You may recognize his name from the credits of the mega hit Rang De Basanti: Rensil D'Silva was the man behind the script of that groundbreaking film. He is known as one of the best screenplay writers in Hindi cinema and now he is adding director to his credit line, as well as writer, for the upcoming Kurbaan. Rensil D'Silva did not go the easy road for his directorial debut; he not only picked a very sensitive subject, the film was also quite complex to make. With the backing of Karan Johar and Dharma Productions and with the support of outstanding actors including Saif Ali Khan, Kareena Kapoor, Vivek Oberoi, Om Puri, Kirron Kher and Diya Mizra, Kurbaan is getting ready to give you a thought-provoking and throughly entertaining night at the movies. I got the opportunity to speak with Rensil in between shooting schedules one day in August. He was about four shooting days away from completing the film and was working on the background score. He wouldn't give a lot away about the film but what he did was fabulous. We thought that with the release of the Kurbaan trailer this weekend, we would go ahead and publish our interview, so you can learn little bit more about this highly anticipated film!

Is directing something you always wanted to do?

Yes, I mean really writing and directing, but directing is something I wanted to do since I was 14 years old.

What made you decide you wanted to do Kurbaan?

Well, really I was looking for a script to make my first film and I was going off to London to write a script about a heist. Just before I went, Karan told me this story that he had had for sometime. He just narrated it to me one evening and it kind of hooked me. We started writing it, and even though I went off to London to write this other script, I couldn't get very far with it because this script that Karan had told me about had completely captured my imagination! When I came back, I told him I wanted to make it and he said, 'Yeah sure, why don't you, because I have had it for the longest time. It would be great if you would make it.' So, we set out to make it.

What's the film about?

Well, it is a cross genre ... it is a love story, it's a thriller and it has political comment on global terrorism and the identity of Muslims in the modern world. It is a comment on Islam - the liberal and the conservative elements of Islam. I think there was enough meat for it to absorb me completely and also to my mind it should cross borders, it shouldn't just only be an Indian film. I think it is a film that can make its way through the global market.

Why the title Kurbaan?

Kurbaan means sacrifice, and the context of that sacrifice will be apparent to the audience when the plot unfolds.

Ahhh, so not going to give anything way then. (laughs)

(Laughs)

What went into deciding whom to cast?

This cast was my wish list. Saif, Kareena, Vivek Oberoi, Om Puri, Kirron Kher, Diya Mizra - I was very lucky to get each and every one of them. They all came aboard with just a single reading of the script. I didn't have to do to much convincing or anything, I just sent them the scripts. In that sense I think it has been a dream run from the casting end, but also from the production end because it is a fairly complex film to make.

Did you find it difficult to make?

Difficult simply because I was looking for subway stations for the climax and because of the kind of material it is, I got turned down; I got turned down in London, I got turned down in Germany. We even went over to other parts of Europe - like France and even Russia. I even had a snag in New York because they turned me down. But the people of Philadelphia were very accommodating and they allowed me to shoot in their station, which, fingers crossed, has turned out well.

How was it working with Saif, Kareena and Vivek?

I was lucky because they are all actors, they are not just stars. I knew Saif and Kirron Kher and Om Puri a bit. I did not know Kareena and Vivek, but by day three I think everyone was in on the film. Like I said, it has been a dream run. They are such fantastic professionals. I had no problems. I am 84 days into a shoot which is pretty complex, and was shot over 2 schedules in the US and I haven't missed a single day. In fact, I am 3 days ahead of schedule!

Why did you decide to shoot abroad rather than in India, was it because it is a global film?

I think the script demanded it. It is a global film but the script demanded it. 85% of the film happens in New York, so that was a demand of the script, but it wasn't preset or designed in a way to appeal to a global audience. I just think in the world we live in, the problem, and though I don't know if it is a problem, only I think that the dimensions of Islamic terrorism as seen by the West and as conceived by people out here in the Indian subcontinent are diametrically opposite ends of polarity of this problem. I think I caught some of this in the film.

Do you have a favorite scene?

The script reaches a point were there is a debate in a classroom between the moderate voices of Islam and some pretty radical voices from the West. Where issues like 9-11 and Afghanistan and the invasion of Iraq are seen in a very heated debate where hopefully I have put forward the points. It sees it through the prism of the US using the first invasion of Iraq, with Bush Senior, as a means to further their arms deal and the inclusion of the CIA into what is now the Mujahideen, right from the time of the Soviet invasion. The CIA's intervention to create the Mujahideen, and now the Mujahideen striking back at the US and their interests; a lot of issues I think that might not have been dealt with in previous mainstream Hindi Cinema - I hope to at least address some of it. I don't think it would be totally good to say I have resolved it or anything, but at least I have nudged the mind of the viewer more into that direction.

Do you think that is important and that cinema is a good way to get people to think in different ways?

Yes, I have always thought, if you can, provoke thought and go beyond. I think in India there is the obsession with the need to entertain and somewhere our concept of entertainment is almost light entertainment. Films with very serious dramatic issues or social issues - in the past they used to be that in the 50 and 60s - then we kind of lost our way by the 70s and 80s. We started making "blockbusters", but now I think political comment is coming back. New York is one example of it, mainstream cinema is addressing it. It is very different from mainstream cinema made on these large budgets, usually it was addressed vis-à-vis in a small, folklore, one million dollar kind of film but those films tend to go unnoticed, even though they have great content. I am hopeful, something like this, done for the first time, will find an audience.

How has it been working with Karan Johar as producer and for Dharma Productions?

He is a dream producer and I am not just saying this because he is backing the film. He really is. Until I showed him the film a week ago, he had not seen anything. That's quite something. I don't think a foreign studio would believe in you that much. To give you this kind of money and say, go off and shoot a film and I won't see it until you feel it is ready and you want to show it to me. He did that, and in fact he wanted me to complete my film...I am still four days away from shooting it completely and he said, 'Why don't you show it to me then' and I was like 'no, no please, see it. I mean you put your money into this film, you should see it'. He is in that sense a dream producer, no interference, and I know what it took to get those stations and I think very, very few studios in the West would have backed this material. I kept on getting that from a lot of my American crew. They said, you know, you would never be able to make this film. You would never get it green lit in the US. It is that sensitive. So, in that sense I think he is a fab guy.

How do you feel the film has turned out, has it met your expectations?

Yeah, it has but then I might be delusional (laughs). You know, you never know. It won't be wrong for me to say that I'm happy. I just hope the film clicks with an audience.

How will audiences relate to the film?

I think we finally got the audiences we have always wanted in this country. We have got films like Kaminey doing well; we have films like New York doing well. We have an audience that doesn't want the same old tired stuff. They're yearning for more and they have all been exposed to global cinema and the ticket paying audience is now at the age group of 20-30 and the young India is quite intelligent. So, you can go through with these themes and hope for the best.

So you think Bollywood cinema has grown, I mean even a few years ago something like this might not have been made, would it?

Yes. I mean, I don't know if you know, but I did a film called Rang De Basanti about three years ago

Oh yes, of course - brilliant film.

I remember when I wrote it - I wrote it in 2003 and it took me three years to get the film on the road because it had a non-linear story line. You know it shifted between the past and the present. These weren't things that were normally done. I don't think this was ever done in Indian cinema, it was just too risky when you make a film - you don't want to lose them with the content shifting back and forth that much and non linear story lines, in that sense it was the worst thing you could do. But it did well in 2006 and made a lot of money. So, I guess, that was the beginning of, well that a lot of people sensed that they could take chances with mainstream budgets on slightly varied fare. I guess today we are seeing really, really experimental films also are starting to make an appearance. Maybe not as much as the West, but these are baby steps and it is a beginning.

Did you expect Rang De Basanti to be as popular as it was?

No, no, in fact I remember when I sat down to write it I didn't have the faith, to be very honest, that this could translate into a success. I knew it could work but I didn't think it could translate this much because till then we didn't have a sense of an audience appreciating anything close to it. There was no way for us to believe that it could work, but it did and we were all pleasantly surprised

Was that a hard script to write?

Uh, not really. I never labor over things. I just write down what comes into my head. I don't want to intellectualize it too much. What I see in my head, I put down and hope for the best.

Now that you have done both writing and directing, which do you, prefer?

You know for me the line blurs between them. Because I have written for different directors and I have not been happy with the way it has been translated on screen. I think good or bad, if you are going to try and attempt something you need complete control, you need to write it, so you can direct it on the floor. You need to realize it in a lot of other elements of the craft - like music and editing. So, I don't see it as something that can be chopped. You have got to really hope for the best when you write and hope that it goes to a really mature hand, and that they realize it the way you thought about it, because you have seen that first image when you put it on the page and you just hope the other person shares that but most of the time it doesn't. So, I hope I can write and direct for the rest of my life because that is perfect.

Did the Kurbaan script change much from that first image on the page to the final product?

No, not at all, though I must say that there are a few people, like I hired a great director of photography Hemant Chaturvedi, who surprised me with some lensing, and then I think actors when they inhabit a role they surprise you with their performance but generally the tone, which is really an abstraction (as you know as a writer) is the same.

What will the music be like for the film, and how does it fit in?

We have about four tracks, and unlike normal mainstream cinema none of them are in lip synch, we don't have characters singing it out, which would be death on a film like this. It is an OST, and I am working right now with Salim and Sulaiman on a background score. I think if you have a thriller, that is integral to the success of the film. Hopefully we shall have something very good in a months time.


Do we have a release date for the film and music?

Yes, we are releasing on the 27th of November. It is Eid, so it is a long weekend and I think Eid is correct for the theme of the film. The music probably about a month before.

Can you tell us about a memorable moment on the set?

Well, we were shooting an action sequence and we were in the Bay area in Philadelphia and I remember it was -21°F on that day and we were all freezing. I couldn't feel my fingers. We had winds at such high intensities that it nearly blew over a crane which was holding our lights - it kind of moved. I mean if it can move these huge lights which are set up on a crane, then I don't think it is a good day to shoot and at that point I said I think we need to go home. It was fun and a little more action than we needed (laugh). We basically shot through that kind of weather through all of last November-December. It was the worst winter in Philadelphia, it would always be -14, -15 at night and we shot nights because we had taken over the station in the night. I will never forget that cold -and it still gives me nightmares, that cold!

What other projects will you be working on after this?

I've stopped writing for a while for other people, I am just writing my next film and once I select that then maybe I will go back to writing for other directors. I have film with Mani Rantman right now, one that you will recognize, a film called Raavana. I have two films for him really, I have another film I am writing that we have been trying to make for some time. That is about it and I guess I will have a clean slate come December.

Are you nervous about the release of Kurbaan?

Yes, but a good nervous. I am sure of my content but it is almost like you are going to get your report card. I sometimes feel like a school boy waiting for it. Yeah, but I guess I will be pacing up and down the hallway while audiences are seeing that first print, but I am good. I think it is a healthy nervous.

We are sure he has no reason to be nervous. Vivek Oberoi said, "Rensil, as we all know, is a fantastic writer, but now we also know he's an equally amazing director. I think he will make a huge impact with this film." We think he will too, because it looks like Kurbaan is going to make everyone sit up and take notice. Remember to mark you calendars for November 27th because that is when you can get your look at this intriguing film! We wish Rensil and the cast the best of luck and much success! Stay tuned because we are going to be bringing you much more about Kurbaan!