Ah! Gandhigiri
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh talked about it in South Africa. The Leader of the Opposition L.K. Advani praised it back home. Cinemagoers across the country have been raving about it. And special shows are scheduled in Ohio following the hysteria it generated in the first screening. Everybody is talking about Lage Raho Munna Bhai. Gandhigiri is well and truly the mood of the moment. Some have started practising Gandhigiri again, using non-violent protest to register home their point. Many are ready to show the other cheek.
Fine, but how did Gandhigiri, that delightful concoction of the Hindi word `Dadagiri’ and Gandhiism come about?
Well, it is the brainchild of Abhijat Joshi, the film’s screenplay and dialogue writer, based in Ohio. US. The young playwright and academic, however, is modest about his accomplishment. “Raju (Raj Kumar Hirani) and I worked closely on the script for a couple of years. He coined the term. He has the most wonderful instincts I have seen. But honestly speaking we were not aware of the potential of the film initially. Only in the second half we realised that we had a very powerful term. We had to be innovative there. It is all very fine to show Munna on a fast but then everybody would know what would happen next. So, Munna goes on radio, tells the audience to practise Gandhigiri, send flowers to Lucky, his opponent. It seems easy in the film but we had to sort this out for two months. It was really blood, sweat and tears.”
However, Joshi and Hirani took care not to dilute the dignity of Mahatma Gandhi even as they talked about him in a lighter vein.
“Gandhiji stood for truthfulness, fearlessness, non-violence and compassion. We focussed on that, not so much on rituals. We thought let’s abandon the rituals, the bhajans and the like. Focus on the creative side of the man. He was an extraordinarily creative man, very innovative. He used to make faces at children. This facet of his personality is hardly known.”
All this knowledge did not come easy or in a day or even in a year for Joshi. Way back in 1997, he had met some freedom fighters who had taken part in the Quit India Movement alongside the Father of the Nation. He found them far from cynical, and quite hopeful. The television series then planned did not work out. But then interaction came in handy for Munna Bhai. Then he had read long pages of Mahadevbhai Desai’s work. Flipped through Louis Fischer’s book and gone through Uma Shankar Joshi’s book.
“There was nothing about the research. I just thought, `let’s look at mundane problems of contemporary society and find unique solutions through Gandhigiri. All along I upheld three principles I hold dear: You will entertain; you will not sell your soul to entertain; and you will make each film as if it is the last. It worked wonderfully. I just wish these characters Munna and Circuit go and on. They are so lovable.”
That is fine, however in an industry where one hit film leads to the signing of another dozen more films, Joshi has not signed a single film yet.
“We grew up in a certain ambience of writing plays. The creative medium was strong all along. There was this clarity from the beginning that money is important but not important enough to sell one’s soul. I can say with all honesty I am among the most incorruptible of souls. I have never allowed myself to be sold.”
Result? Three films in eight years or so. “Well after Mission Kashmir I took a six year break. I read a lot, saw international cinema.” That was evidently time well spent. Right on cue, there are reports that Vidhu Vinod Chopra and Raj Kumar Hirani are planning the third part of the Munna Bhai series. This time with the duo visiting the U.S. “They are coming to the U.S. They are going to preach Indian values, Gandhigiri can be a part of that package.” But after meeting the Mahatma, does Munna meet Bush? “All I can say at this juncture is they are going to peddle their magic again. And they will bring along our values.” Even as the Munna Bhai brigade soaks in the joy of universal success, Joshi is back to work: back to the classroom, back to teaching English and creative writing.
Back to thinking one-liners for Munna Bhai.