"Hope the film will be controversial enough" - Jag Mundhra 
By Subhash K. Jha, January 26, 2008 - 09:35 IST
After years struggling against the reputation of a soft-porn maker, Jagmohan Mundhra has acquired a more respectable image with his three
back-to-back biopics Bawandar, Provoked and now Shoot On Sight, which tackles the sensitive issue of the Islamic identity in the west.
Mundhra speaks to Subhash K Jha.
Your new film Shoot On Sight goes into a very sensitive and topical area of our life...Islamic terrorism. Do you expect a backlash?
The film's tagline is: 'Is it a crime to be a Muslim?'. That says it all. A majority of moderate Muslims are caught between Islamic extremism on one hand
and Islam-phobia of the west on the other. The film's protagonist speaks for this silent majority. Hopefully, the film will be controversial enough to
spark a healthy debate and not a backlash.
Hopefully, the film will be controversial enough to spark a healthy debate and not a
backlash
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Has it been a satisfying experience working with an actor of Naseeruddin Shah's caliber in Shoot On Sight?
Oh, absolutely. He brought a lot of dignity to the character of 'Tariq Ali'. I had no doubt that Naseeruddin will interpret this character very well. I am
glad he liked working with me too.
What about the rest of the cast?
Everyone was cast appropriately. Greta Scacchi played Naseer's wife. She plays a liberal, supportive and loving spouse but no doormat. She doesn't
shy away from confronting her husband when she feels he is in the wrong. Brian Cox played Naseer's manipulative boss with great élan. Om Puri's
radical imam, passionately inciting vulnerable youngsters to do 'jehad'. Gulshan Grover plays a butcher, Yunus. He speaks for the working
-class Muslims in the UK who want to be left alone to make a living without being branded as terrorists because of their faith. The Pakistani actor
Mikaal Zulfiqar played the young, educated youngster from Pakistan who is manipulated because of his anger against western governments who in
the name of spreading democratic ideals are committing the same atrocities they are accusing the terrorists of committing.
What plans do you have for its release?
After Dubai Film Festival premiere on Dec 15 and unveiling the film for the buyers in Berlin during the European film market, we will plan the release in
UK and India, sometimes in March or April. We'll release a dubbed Hindi version only if it gets us a satellite deal in India. Theatrically, it"ll be released
only in English and only in metros in multiplexes for a select audience.
What do you think of Indian films like Mahesh Bhatt's Dhoka that address themselves to the question of terrorism and Islam?
I think it is a problem faced by all civilized societies .Cinema, as pop- art must reflect this fear and anguish, the causes and consequences. I haven't
seen Dhokha.
Why are you you so enamored of real-life subjects?
I like subjects, which cause debate. I like conflicts, which affect our daily life. I like drama, which makes an emotional connection.
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I like subjects, which cause debate
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Have you finally left your 'blue' days behind?
I consider myself primarily a storyteller. Whatever story I have chosen to tell, I must tell it with conviction in a gripping and engaging manner. If the
story has shades of blue, you can't tell it effectively by shying away from sex and nudity.
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“The comedy with Govinda is just an idea” – Jag Mundhra
