New Delhi, May 29: As has been his wont, he decided to swim against the tide from the very moment he nosedived into the deep waters running in the high seas of Bollywood.
Despite being a fresh entry into the showground of tinseltown, Nalin Singh, co-producer, script writer and one of the cast of yet-to-be released multi-lingual ‘Gandhi To Hitler’, was always loath to treading the much beaten path and rather wished to chart his own course with his sublime talent and by sheer dint of hard work and persistence in the terrain of the dog-eat-dog world of the Hindi film industry.
Mentally prepared as he was, writer-actor Nalin took in his stride whichever stumbling blocks, whether the nose-up-in-the-air attitude of the people belonging to the industry or looking down on you since you are a newbie, came his way to complete his richly textured debutant vehicle.
”To have striven, to have made the effort, to have been true to certain ideals – this alone is worth the struggle,” said Nalin in a tete-a-tete with UNI. ”But one thing I want to state emphatically that for an outsider or a newcomer, the glass ceiling, which surrounds the film industry, is difficult to smash. Some people consider the industry their own personal fiefdom. They frown upon new entrants. Things may look rosy
or simple from the outside, but no, let me lay it on the line that the odyssey to Bollywood is no piece of cake,” said the 30-plus Ranchi-born scriptwriter.
”’Gandhi To Hitler’ is the first Hindi international movie that will be revolving around a foreign subject….It’s a clash of ideologies between the two most talked about historical personalities….Gandhi, who believed in non-violence, and Hitler, who used violence,” said the Hindu
College(Delh University) graduate.
”Connecting them is Azad Hind Fauj, the Indians who, under the leadership of Subhash Chandra Bose, are fighting Hitler inside Germany,” he added.
Much-hyped in the international media, the caper, whose international version ‘Dear Friend Hitler..?’ has already been screened in Berlin and Cannes Film Festivals, is going to be dubbed or sub-titled in eight languages, including French, German, English, Gujarati and Bengali.
The movie is slated to hit the marquee in India by the end of June and its teasers will soon be seen on the small screen. The title of the international version of the film will, however, remains the same.
The film, helmed by debutant Rakesh Ranjan Kumar and bankrolled by Anil Sharma, presents to the audience what happened within Hitler, who was holed up in a bunker in the last stage of the World War II.
The film revolves around World War II, Indian ndependence and the letters written by Gandhi, played by Avijit Dutt to Hitler.
It also beautifully portrays the relationship between Hitler and his love Eva Braun and showcases the differences between ideologies of Hitler and Gandhi.
”I always believed in conjuring up something which Bollywood or any other movie industry has not brought forth ever before.
As far as Bollywood is concerned, nobody has every brought out a film related to Hitler. The film aims to show the ideological clashes between Gandhi and Hitler during the last days of the second World War.
The two contemporary leaders of the era had entirely different approaches towards discharging their duties and responsibilities towards their nations and humanity. The former adopted violence and hatred whereas the latter adopted peace and non-violence,” said Nalin, a self-confessed avid biker and a movie buff since his school days.
”The film, whose running time on the screen is around two hours, is not pro-Hitler and rather highlights how Gandhi’s ideology of non-violence helps in winning any battle. The film sends out a message of peace in times of tumult across the world,” he says in a matter-of-fact tone.
”Also, other countries must learn from India how non-violence can resolve a problem without bloodshed. It’s a clash between non-violence and violence.
Non-violence, if used properly, is the most deadliest weapon and the best part is that not much blood is shed. It is upon politicians how they want to project hemselves,” Nalin added.
Besides Nalin, the cast of the film, which has a bouquet of seven songs one of which has been lent voice to by musical prodigy Daler Mehndi, includes Raghuveer Yadav, Neha Dhupia, Nikita Anand, Nasser Abdullah and Aman Verma, among others.
Asked what kind of response he expects at the turnstiles since he is coming up with an offbeat and unorthodox movie or what some people in the industry will like to call art house cinema, Nalin retorted: ” It is a film for the masses, and I am quite confident that it will draw them to cinema houses irrespective of what layer
of society they belong to. It is not a film targeted at any niche audience or particular segment. I have made the move keeping in mind the masses in mind and hope it will be well-received by the old and young alike. At the end of the day, I believe that the script is the king. If the script is good, then it is a sure shot winner hands down.
My film will be released in both single screen theatres and multiplexes.”
Throw a poser about what next after ‘Gandhi to Hitler’, and Nalin, whose favourite Hindi films are ‘Sholay’, ‘Agneepath’, ‘Main Azaad Hoon’, ‘Jab We Met’ and ‘3 Idiots’, among others, answers that once he is through with the venture in hand he would make ‘Trial of Saddam Hussain’, which will be based on college campus life, a
concept something at variance with the title of the film.
”See, ‘Gandhi To Hitler’ it is a very honest effort on my part through which I have tried to provide wholesome entertainment without anything which will make a family viewing embarrassing.
No item numbers, no double entendres and I hope any family can watch the film together, like in the past, without curling their toes,’’ explains Nalin, who comes from a family of a retired doctor father and a former bureaucrat mother.
Who does he derive his inspiration from? Nalin signed off
saying,” Oh, any day, it is Imtiaz Ali of the ‘Jab We Met’ fame.
He is one filmmaker who is so down to earth and who knows how to maintain relations. His dedication, devotion, discipline and grounded approach towards life is something I think highly of.”
The proof of the pudding is in the eating, so they say. So what fate lies in store for ‘Gandhi…’ at the ticket window is something hidden in the womb of the future, which alone will decide whether the movie sends the cash registers jingling or is largely a case of promises unfulfilled.
–UNI