BILLBOARD
MAKING WAVES
SHORT TAKES
SOUTHERN SPICE
ROUGH CUTS
MEMORIES
ARCHIVES
MOVIES CHAT

Pam's gamble

Pamela Rooks

When Pamela Rooks organised a special screening of her much-discussed Train to Pakistan in the first week of January at the Mahadev Road film auditorium, Khushwant Singh, on whose book this film was based, was also present. He was seeing the film for sixth time before its release in the capital's film theatres.

"I'd never thought that a film would be made on my book during my lifetime. Once Shabana Azmi and Shashi Kapoor asked me to write the script. I wrote the script but they never came back.

"I'm happy that Pamela has fulfilled my dream of a lifetime," the grand old man of Indian journalism told the media for the nth time.

Pamela Rooks, the film's director and producer, on her part expresses deep gratitude to Khushwant Singh for reposing trust in her and for allowing her to make the film against all odds.

A still from Train To Pakistan

"I am more than pleased that Khushwant has liked the film. I would have been unhappy if he had even a single objection to my direction," she told Onkar Singh.

When you started thinking in terms of making a film on Train to Pakistan, did you think you had enough experience to deal with such a complex topic?

Frankly, no. I read the book when I was barely 17 years of age. The book left indelible impression on me. The novel had all the ingredients of a powerful film. It had a brilliant description of Partition, a powerful story about love, courage, revenge and conspiracy set against a historical backdrop.

What appealed to me the most was its message of humanism, which is what I set out to explore. I started doing television documentaries and current affair programmes in 1986. I have done films on the Chipko movement, A Response to the Forest Crisis Girl Child: Fighting for Survival, Miss Beatty's Children etc.

Rajat Kapur

But the canvas of Train to Pakistan was large. In fact, much larger then I thought.

I'd approached Khushwant once before but we could not agree then. When I approached Khushwant for the second time he agreed to my proposal. I'm happy that I have been able to fulfil my commitment.

Was it easy to write the film's screenplay?

When you are writing the screenplay for a film like Train to Pakistan you always have at the back of your mind a fear that you might offend the writer's sensibilities. Then you have to contend with an army of critics who will be quick to claim you have not been faithful to the book, that you have done grave injustice to it.

I took the risk of taking certain licences with the story and characters, since I felt it would help to enhance the dramatic and emotional impact of the film.

Divya Dutta

After Bandit Queen it has become a trend to use street language in the name of realism ...

Name me one street in Punjab where you can pass by without hearing four-letter words or abuses directed at a mother or a sister. If you've gone through the book you'll notice that I haven't used even half the language. I did not use language to enhance the quality of the film; I used it because it was a must and because without it the film would have lacked conviction.

Do you think that you have been able to justice to the film as a director considering the fact that some of those who worked with you think that you have made a mess of a beautiful subject?

Nirmal Pandey

I personally feel very happy for having done a good job with the film as its director. Since I was able to handle what others feel it was essentially a 'masculine theme', therefore, I might have caused some heartburn and perhaps that's the reason for such criticism.

For me, it was important to capture the spirit of the book. It seems to have worked since Khuswant Singh himself showered the highest accolades on the film. I couldn't have asked for more.

Yes, within a limited budget I might not have been able to as much justice as I should have but then a film is made only once on a topic like this.

It's true that you gave lot of liberty to your actors to act the way they liked rather then telling them what you want from them?

I don't like lazy actors who expect every move and emotion to be presented to them on a platter. Since I worked for a long time in theatre, I knew the importance of doing one's own research, improvising and basically moulding my owner personality with that of the character I was playing.

A still from Train To Pakistan

This obviously leads to more natural performances, which are further fine-tuned by the director to suit the form and content of the play or film as a whole.

I am what you call an instinctive director and this is the approach I intend to use with my actors. With talented actors like Nirmal Pandey, Mohan Agashe, M S Sathyu, Rajat Kapoor, and Smriti Mishra you had very little to explain to them in terms of what you want from them.

The newcomer Divya Dutta did a splendid job as the singing and dancing girl. I must mention that right through the shooting of the film, if someone came up with interesting suggestion, I didn't hesitate to incorporate it in the film.

If you expect everything to be done by your actors then what is your role as a director?

Smriti Mishra

I was playing the dual role of the producer and director of the film. Raising the money as my part as the producer in which NFDC helped me substantially. My job as director began the moment I started looking for the star cast. I had to make the right choice for the right character.

Then came the shooting part. Lastly, I had to put the film together on the editing table. The real job of the director is done on the editing table. No one can say that he or she did the job for me as the director. I'm proud to be the director.

Your film was released on television in 1997. Why did you wait for such a long time to release the film for the Indian masses and what has been your feedback?

Though the film was shown on Star (the television network) one-and-a-half years ago, I wasn't happy with it because it had as many as 35 cuts. I had to wait till I got the censor certificate to release the film in India.

I'm pleased with the response from Indian viewers who have seen the film in Delhi. I hope I get a similar response from other cities as well...