‘I will express what I feel strongly about’
Film-maker Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra has finished shooting his next project, Mere Pyaare Prime Minister, which tells the story of a single mother whose eight-year-old son wants to make a toilet for her. Speaking about the movie’s unusual story, Mehra says, “All my subjects are different. Bhaag Milkha Bhaag (2013) was different from Rang De
Basanti (2006), and so this film is different from others. It was a story that I wanted to tell. It was a burning question within me and I wanted to express it. I’d been working on the script for the past three years.”
However, Akshay Kumar’s upcoming film, Toilet: Ek Prem Katha, has a similar theme and aims to raise awareness about the need for public toilets. Speaking about the two films and if they may affect each other’s business, Mehra says, “It’s a valid question when you look at it from the outside, but once you see the movie, you will understand. Different stories are told differently. When I was making Rang De Basanti, everybody said there have been four-five films on Bhagat Singh. There are many romantic films being made, but each story is different. Basically, the story is about toilets, which I think has been a social problem for a long time. I feel it is something that needs to be dealt with.”
Ask Mehra how he manages to entertain while conveying a message in a film, and he says, “It depends on the person that you are. The kind of person I am, I will express what I feel strongly about. For me, movie-making is about telling a story. I love telling stories when there is a social context to them. I won’t say it’s a ‘message’. I’ve been associated with an initiative that works towards building toilets for the past two to three years now. When I make a movie, it’s an extension of my personality, and I hope that comes through.