"Aamir Khan is one of the most honest Indians I know" - Rakeysh Mehra

By Faridoon Shahryar - December 10, 2015 - 10:55 AM IST

"You cannot question that Aamir is a true son of the soil. Can you question that? I don't think I know of anyone who's as patriotic as Aamir," said Rang De Basanti director Rakeysh Mehra in a starkly-honest-and-sensible video interview with Bollywood Hungama's Content Head Broadband Faridoon Shahryar. Mr Mehra made some very pertinent points on the censorship debate that's raging in the film industry right now when he said, "On record I would like to say that there can't be censorship guys. You can't censor. Censor should be abolished. They should immediately vacate that building. Films shouldn't be censored based on personal ideologies. Nobody is the owner of Indian Culture. You don't have an IPR for that." At the same time he cautions that the filmmakers ought to be "responsible" while making their films. He also poured his heart out on the FTII crisis and urged the people involved to sort it out with a "dialogue". "Aamir Khan is one of the most honest Indians I know" - Rakeysh Mehra

The dialogue from Rang De Basanti, 'koi bhi desh perfect nahin hota hai, use perfect banana padta hai' is being talked about a lot because of Aamir Khan's interview at Indian Express Awards show where he expressed his reservations about certain insecurities of common people in India. Do you find Aamir's statement is being misinterpreted and misrepresented?

The dialogue from Rang De Basanti is something that the filmmaker said it, the writer who wrote it. The characters were playing a part. The dialogue has become very confusing. The common folks are battling with their day to day problems. It is not easy to earn bread, buy a house in the country. People who are battling with these issues have been confused by the tolerance, intolerance debate. 5000 years back Shivites and Vashnavites were fighting. People who follow Lord Shiva and Vishnu ek doosre ke khoon ke pyaase ho gaye the. Bloodbaths happened. Shia Sunni are always at loggerheads. Kitna khoon kharaaba hua hai. Catholics and Protestants have issues, Hindus and Buddhists had issues in 346 BC. It is a question of ideology. It has happened before, we should change it, but how do we change it? It will change only through dialogue. When people will ask questions! Today, the difference is that individuals are being attacked. Three writers who were murdered namely, Kalburgi, Dabholkar and Pansare from where it all started. I tell my writer friends that you have two choices, either you write what you feel like, but with that choice you can't go for a morning walk. But if you are fond of morning walks, then don't write because anyone will shoot you down. When you kill individuals, then you are shutting down a voice. We shouldn't let that happen, as a society. If we have to change anyone, then it has to be the man whom we see in the mirror. You can not question that Aamir is a true son of the soil. Can you question that? I don't think I know of anyone who's as patriotic as Aamir. I know many politicians, army officials, friends; Aamir would rank in the first three amongst the most honest Indians that I know. Listen to what he's trying to say. He's concerned about the country. He is saying something, and then the sort of comments that have come about, I can't even mention the comments that have come.

When Gulzar sahib said recently that, "today a person's religion is being asked before his name", he was trolled as a 'Muslim' even though he's a Sikh.

When you would speak, I would speak, everyone speaks, but when somebody who is well known and in the eye of the public, then they are soft targets. People say, why did they have to speak! But why shouldn't they speak?

Yes, Anupam Kher recently said that "Aamir Khan thinks that he should have opinion on everything".

Sab achcha achcha bolte rahen? Ya to aap bol do sab achcha ho raha hai, hum chup ho jayenge. When something is not right then we would say something. That is the speciality of this country. Then the double standards start, yahan to itni achchi democracy hai that is why you are able to speak, if you would have been somewhere else, aap chup kara diye jaate. Ye sab bachchon vaali baatein hain. I think we should listen, as a mature society, in cheezon ko khilvaad nahin banana chahiye. Government of India bahut achcha kaam kar rahi hai. Country is progressing. The world looks upon as a progressive country. If there are a few flaws, we need to change them. If a few ideologies have to be changed then we can't become hardliners. We have to remain centred. You can't go left or right. You can't swing like a pendulum. For any positive growth you need to have patience. The approach has to be correct.

Sir what are your views on the current Censor Board issues with James Bond kiss being snipped by 20 seconds. Mr Pahlaj Nihalani hasn't seen the film and asked for the kiss to be chopped by 20 seconds. Do you find it funny?

I want to make a film 'James Bond Ka Kiss'. We can write a story. It could be a satire, comedy film. I totally don't believe in censorship. On record I would like to say that there can't be censorship guys. What are we talking about? You can't censor. You can certify something. This is the law of the land; please don't do anything against the law of the land. You can't put your ideology in between. There are cuss words in real life, that's why it is being used in a film. You are saying, don't put in a film. What is Culture? Culture is tolerant, is above all of these things. Culture doesn't fight. Vo to gali mohalle ki mentality ho gayi na ki har kisi se ladna shuru kar do. Cinema is an Art form. You can't censor. Censor should be abolished. They should immediately vacate that building. There is no reason to run such a big office. While I feel the idea of censorship should be abolished but filmmakers should be responsible. Why can't they understand that they need to make responsible films? How can they say I want an item song and I want a U certificate? You are titillating somebody, you are exploiting sex, sensuality, why do you want 10 year olds to watch it. You can't say internet par sab available hai. Finding faults with others doesn't mean your own faults get lessened. Mera pyaar pyaar, aur tumhaara pyaar chakkar. We will have to throw Censor out of the window. At the same time we need to follow the law of the land and reprimand ourselves within the industry if we are trying to exploit the situation. Films shouldn't be censored based on personal ideologies. Nobody is the owner of Indian Culture. You don't have an IPR for that.

You always give a lot of importance to technicians who work in your films. Do you feel with the entire FTII issue doesn't getting proper attention it will affect the quality of technicians that the film industry will be getting?

I think it is unfortunate that the thing has dragged for so long. It has been escalated and we have let third parties exploit the situation. There is absolutely no situation in the world that can't be sorted with a dialogue. The situation is not like environmental crisis. It is not such a big crisis. If the government feels that they've taken a wrong decision and they feel Mr Chauhan was the wrong choice, withdraw him. Mr Chauhan has no reason to go on news shows and start debating. Aap apna kaam kijiye, aap news shows mein jaake lad kyun rahe ho, koi to chakkar hai. Government should reprimand their appointees that you are not allowed to go on news shows to make a 'baat ka batangad'. This hasn't happened the first time. Shyam Benegal sahib ka bhi gheraav hua tha. He took all 340 students and sat down with them in the auditorium. They talked. It was solved in 4 hours. We have to move forward. Why do we have ego hassles, why do we become arrogant? The way executive committee has been changed, it smells of ideologies, which should not be imposed on educational institutions.

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