'How I treat love in Raanjhanaa is up to me, not Shobhaa De'

Director Aanand L Rai's Raanjhanaa has earned rave reviews, and become a big hit at the box office. But no everybody is entirely happy with it.

Coulumnist Shobhaa De had accused the director of glorifying stalking through the film, which stars Dhanush, Sonam Kapoor and Abhay Deol.

Rai clarifies to Subhash K Jha.

Shobhaa De accused Raanjhanaa of glorifying stalking.

How do I respond to this? I really don’t want to even react to an opinion so absurd and myopic. Has she seen Varanasi (where the film is set), felt its pulse? Does she know what the city is all about? Does she understand the feelings of the young in the small cities where two people still cannot go out on a date? There’s a life beyond metropolises that some people, who have grown up in the metros, cannot understand. And I don’t see the need to explain myself to them.

It’s a different cultural breeding. In a small town, pursuing a girl until she says yes is a sign of true love?

How I treat the theme of love is entirely up to me. I don’t discuss how she (Shobhaa De) treats love in her books and column. For some people, smooching even in public is normal. For my characters, even saying 'I love you' is an uphill task. You handle your relationships your way. I’ll treat my relationships the way I want to.

Raanjhanaa is an unexpectedly big hit. You feelings?

Nothing! I am numbed. After this kind acceptance, the only thing that can happen is silence.

My entire team has grown subdued. We’ve fought a long battle to make an honest film. Its acceptance has humbled us all. Box office acceptance is, of course, important. But there is a satisfaction that comes from within the artiste for creating a work he is happy about. I feel that satisfaction.

Celebration time?

It was my birthday last week. My entire team of Raanjhanaa was with me. I am afraid to consider that they would move on to other commitments. At the moment, we’re constantly connected.

Your hero dies, with his one-sided love?

He dies a hero. What I love about my hero Kundan (played by Dhanush) is that he dies happily for love. I could’ve brought him back into life but I don’t think Kundan wanted to come back.

There had to be a closure to his love. When I visited the Chandan theatre in Mumbai, the gatekeeper kept asking me, ‘Kundan will come back na? He’s in a coma. He’ll return in the sequel?’ His face fell when I told him Kundan was not in a coma and that there would be no sequel.

Nobody wanted Kundan to die but Kundan didn’t want to live.

That gatekeeper at Chandan took Kundan home with him. Everyone, except one columnist, seems to have taken Kundan home.

Dhanush is an acknowledged star-actor in Tamil cinema. But for Sonam, this film is an all-new experience...

I am very proud of both Dhanush and Sonam. In my first meeting with her, I was sure I was dealing with a very honest girl. I was sure she would connect with me and her character. I could open my heart about the character, knowing she would respond.

We’ve never seen Sonam being so responsive before.

By now she has spent a lot of time in the industry and she has grown as an actress. I understood her personality and talent. I was patient, not just with her but with everyone else on the team.

When you want the vision in your head to be translated on screen, you have to understand that it takes time for the process to happen. Getting impatient and irritable would only delay the process. I am thankful to every member of my team for getting the point. Even that cup of tea that was served to me on location at the right time filled me with gratitude.

Films shot in the city of Varanasi have never done well before.

I never thought of such things.

For me, it had to be Varanasi. I didn’t see my protagonists Kundan and Zoya anywhere else.

Varanasi is the most important part of my cast. I needed a certain kind of energy and exuberance. Once we take Kundan and Zoya out of Varanasi, they lose their characteristic vibrancy. I needed the colours, flavours and scents of Varanasi.

Both Tanu Weds Manu and Raanjhanaa are set in smaller cities. Do you believe the heart of India beats in the interiors?

I believe the soul of India is in the middle-class. I am from the middle class and my values as a human being and a filmmaker come from there. I may live in Mumbai but I remain a small-town guy. In fact, my entire team is from the heartland. As soon as we wrapped up Raanjhanaa, everyone wanted to go back home to Bhopal, Jaunpur, Kanpur, Lucknow, Indore...

What next?

Too early to tell. Love will always be part of my films. I have a sequel to Tanu Weds Manu in my heart. 

Happy?

During Tanu Weds Manu, I had promised myself that nobody would lose money. During Raanjhanaa, I made the promise again. But whatever I make would come from my heart. That’s a promise.