An Exclusive Look at 'Paheli'

Article Updated 11 May, 2005 01:08:15 PM IST

An Exclusive Look at 'Paheli'

Rajasthan's acclaimed Sahitya Akademi winner, author Vijaydan Detha is one of the leading short story writers in India today. One of his longer short stories, 'Dohrijoon' (A Double Life) has been published (in Hindi) in the form of two volumes entitled 'Uijhan' and 'Duvidha'.

Duvidha (a retold Rajasthani folktale), the legendary Rajasthani love story , in particular is where Amol Palekar's newest film, 'Paheli' draws its inspiration. Duvidha is a folk tale, a unique love story full of colour and exuberance," says Palekar. Representing a major break from the past, it stars Shah Rukh Khan and Rani Mukherjee as the lead characters. 'Paheli' also includes Amitabh Bachchan, Juhi Chawla and Sunil Shetty in special appearances.

Red Chillies Entertainment's Gauri Khan is producing the film, which boasts of elaborate sets, including a recreated sprawling haveli from the Rajasthani area of Navalgad, sync sound (not dubbing) and special effects, thanks to her extremely techno-savvy husband.

One may question though, as to whether 'Paheli' is just a remake of the 1973 Mani Kaul film entitled ' Duvidha'. Amol assures us that his 'Paheli' and Kaul's 'Duvidha' are as different from each other as are the directors themselves. Anyone who knows Palekar knows that he loves to experiment with various themes, so a year of research between he and the film's scriptwriter Sandhya Gokhale took place even before the early stages of the 'Paheli' had their start. In fact, the name of the film had been changed several times before the name 'Paheli' (riddle) was finalized. “Each subject demands it's own parameters and treatment. I don’t want to make films based on a calculated formulae or preset proposals ruled by market demands,” he says

The basic storyline (since neither Palekar nor Khan understandable want to reveal any major details) is how a ghost (not the scary kind but a rather romantic one) played by Shah Rukh (who is sporting a Rajasthani pagdi and a moustache), impersonates the husband of a village girl named Lachchi (Rani). Lachchi finds out, all too soon (the day after they are married) that her ideas about love, marriage and commitment are very different than those of the man she married. What Palekar will divulge is that "It's about a woman's right to choose—a recurring theme in my films."

There are certain beliefs that are purposefully interjected throughout the story as well. The portrayal of the irony of human life through the complexities of the situations, which the various characters find themselves in, stands out the most. Life cannot be taken at face value. In other words, just because something is socially acceptable, doesn’t make it right or fair. We can’t always have what we want in life and reality hits hard when what we think should be the outcome in any given situation isn’t how things necessarily play out.

As a director, Amol Palekar sought to achieve a blend of the so-called parallel and mainstream cinema with 'Paheli'. Without elaborating on all that these labels imply he makes the point that from experience, he has found the audience always welcomes meaningful cinema. One need not sacrifice substance or content in order to make a commercially viable piece of celluloid.

To prove this point, he promises that both the sights and sounds of 'Paheli' will excite the senses. The colourful desert backdrop, the bright Rajasthani costumes, coupled with six wonderful songs, showcasing traditional Rajasthani instruments, such as the ravanhatta and alguja and a puppet show give it an unusual folktale feeling. This, plus the fact that the film was shot in Mumbai and Rajasthan in a mere 43 days, show that Palekar’s interpretation and scale are obviously unique.

Given all of the above 'content and substance', SRK was so impressed that he not only took to acting in the film but he was the one who offered to produce it. Speaking of being impressed, Big B was also - enough to offer Palekar a chance don the directorial cloak for a film under his AB Corp banner! Well-done Amol! Sounds like 'Paheli' is a film we won’t want to miss for many reasons!

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