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on 2008/5/2 23:25:37
They passionately dab watercolour on each other and make love. That’s Randeep Hooda as legendary painter Raja Ravi Varma and Nandana Sen as his muse Sugandha in a scene from Ketan Mehta’s biopic Rang Rasiya, based on the artist’s life.
Mehta, much like the 19th century painter who has inspired his movie, faced censorship in expression. In the early 90s his film Maya Memsaab (starring wife Deepa Sahi and Shah Rukh Khan) stirred a hornet’s nest for its lovemaking sequences, which were eventually removed by the Censor Board.
An undeterred Mehta, who returns with yet another historical after the failure of his ambitious The Rising: Ballad of Mangal Pandey, has chosen not to compromise his creative liberty while portraying his subject Varma’s sensuous relationship with his various muses in Rang Rasiya (as is evident from the trailers). “More than 100 years ago, Raja Ravi Varma was dragged to the court for obscenity and hurting public sense of morality in his works. He went on to win the case,” says Mehta.
Rang Rasiya, made both in Hindi and English (titled Colours of Passion), is slated for release in June. “I was introduced to Raja Ravi Varma’s works while I was a student at the Film and Television Institute of India in Pune. Ten years ago, I toyed with the idea of making a film on his life. After Mangal Pandey, I acquired the rights for the novel Raja Ravi Varma (by Marathi author Ranjit Desai),” says Mehta who has shot this film across Kerala, Jaisalmer, Varanasi and Mumbai. “He was the father of modern Indian art and pioneered realistic calendar art. Even early Indian films were inspired by his paintings,” he adds.
Despite choosing Varma’s illustrious life and times as his canvas, Mehta has restricted Rang Rasiya to a modest budget, unlike his earlier Mangal Pandey. However, the director refuses to attribute this to former film’s box office debacle. “Rang Rasiya is an intimate film. I have not made any compromise with the movie and consciously cast Randeep and Nandana in the lead, instead of opting for established stars,” he says.
Though Mehta has often been hailed as a director much ahead of his times, for films like Maya Memsaab and Mirch Masala, he has never been a successful box-office man. “Things have changed drastically since the 90s. A new generation of audience has emerged today who is exposed to different kinds of cinema. A well-made film will find its viewers today,” says Mehta.
However, despite the Hindi film industry’s so-called boom, Mehta insists that it is still difficult to make a movie like Rang Rasiya (produced by Sahi and Anand Mahendroo). “It is tough to raise necessary funds,” he adds. Currently looking at a global release for Rang Rasiya, Mehta plans a biopic on Rani Laxmibai next. “We will start the project once Rang Rasiya is over. I have experimented with various genres, from thrillers to musicals,” the filmmaker adds. “I would say historicals return to me rather than I returning to them.”
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