Gupt, Tridevi, Mohra director Rajiv Rai ready to make a comeback

Rajiv Rai made a number of super-blockbusters, from Yudh in 1985 to Asambhav in 2004 when he had to quit the country for various reasons. In an interview Rajiv Rai discusses Gupt, and his plans of returning to direction. Excerpts from the interview: Gupt, your 1997 blockbuster turns 25. Your thoughts on that? I can’t believe 25 years have passed by since we released it. Do you know I was advised against making it? Why were you advised so? Everyone thought a murder mystery had no repeat value. It was believed that once audiences knew who the killer was they had no interest in coming back to see the film. But I had my own views on this. And what was that? It was not about the identity of the killer alone. Why do we love the whodunits of Alfred Hitchock? There is a lot more to Gupt than the murder mystery. Even my Mohra had a killer on the loose. But people went back to see the film for many other reasons. Including the songs Tu cheez badi hai mast mast and Tip tip barsa paani****? That’s right. Therefore, in Gupt I had many other factors   including Viju Shah’s music which was very popular.   The actors Bobby Deol, Kajol and Manisha Koirala were immensely liked in their roles. I have heard that the killer of the identity was decided   as the film was being shot? No, that’s a false myth about Gupt.  When I wrote the script I had identified the killer. The idea was to make the killer’s identity something that no member of the audience would suspect. We succeeded in that bang-on. This brings us back to the original question. Why the durable popularity when everyone knows who the killer is? See, in every love story you know how it’s going to end. Everyone knows   that screen romances end either with the lovers uniting or killing themselves.  Why is Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge so popular when everyone knows Simran and Raj are going to be united? They have seen it happen innumerable times and yet they keep going back to it. Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet has been staged and filmed innumerable times although everyone knows how the fate of the couple. So what’s your point here**?** It is not the outcome but the process by which the plot reaches its conclusion that matters. In K Balachander’s Ek Duuje Ke Liye we know exactly how Kamal Haasan and Rati Agnihotri’s romance ends. But getting to know them, watching them sing dance and romance is what makes the film special. Musician Viju Shah composed so many hit songs for your films including Duniya haseenon ka mela in Gupt and Saat samundar paar in Vishwatma. Why didn’t he succeed beyond your cinema? I don’t think he tried too hard. He was never interested in the rat race. You will be happy to know that Viju is making a comeback in a film that I am getting ready to direct. On directing film again… That’s right. I am returning to direction with another suspense thriller. This untitled film will feature   forty newcomers. It’s a low-budget suspense thriller to be shot entirely in Jaipur. We will begin shooting from July 29. I am very nervous and excited. This is my first film in 18 years. What kept you away for so long**?** I had to leave the country in a hurry.  My father (the illustrious producer Gulshan Rai) was getting extortion calls from the underworld. There was danger to my life. But now I am ready to  get back to work. Subhash K Jha is a Patna-based film critic who has been writing about Bollywood for long enough to know the industry inside out. He tweets at @SubhashK_Jha. Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News ,  Cricket News ,  Bollywood News ,  India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook,  Twitter and  Instagram.