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By Jyothi Venkatesh Š2004 Bollyvista.com |
'Lakshya' stars Hrithik Roshan, Preity Zinta and Amitabh Bachchan in leading roles and marks the comeback of Javed Akhtar as a scriptwriter after a gap of 15 years. It is a love story set against the backdrop of the India-Pakistan war and marks the journey of a young man who finds himself through this journey. It is a story of character, strength, belief and values that he inculcates through this journey of his own self-discovery as a human being. It is about a goalless 24-year-old Karan (Hrithik) who rediscovers himself as an army man on one of Ladakh's peaks under the watchful eye of Colonel Sunil Damle (Amitabh Bachchan).
Says Farhan Akhtar, "My biggest gain, as a filmmaker, ever since I set out to make 'Dil Chahta Hai', is that I have learnt the process of filmmaking. Today after making both 'Dil Chahta Hai' and 'Lakshya' I think I know more about movies, their marketing and their positioning. Making films for me is primarily something that I consider educative. It means learning everything that goes into the making of a film, not just in terms of direction."
According to Farhan, making 'Lakshya' was more challenging than making 'Dil Chahta Hai' on two different levels. Says Farhan, "'Lakshya' was not entirely my concept. It was quite difficult to make a film from another person's point of view. My dad had written the script after his visit to Kargil, when he was invited there on the occasion of the first anniversary of Operation Vijay. Since no one from my family was from the armed forces, 'Lakshya' was an entirely alien concept as far as I was concerned. Understanding the whole ethos of the film, which has a war backdrop, was quite difficult. Unlike 'Dil Chahta Hai', which was shot in a very cool, conducive atmosphere in Mumbai and New Zealand, shooting 'Lakshya' in Leh and Ladakh was a tough task, since most of the time the cast and crew had to shoot in extreme conditions."
Farhan goes gaga about the script of 'Lakshya', which he feels is the USP of his film. "The USP of your pitch is the story and how good it is. You cannot convince an actor if he or she is not happy with your script. And no amount of cajoling by me could convince the stars to do my film if they are at the outset not happy about it. I shot 'Dil Chahta Hai' in 108 days over a period of four to five months, whereas I shot 'Lakshya' in 148 days from April 15, 2003 to January 2004, at an altitude of 18,000 feet amidst inhuman conditions, withstanding the elements."
Talking about his next project as a director, Farhan says, "My next project as a director will be 'A Voice In The Sky'. This one is just a working title, which can be changed later on. My film will be in Hindi and not English, though the title may mislead you into thinking that it is an English film. This film will go on the floors sometime in 2005."
Farhan adds. "My sister Zoya will direct 'Luck By Chance'. Yes, it is the same project, which was slated to have Madhuri Dixit playing the title role. By the way, besides co-producing her film, I have also written the dialogues for Zoya's script, though she has written the story and the screenplay. According to me, writing and directing are two entirely different processes. While writing is predominantly internal creativity, direction is something, which is very external by nature. Zoya is having talks with a few actors. I do not know whom she is going to finalize. I have also tried my hand at writing the lyrics for Gurinder Chaddha's 'Bride And Prejudice'."
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