk that he had cultivated when he wrote "Delhi Belly" by putting more of the same in his directorial debut?

He laughs: "It's not as if I consciously got down to doing a film that would have as many gaalis and cusswords as "Delhi Belly". When I wrote 'Delhi Belly' the characters spoke to me and thence to the audience in a certain way. Now in "Kaalakaandi", they speak a language that we may not accept as normal. But it is perfectly normal to the milieu and context of the film."

Luckily for Verma, the verbal imbalance recommended by the CBFC was restored by the Tribunal.

"They restored all the cuts, and by doing so they restored my faith in the democratic process. They just asked for three nominal verbal cuts which we made happily. The Tribunal understood the desperate essence of the theme," says the writer-turned-director gratefully.

"Kaalakaandi" is a dark comedy about a man who gets to know he has very little time to live.

"It's not easy to laugh about death in our films.Would such a character be bothered with niceties pleasantries and with crossing his ps and qs? Desperate situations bring out the real you, I feel," said Verma.

And Saif Ali Khan is in a desperate situation himself, what all his recent films bombing at the box-office.

Verma feels "Kaalakaandi" would do the trick for his leading man.

"I am so glad we chose Saif for the film. He is extremely effective at bringing out the confusions and the inner chaos of the character.In real life also, Saif doesn't hesitate in expressing his inner doubts.We are a humanity stricken by uncertainties. I think it's nice to have these misgivings expressed on screen rather than to have heroes who speak in measured rhetorical tones. Flaws are what make our heroes interesting. And since Saif plays a very flawed character, I feel his character is VERY interesting," he said.

For a while, it was touch-and-go for "Kaalakaandi" when the producers contemplated releasing the film on the digital platform. Luckily for Verma, Saif and all the super-talented actors and technicians, the film now gets a big big-screen release in January.

"You work hard on a film, and on every detail, its sound design, the music mix, the colour correctionAfter that, you cannot have your work placed on a platform that shrinks its qualities. I am just happy that we're going to be seen on the big screen. Not to undermine the digital platform which works just fine in today's day and age," he said.

Copyright IANS

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