For Anshuman Jha, who has backed some experimental projects in the past like Lakadbaggha and Lord Curzon Ki Haveli, Om Ka Hari might seem like an unusual project to bankroll. However, the actor-producer had a clear plan in mind –"It’s all about the budgets”, he says with great authority. “If you mount the wrong genre at the wrong number, you are going down the hole. I can mount Lakadbaggha, an animal-lover vigilante action film with a spine of empathy, only at a certain level — I have no delusions. For Lord Curzon Ki Haveli with Arjun Mathur and Rasika Duggal, there is a selective audience. When we are doing Om Ka Hari, it's a massier film with emotion at its centre. It's a story of every family. I think films never fail, only budgets fail, and that there is an audience for every kind of film as long as it's engaging.”
Om Ka Hari is also a different project for Soni Razdan in many ways. For one, it is rooted in a small-town backdrop, something Soni is rarely seen against. The veteran actor, however, says that she always finds something relatable in a character, no matter how alien. “Here, there was more to identify with, even if I didn’t share same beliefs with the character. I think a lot of women, of my generation at least, can relate to husbands behaving a certain way, and themselves being ‘peacekeepers.’” Further talking about Om Ka Hari, she says "There's family, there's drama, there are children," before adding on a light-hearted note, "and a volatile husband, and the responsibility of keeping the peace in a house — I can relate to that."
This is also a rare role with a slight humorous touch for the Saaransh (1984) actor. Soni says that nobody has ever tapped into her comic side. “Being away from comedy wasn’t a conscious choice. For me, it’s about the character and its significance within the story. I would love to do comedy; I think I am pretty good at it. Since I have been seen as a dramatic actress, not many have glimpsed into this side of me. At one time, I was fed up with dramatic roles, and felt like, ‘Give me something simple, something normal’ — and here came this film. One is only grateful to get a role like this, especially at my age.”
For director Harish Vyas, there was absolute clarity in terms of what he wanted to say. “Often, in father-son stories, we show the son as wrong. But elders too make mistakes, and it’s important to accept that. That’s my core message. Secondly, during my time in Banaras earlier, I saw people celebrate death or spend their final days there. I thought it’d be interesting to tell that story in a humorous way.”
Talking about what makes for an authentic portrayal of a small town in contemporary movies, the director notes, “First of all, the story should be relatable. Also, the homes we see in this film are the ones we grew up observing. Stories like this should be set in towns where they belong.” The makers were earlier planning to shoot somewhere else, until Anshuman suggested Bhopal as a backdrop, Harish recalls, adding, "Thankfully, we got a great location — the house, the colours and the texture. There is a history to Bhopal, and it makes a difference. We even wrote some of these elements into our script.”
Anshuman believes that Indian production banners need to start thinking about mounting international projects. He explains, “There is no globally recognised franchise from India, unlike Hollywood which has Spider-Man, Batman, Superman. Internationally, films are mounted with the global audience in mind. With our population of 1.7 billion people, we sometimes think only of our national audience. For Lakadbaggha 2, I am trying to build an international franchise. I know I am a small fish in the pond — so we need that kind of conviction from bigwigs.” The actor-producer recalls watching the Malayalam film Lokah: Chapter 1 Chandra, which “took his breath away.” “It has the ability to cut through. We need to think of mounting our films on that scale,” he says, while expressing a great hope for Ramayana: Part 1 to achieve that status on a global level. “It's a great step. Thematically, it's an Indian story. With a universal scale, it has a chance to charm everyone and tell them about our history. Forrest Gump worked worldwide because it was about American history. It's always the local which translates to the universal.”
Soni, who was a part of landmark films like 36 Chowringhee Lane (1981), Party (1984) and Mandi (183) in her early years, reflects on everything that’s changed and remained the same over time, “The parallel movement was a phase. For those times, those stories were new. Now, audience is spoiled for choice. There are 2-minute stories going on, people are making films on iPhone, there’s more audience to watch content, and more content to watch. We can’t compare the two eras.” And yet, there is a dearth of risk takers today, Soni asserts, adding, “We need people sanctioning movies to recognise the special stories. Earlier, films were made on two people’s convictions. Now, you have to narrate a story to 20 people, who will have their own opinions — and the final product might end up a bit different. We have to get our system together. Platforms are finding their feet — it's a process, but we'll get there.”
Anshuman agrees with Soni, adding, “This year at Cannes, I saw three filmmakers aged between 22 and 27 — and looking at their scripts gave me such perspective. It reminded me that producers and their conviction makes films, and a filmmaker brings them to life. Back in the day, a producer would not disturb the director but would know how to mount and sell a film.” Anshuman expresses great admiration for Anurag Kashyap and Aamir Khan, adding, “I think Aamir sir is a phenomenally gifted and inspiring producer. He gives a filmmaker full freedom, and then markets the film with conviction. That's why it’s important to have single producers for original stories to exist.”
But Soni reminds us of another crucial caveat before we sign off. “We also need audiences to come and encourage such films. We can't have one without the other.”
