Hansal Mehta Talks About ‘The Buckingham Murders’, ‘Gandhi’

In an exclusive interview, Indian filmmaker Hansal Mehta talks about Kareena Kapoor Khan – the star, and the actor. He also opens up on ‘Gandhi’, ‘Scam 2010’, and more.

Indian producer Ekta Kapoor brought Bollywood star Kareena Kapoor Khan, and filmmaker Hansal Mehta … [+] together for their new Hindi film ‘The Buckingham Murders’. Bollywood star Kareena Kapoor Khan gave one of her best performances in the recent Hindi film The Buckingham Murders directed by Hansal Mehta. While he is an ace filmmaker known for his experimental movies addressing grave issues, she is a typical Bollywood star known to bring audiences to the theatres. The experience of The Buckingham Murders is not marred due to any commercial cinema elements. Director Hansal Mehta is happy he could make the film he wanted without making any compromises and tells us in an interview that Khan’s presence brought more footfalls to cinemas. Filmmaker Hansal Mehta talks about his obsession with the themes of displaced lives, his upcoming … [+] projects and more in an exclusive interview. Mehta first got the story from writer Aseem Arora in 2018 and he knew instantly that he could explore his favorite themes of displaced lives and marginalized people. “That is a theme I have been obsessed with. I found it challenging to tell that story through a murder mystery.” Mehta signed the film with Ekta Kapoor’s Balaji Motion Pictures in 2019 and Khan joined in 2020. The film tells the story of a grieving mom investigating a murder mystery and the story is set in the backdrop of the issues that plague immigrant lives in London. In the course of her 25 year-long career, Khan has defied her own image of the quintessential Bollywood heroine – full of style, drama, fashion and a lot of attitude. After featuring in films such as Chameli and Dev; and much more popular ones like Jab We Met and Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Ghum, she moved to a bolder stint with Jaane Jaan. She displayed a new essence of nuanced and serious performance and gave a similar performance in The Buckingham Murders. This is not the first time Hansal Mehta worked with an A-list actor — he previously collaborated with Kangana Ranaut on Simran (2017), and that ended in controversies. During the making of the film, rumors suggested rifts between the star and the director. The film received mixed responses from critics and did not do much at the box office. Asked if he was apprehensive of working with another mainstream star (Khan), Mehta says, “No. One experience cannot define your life. You learn from that and develop defenses. Self-preservation kicks in when you feel you’re being trampled upon. It took me a while to move on because that film (Simran) put me into a big financial mess, but now I can safely say that I moved on. Overall (for the new film), no (I wasn’t apprehensive). Working with Kareena Kapoor Khan just changed everything because there can be no more collaborative, instinctive and easy to work with star.” MUMBAI, INDIA – SEPTEMBER 03 : Kareena Kapoor Khan attends the trailer launch of film ‘The … [+] Buckingham Murders’ on September 03, 2024 in Mumbai, India. (Photo by Prodip Guha/Getty Images) One of the most-talked about scenes is the one where Khan lets out a scream in her backyard and a neighbor is heard interrupting her, asking her to shut up so that neighbors can sleep. Mehta tells us that it was the spontaneity of one of the writers. On paper, she was supposed to just stand in the backyard, look frustrated and then get back in the house. “Our writer Raghav mimicked one of our location managers and it remained in the (final cut of the) film as I found it almost tragicomic.” The filmmaker adds that he watched the film in a London theatre recently and the audience responded a lot to this scene. Mehta recalls that shooting the sequence that followed that scene was technically very difficult. The scene involves the actor running on the street at night, so it meant the camera and lights following her on electric scooter that’d have to match her speed. “There was a lot on the technical, logical, and logistical side of things, and I also had to ensure my actor was in the right frame of mind. But Kareena is such an accomplished actor that she kept herself centered.” Responding to a question on the box office performance of the film, Mehta says, “I’ve never sought box office validation, except the validation of those who have invested in my film. In their recovery of the investment lies my ability to tell the next story and make the next film. I only rely on that. Do you remember Shahid for its steady run (at the box office) or for the film it was?” “I want Kareena’s performance to be remembered as one of her finest.” He says Khan’s performance has managed to touch many women, adding that several women have called him and their connection with Kareena’s silent performance is “the larger success and vindication”. He also says that he is proud to have made a film that touched many women. Recalling the scene where Khan slaps Ranveer Brar in The Buckingham Murders, Mehta says that she was skeptical as she hadn’t done any such thing onscreen before this. “We had 15 takes as the slap wasn’t landing – she didn’t want to hit him, and sometimes, he would react before the slap. But, she is such a professional that it eventually happened easily.” Mehta adds that it was a different and new kind of work for both the actors. “Kareena has been the softest person on screen all this while. This is not even that typical over-the-top action. This is not a Singham style of action. This is real.” Reacting to some critics comparing Khan’s performance with that of Kate Winslet in Mare of Easttown, Mehta says, “I find that comparison very reductive because if you look at the film without being lazy, you realize that it is its own film. Such comparison is not a reflection on the film, or on Kareena’s performance. What if both Kate Winslet and Kareena Kapoor are grieving mothers?” He further says that Kareena may have mentioned being inspired by Winslet’s performance in Mare of Easttown, but that doesn’t mean she’d copy it. “No, she’s done Kareena Kapoor Khan – she is an accomplished actor, with an experience of 25 years in front of the camera. You’re reducing her performance.” Mehta recently wrote in a social media post that Kapoor is often misunderstood as a producer. He insists she is a strong-headed person and having a clear view of what she wants in the film often gets her misunderstood. “We found a way to make the film that I wanted to make and to incorporate what she felt (was right) without getting onto each other’s nerves. Even at times when we had major differences, we were never discourteous with each other.” Indian producer Ekta Kapoor poses at an event for Netflix in Mumbai, India (Photo by Prodip … [+] Guha/Getty Images) Mehta labels Kapoor as his Santa Claus and recalls how she often comes to his help when he is going through a rough phase. “I was going through a really bad phase when one of my films was shut down after a few days of shoot in London. I reached out to her on a Yahoo chat room.” Kapoor offered him a show and he began working on it, only for her to realize after 15 days that it was not turning out as per her expectations. “I was not following the format that she had set for her popular shows. So, I was replaced by another director. I have always said that she sacked me but always said that jokingly. Of course, I felt very bad at that time because I had come back to India, and the one thing I came for didn’t work out.” He recalls that they worked on the web series Bose: Dead Or Alive together right after Simran. “It gave me a reason to feel better about myself. I’m only thankful to her. She’s always been this almost Santa Claus kind of personality in my life.” He also tells us that he was unsure about life after having a major health concern when he signed The Buckingham Murders with Kapoor. Mehta is now working on a web series based on the life of Indian leader Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi) that is currently in post-production. The first part of the series is based on historian Ramchandra Guha’s book Gandhi Before India. “We are in the middle of post-production. It is very exciting. I watch my episodes every day. I have never done something like this before. I have never been given (this kind of a scale) before. It is an untold story of Gandhi, a Gandhi that we do not know, an up close and personal look into Gandhi. It feels like a debut all over again. I am also a bundle of nerves.” Mehta says that the show has “consumed” his being for three years, and it has been two years since he worked on anything else. He also informs us that he stopped everything else to begin work on the show and let go of some projects to be able to work on Gandhi. Backed by Applause Entertainment, Gandhi is a three-part series which will explore various parts of his life. Pratik Gandhi will essay the titular role of Mahatma Gandhi in the show. Tom Felton (Harry Potter series) is set to feature in the show alongside Libby Mai, Ralph Adeniyi, Molly Wright, James Murray, Jonno Davies, Lindon Alexander, Simon Lennon. Mehta’s team is also working on the third season of his popular series The Scam – The Scam 2010. The previous two seasons – Scam 1992, and Scam 2003 – were received well when they released. Mehta will also headline some projects for Netflix and is quite excited for all of them. (The conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity.) One Community. Many Voices. Create a free account to share your thoughts.  Our community is about connecting people through open and thoughtful conversations. We want our readers to share their views and exchange ideas and facts in a safe space. In order to do so, please follow the posting rules in our site’s Terms of Service.  We’ve summarized some of those key rules below. Simply put, keep it civil. Your post will be rejected if we notice that it seems to contain: User accounts will be blocked if we notice or believe that users are engaged in: So, how can you be a power user? Thanks for reading our community guidelines. Please read the full list of posting rules found in our site’s Terms of Service.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/swetakaushal/2024/10/12/hansal-mehta-talks-about-the-buckingham-murders-gandhi/