‘THE ARMED FORCES AFFECT ME DEEPLY...’

JP Dutta wants to leverage the power of cinema to highlight the contributions of the defence forces

It’s tremendous the kind of job that they do, and how they put their lives in danger, in the line of fire, all the time… how their families are affected and the way they deal with it

JP DUTTA FILMMAKER

Be it Ghulami (1985), Kshatriya (1993), Border (1997), LOC Kargil (2003), or his latest Paltan, filmmaker JP Dutta’s body of work consists mainly of multistarrers. Directing an ensemble cast might seem like a challenge to others, but for Dutta, it is a prospect he thoroughly relishes. Cooperation and support from his actors make things easier for him, he says.

“I am really blessed as far as multi-starrers are concerned. All my life I have done mostly multi-starrers, and somehow all my actors have blind faith in me. They completely dedicate themselves to my vision and have been very cooperative. One of the reasons why I have been able to work smoothly,” Dutta says.

Epic family feuds, crossborder conflicts, period romances and wars in his films — when it comes to subjects, Dutta has dealt with quite a few. What does he look for in a story when he wants to take it to the big screen? “Whatever affects me deeply I [use to] make a film on the subject. The films that I have made till date are based on stories that have touched a chord with me. The armed forces affect me deeply, with the kind of job that they do, and how they put their lives in danger, in the line of fire, all the time… how their families are affected and the way they deal with it. That affects me and so I want to immortalise their lives through cinema. It is, after all, a medium that will last for years,” the filmmaker says.

While Border (1997) was received well by critics and audiences alike, and LOC Kargil found its own fan base, it hasn’t been always that his efforts have been rewarded— his recently-released film Paltan didn’t do well at the box office. “My efforts are dedicated towards making a good film. I can’t control success or failure,” an unfazed Dutta says.

Meanwhile, there have been reports that Dutta will direct three films next, all of them starring his Paltan actors Gurmeet Choudhary and Harshvardhan Rane. Dutta’s next, reports suggest, will be based on the royal Maharaja Ranjit Singh of Punjab. He will also direct a modern-day biopic that is expected to star Rane in the lead.

JP Dutta is the director of the recentlyreleased war drama Paltan