Kshama Rao

Mehul Kumar, the director who fluttered the national flag on celluloid through films like Krantiveer and Tiranga is rather moony-eyed these days.

His latest film, Kitne Door Kitne Paas, scheduled for a March 15 release, is a love story. Says he, "Usually, you find three common tracks in a love story. Either the parents oppose the lovers or it is a love triangle or it is khandaani dushmani [family hatred]."

"In KDKP," he continues, "it is neither. Here, I am talking about a boy and a girl who live in the US and are on their way to India to get married." So you have Amrita Arora (veejay-turned-actress) and Fardeen Khan travelling from the US to Delhi, Rajasthan and, finally, Gujarat. "Till the end, the audience wonders whether the two will meet or not," says Kumar.

KDKP is Kumar's 38th film. He says, "I have directed 20 Gujarati and 17 Hindi films. I have successfully experimented with all genres in Gujarati --- romance, comedy, action, costume drama and social drama. In Hindi, I have stuck mostly to action. Once you make a hit film, you are expected to dole out similar films, here. You are cast in a mould."

After Marte Dam Tak (starring the late Raaj Kumar and Govinda), one of the first films on the underworld, became a hit, Kumar was saddled with similar projects. "Uske baad maine socha ki [that's when that I thought] after Manoj Kumar, nobody really made patriotic films." Which explains his films like Krantiveer and Tiranga.

"Today I find patriotic films being announced every second day. So I thought why not a romantic film? Since I have made such films in Gujarati, I thought why not in Hindi?" explains Kumar.

Aren't romantic films being made these days? "Yes, but KDKP is not solely romance. You can call it a complete entertainer with emotions, relationships, thrills, comedy and so on," says the director whose words are laced with a Gujarati accent.

Kumar has worked with the likes of Raaj Kumar, Amitabh Bachchan (he carefully ignores mentioning Mrityudata, Bachchan's comeback film which was a dud) and Nana Patekar. This time he is working with a different generation altogether. He says, "It was a pleasure working with veterans. They would concentrate more on the content. They believe the script is the soul of any film; everything else follows. Today's generation, however, is more into technique. For them, the sound, the locales, the camerawork matters. They would laugh off emotional lines as melodrama."

Talking about casting Fardeen and Amrita (who debuts with this film), Kumar says, "I needed someone who would pass off as someone born and bred in the US. Fardeen Khan plays himself in my film --- he has studied in the US. His mind set is somewhat similar to an NRI. As for Amrita, she has a very Indian face, despite a very Western outlook. I think they look fresh together."

Mehul Kumar is also looking forward to another project, the Mehul Cinemax. "I come from Jamnagar, Gujarat, and the multiplex is my way of giving something back to the place. I wanted to build something the people of Jamnagar would remember me for. Cinema is big there and the multiplex will have three screens, a children's amusement park and a shopping complex." Mehul Cinemax will be launched by the end of March.

What's next from the Mehul Kumar stable? "I have an idea, a film for which I want to cast Anil Kapoor, Nana Patekar and another hero. It will be high-voltage drama."

India News Feature Service