Feroz Abbas Khan's Dekh Tamasha Dekh is a socio-political satire inspired by a real incident. The director chats with Karan Bhardwaj on why bizarre is a common phenomenon in India
The identity crisis is quite an enticing subject in India. The diversity offers ample opportunities to creative artists here, where a small incident can blow off to become the most unfortunate outcry. Inspired by one such real story which took place in Mumbai after 1993 riots, Feroze Abbas Khan is ready with his socio-political satire Dekh Tamasha Dekh. The film revolves around the search for the religious identity of a poor man crushed under the weight of a politician’s hoarding. “The incident was narrated to me by my friend, who was the then police commissioner of Mumbai. I was shocked to learn that the deceased body became bone of contention for two religious groups. And when the identity of body was known, everybody wondered why did they indulge in huge tamasha,” says the director, known for celebrated plays such as Tumhari Amrita, Saalgirah and Salesman Ramlal. Though Khan’s debut Hindi movie Gandhi, My Father released back in 2007, he was wanting to make Dekh Tamasha Dekh even before that. “I could never get over with the idea of this film. I wanted to make it right after Gandhi, My Father but unfortunately, recession hit the industry. Small films were put on the backburner. So I went back to theatre. It kept lingering on my mind. After Sunil lulla and Eros International agreed to finance it, I began the film,” he says.
Khan says he is driven by purpose. “I don’t believe in doing things for the heck of it. When I have something to say, I share it on screen. It is the ideal time for Dekh Tamasha Dekh since elections are on. It’s like wake up call. I have always wondered when people say that in impossible India, bizarre is a common thing. Why people measure everything according the roots of religion and regionIJ So I found a way to express my thoughts on the subject,” he says. According to him, the movie is fun yet compels one to ponder on the subject. “It’s a testimony of our times. It asks for sanity. Under the garb of joy and fun, it hits you hard,” he says. In India, he is stunned that the most nonsensical things take uncontrollable shape. “In the election campaign, the shrewd political class is diverting from the real issues to discuss marital statuses. If that doesn’t work, they would discuss communal issues. They know how to confuse janta,” he says.
Khan has spent years in theatre and is more comfortable with it. “There are similarities and differences. Grammers of both the media are completely different. In cinema, there is a liberty pertaining to space and time. A chair can be transformed into a throne. But in theatre, we have to expand the imagination of audience due to confinement of the medium. The audience has to accept and imagine most of things. Because of my deep involvement and familiarity in theatre, I end up doing more theatre than cinema,” he says. Khan is looking forward to his next play Mesiah Tonight. He is also doing Main Kuch Bhi Kar Sakti Hoon for Doordarshan.