Prakash Jha - The Raja of reality 
By IndiaFM News Bureau, October 20, 2005 - 23:49 IST
“Hindustan ke har ghar mein ek actor hain!”
Chopra’s dream projects are unfolding in the studios, RGV’s Factory is revving with its bagful of films, Vidhu Vinod Chopra is finding it tough to silence the excitement that his Munnabhai sequel has generated. Amidst this hoopla, there is another film that is softly but surely making headway to theatres, Apharan.
Prakash Jha’s gripping film about the kidnapping business in Bihar is shot entirely in Satara. This incidentally happens to be Prakash’s most favored location because of two primary reasons- its proximity to Mumbai, two, the co-operation of the locals that warmed him during his last shoot for Gangajal. “My film is about real people, so the locations that I pick depict the same. I can’t talk about Bihar crime at Swiss Alps, can I?” the bearded director volleys back.
Prakash continues, “Besides, the terrain of Satara resembles a lot of Bihar; that was a huge incentive. Also, the people are fabulous. Since it was an on-location shoot, thousands thronged the streets to watch the actors perform. That’s when Nana suggested that why just limit them to spectators? Why not get them to play the extras in the film? I thought that was pretty neat. So we asked people to join the shoot. Not only were they sporty enough to join in, they also did whatever we asked them to. Mujhe toh lagta hain, Hindustan ke har ghar mein ek actor hain!” kids Prakash.
“I wanted to keep the jail-sequence as authentic as possible. So we went to the Nashik Jail for the shoot. I would have loved to use the jail inmates for filming but we couldn’t, for security purposes, and used junior artists instead. With the makeup and things, they now looked like the real qaidis. So the jail superintendent requested that they use ID cards and ensure a head count before the shoot for the day wraps. He must have been a bit worried, I can understand that” Prakash smiles.
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