Prakash

Prakash Jha feels that the fate of the films and shows is determined by their content, not the boycott trend, for the project to be a success or a failure.Speaking to ANI, Prakash Jha shared his views on the boycott culture, which has gained momentum lately. Aamir Khan-starrer 'Laal Singh Chaddha' and Shah Rukh Khan's 'Pathaan' in the recent past have faced boycott calls. While 'Laal Singh Chaddha' failed to work at the box office, 'Pathaan' became a blockbuster, raking in huge amounts. Sharing his opinion on the impact of the growing boycott culture against Bollywood, Prakash Jha said, "There is only 5 per cent of the population who trolls, and what is the need to be afraid of those who are on social media. People say to boycott this or that film or boycott Shahrukh Khan's film, but did it happen? If a film is not made well, then even Prime Minister Narendra Modi's biography won't work. I feel that Vivek's (Oberoi) film was very well made and informative, but you can see what happened. PM Modi praised that movie, but it still did not work," Prakash Jha said.While speaking of content-driven films, Prakash Jha hailed 12th Fail, one of the biggest blockbusters of last year, which found a home in the hearts of audiences.Vikrant Massey's role is especially connected with those who once aspired or continue to work hard to be an IPS officer.Backed by a strong storyline, it turned out to be a blockbuster and earned plaudits from fans as well as renowned faces in Bollywood."Nobody expected it, but 12th Fail turned out to be remarkable. It's the content; it's the story that will connect with people. The trolling on social media doesn't matter," he added.

Prakash Jha, who is known for his works such as 'Damul,' 'Gangajal,' 'Apaharan,' 'Raajneeti,' 'Aashram' and 'Mrityudand,' is all set to come up with a new film.In an exclusive interview with ANI, Prakash Jha announced the title of the new film he will make. "The next film that I will make, jiska title main apke jariya bata deta hoon duniya ko (whose title I am revealing to the world through you), the film is called 'Janadesh'," he said.Asked if 'Janadesh' will be a political film, he said it is about understanding democracy."Janadesh is not political. Janadesh is about understanding democracy. If I start from this point that I want to tell a story about democracy, then I will not be able to find it. But there will be stories which will bring out what has really happened to democracy," he said. Prakash Jha made his directorial debut in 1984 with the film 'Hip Hip Hurray'. The film was critically acclaimed and was also featured in a book '40 Retakes: Bollywood Classics You May Have Missed'.Since then Jha's knack in editing, storytelling and dialogue writing has earned him various awards and accolades, including eight National awards.The filmmaker also talked about his experiences and how the changing socio-political environment shaped his movies."People think that I make very revolutionary films. Though, I don't think so. I'm just trying to tell the stories which are existing or which develop over a period of time. For example, right now, for the past five or six years, I've been completely consumed by the idea as to why democracy all over the world has failed. There is a sense of insecurity in the system. People have stopped trusting. I think something new will come, will happen," he said.Jha, who is known for making issue-based cinema and brings out certain amount of disruption, added, "there can't be stories without conflicts. If there is no conflict, there is no story".

Prakash Jha's journey from film set spectator to director is a tale that goes beyond the glamour. His films, like 'Damul', 'Mrityudand', 'Gangaajal' and others sought to portray India's socio-political scenario. Jha explores themes like caste, power dynamics, and societal shifts in a changing economic milieu. His work also reveals the complexities of rural life, portraying the evolving roles of women and the ripple effects of political changes.In an exclusive interview with ANI, the ace filmmaker talked about his experiences and how the changing socio-political environment shaped his movies."People think that I make very revolutionary films. Though, I don't think so. I'm just trying to tell the stories which are all existing or which develop over a period of time. For example, right now, for the past five or six years, I've been completely consumed by the idea as to why democracy all over the world has failed. There is a sense of insecurity in the system. People have stopped trusting. I think something new will come, will happen," he said.Jha, who is known for making issue-based cinema and brings out a certain amount of disruption, added, "there can't be stories without conflicts. If there is no conflict, there is no story. "He talked about his 1985 film 'Damul'. The film, which is set in rural Bihar in 1984, focuses on the subjugation of the lower castes in the area through bonded labor and caste politics. His cinema portrays the state's complicated social and political dynamics."'Damul' was my first film. You can imagine how disturbed I must have been as a child to have seen most of those things that I saw I showed in that film. The whole untouchability, caste system, bonded labour everything. My father, my Pardada (great grand father), he had settled the basti who could not work anywhere else but the fields that was owned by my Dada. So, it was called Chamtoli of my Dada. And all those Dalits who used to work but they had no right to take water from the well which was designated for the Brahmins. But if by mistake someone climbed the well then they would purify the well with fire. After that, they would fill it with water."Jha shared his experience of working with Gulzar in the 1984 film 'Hip Hip Hurray', saying, "The first script that I had written was 'Damul', but the first film that I made was 'Hip Hip Hurray'. That happened just kind of like, over a cup of tea. I had worked with Gulzar in the film and wrote the screenplay with Gulzar sahib. We became friends. He was also writing the songs of the film, So it worked well. Post 'Damul' most of the films I have written myself."He also spoke about the 1989 film 'Parinati', which is based on a short story written by Vijaydan Detha."After 'Damul' I made 'Parinati', which is my favourite film. It was a folk tale set in Rajasthan. The original story was written by Vijaydan Detha and I came across that story and there was a collaborator on that screenplay with me. I'm forgetting the name. And after 'Parinati', we made 'Mrityudand'."The acclaimed film director, who has chosen film as a medium to communicate, referred to two major changes that influenced his thinking process and ideas behind making movies - reforms and the Mandal movement. In 1990, then Prime Minister Vishwanath Pratap Singh accepted the Mandal Commission recommendations, which included reservations for Other Backward Classes in employment and education. These changes in the political dynamics have had an impact on Jha."The backwards, OBCs, they got the political power...The economy opened...(1991 economic reforms) so there was money available. And power shifted from the privileged class to the backward class. So the right to spend, that balance shifted. And what it brought about in terms of our change of system. For good, terrible, or whatever. So, 'Mrityudand' is exactly that."'Mrityudand' is a 1997 film starring Madhuri Dixit, Shabana Azmi, Ayub Khan, Mohan Agashe and Om Puri."At that point of time, a child used to introduce, mera baap kya hai zaminadar hai (my father is a landlord). And he used to feel proud about it. But then the next generation of people in Bihar stated 'Mere baap kya hai thekedar hai'...so the balance shifted from Zamindar to Thekedar. However, one common denominator from every class that continues to suffer despite all the changes that is happening are women. I tell the story of three. So through the story of these three women, Shabana Azmi, Madhuri Dixit and Shilpa (Shirodkar), I have told the story of the opening of the market and politics and power and things like that. "Talking about meeting Mulayam Singh Yadav and Lalu Prasad, who were involved in Mandal politics, he said, "I met everybody. I was very actively observing.""I remember sometimes being part of the JP movement. We were all very young at that point of time. But we were already in our colleges. So we knew that whatever was happening. And I was able to recollect and connect the things when I made 'Mrityudand', " he said."I was not active. actively kind of protesting or joining the protest, but I was part of it in the sense that everybody was romancing with the Left and socialism at that point of time," he added.The multiple National Award-winning director has acclaimed films like 'Damul', 'Mrityudand', 'Gangaajal', 'Apaharan', 'Raajneeti' among others.

Prakash Jha has carved his niche in Bollywood as an acclaimed screenwriter and director. He proved his mettle as a filmmaker with his movies such as 'Raajneeti', 'Apaharan', 'Gangaajal', among others. However, his journey to fame was full of ups and downs. From being an assistant to the filmmakerChand to creating his films, he has gone through a lot.He recalled how while being a spectator on the sets of the 1973 film 'Dharma', directed by Chand starring, Navin Nischol and Rekha, he decided to become a filmmaker.Talking about it, he told ANI, "In Mumbai, I had a good friendship with art directorAgha Jani. One day he told me that he was going to meet the director Chand and I accompanied him. We took a train from, we used to live in Dahisar and came to Santa Cruz. The shooting of the 'Dharma' film was going on in the hotel. Stars like Pran Sahab, Navin Nischol, and Rekha were there. I stood in a corner and I saw the trolleys being laid, the lights being set up. And there was a song going on and there were the actors and the music and everything. And I said, my God. This is it. This is what I would like to do. Director banna hai mujhe (I want to become a director)".He added, "I stood there for 12 hours. I did not move from a corner out of fear so that no one would remove me from there. I went back to the Dahisar and met Agha Jani in the night and asked him to introduce me to Chand sahib, I want to be his assistant."Jha continued, "He was very kind and the next day he took me for the meeting with Chand sahib. I was his 13th assistant, he already had 12. I just needed to be around shooting. However, in four days, I realized that this was very difficult and I wanted to be a filmmaker. I saw his assistant remain assistant for ten or twelve years. So, at the end of the schedule, 4-day schedule, they finished the song. And I took a train, I went to Pune."He was admitted to FTII in the period around 1972-73. "I was aware of the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII). And since I had not graduated, I was qualified only for one course, which was film editing. So I came back, I took a job in a restaurant and I took admission to KC College."He did the editing course after that as he mentioned, "The semester started and I appeared in the competition the next year."Recalling about his batchmates at that time, he added, "My classmate and batchmate was David Dhawan. We went in two different ways. But we were together in the class. There were lots of people. Like, Naseer (Naseeruddin Shah), Om Puri was with us. Vidhu Vinod Chopra and Kundan Shah were at the same time. Ravi Ojha, who is a well-known TV director was with us. Several very good technicians, like Binod Pradhan was with us, Rajan Kothari was with us. So it was a very illustrious batch."He continued sharing about his meeting with the acclaimed people of the industry during his course, "We used to meet in the institute. We were companions. It was a very small batch. It was a batch of 40-50 people. So we used to meet in the institute. We used to work for each other because we were working for someone for the camera, for someone for editing."He added that many worked with him in movies in later years. "Later, Naseer worked with only, in only one film with me in 'Raajneeti' but several others have worked. Tom Alter was there with us as a student. Girish Karnad used to be our director. "However, the institution was closed for a while due to student agitation, so he came to Mumbai. " The institute was closed for a while. We came here."After that, there was no looking back and he gained recognition with his movies such as 'Hip Hip Hurray', 'Damul', 'Mrityudand', 'Gangaajal', and many more.

Prakash Jha, who is known for creating socially and politically acclaimed films, was a politician for some years. In an interview with ANI, Prakash Jha took a trip down memory lane and recalled his stint as a politician and what made him step away from politics.Hailing from Bihar's Champaran district, Prakash Jha contested three Lok Sabha polls in 2004, 2009 and 2014. Jha lost the Lok Sabha election from Bettiah in Bihar in 2014 as a Janata Dal-United candidate. He unsuccessfully contested as an independent in 2004 and on a LJP ticket in 2009 from the same constituency.Remembering his brief political journey, Prakash Jha said, "When talking about democracy, I understood that in our films, in our stories, politicians were portrayed as corrupt, police were portrayed as corrupt, judiciary and administration as corrupt but in my search, I found that Janata (the people) are the most corrupt.""At every crossroads, people used to stand on their motorcycle and they used to wait for our convoy. Quickly my flag was distributed. After we gave a few speeches, our people distributed petrol money to them. For some time, they used to walk with us by chanting our slogans. Then, again those people would go back to their spot and wait for another party. Aap party badlte ho neta kehte hain dalbadlu hai janta toh din mein char partiyan badlti hain (People say that politicians change parties but the public shifts from one party to another in a single day)," he added.As Lok Sabha elections 2024 are approaching, Prakash Jha also praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for advocating 'One Nation, One Election' proposal.He said, "I have seen all these things. Basically, they are manipulative. Ye jo aaj Modi Jee kehte hain ki ek election ek sath hona chahiye woh sabse badhiya cheez hain. The process of election has become a livelihood for a whole lot of people. Kuchh nahi karte khali election ladte-ladwate hain (They do nothing but fight and make others fight elections)."He said, "Sometimes Mukhiya elections are being held and sometimes Zilla Parishad elections are being held. Sometimes MLA election is held, then MP election is held and then a by-election is held. Elections have become an industry. It has been 10 years since I have contested my last election."When asked if he will take part in the 2024 elections, the filmmaker responded, "I did not even contest the last elections. I have never been to the constituency after that. I have no interest in (it)."Jha is known for his films such as 'Mrityudand', 'Gangaajal','Apaharan', 'Raajneeti, 'Aarakshan', 'Chakravyuh,'Satyagraha', among others.

Prakash Jha, who is known for his engagement with socio-political issues, shared his perspective on electoral politics, the role of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, the influence of a political strategist and chief of Jan Suraj, Prashant Kishor in Bihar politics.In an exclusive conversation with ANI, he said, "I am following Nitish Kumar. I am following Prashant Kishor. I am following Mr Modi. I am following Amit Shah. I follow everybody."While throwing light on Bihar politics and if Nitish Kumar has still the same impact on the people and the way Prashant Kishor is working in the state to increase his popularity, he said, "I don't want to be judgmental because what people are doing or thinking is something I can't tell. Because tomorrow election happens and they completely behave in a different manner. I have seen that happening with myself. What Prashant Kishor is doing, he is making his contact with the ground. And he is talking sense. But will that translate into political power or political affiliation? I have no idea. I can only say that when he says that 'ki tum 500 rupee lekar ek pouch lekar agar vote dedoge jo kharcha kar raha hai vo apna investment to vasoolega tumse'. It's exactly like the ex-DGP of Bihar saying that when a criminal comes out of jail and you make him wear a garland, then you can't expect us to stop the crime."Jha had contested elections in the past, however, now he is not so keen about it. He said he didn't want to contest. I had given up in 2009. He said, "I had done my bit. I wanted to kind of like you know devote 10 years to public life because I sincerely saw that the Member of Parliament, who is elected from a large constituency and has access to almost every resource because when you sit in parliament if you want to do you can approach every section of the nation and beyond in terms of resource. You can do things in your constituency."The ace director feels that people in power can do a lot, though they don't know exactly how to utilise the power. Jha said, "I just kind of like you know even when we were preparing for 5 years, we were working a lot in the constituency. And we were able to generate lots of jobs. I just wanted to kind of show what exactly a member of parliament can do in a constituency. It didn't happen. So that, unfortunately, if there was a written exam for that, to become an MP, I would have worked hard and won. But you need the vote of the people. I didn't fight the last election either. I have never been to the constituency after that," he said.The multiple National Award-winning director has acclaimed films like 'Damul', 'Mrityudand', 'Gangaajal', 'Apaharan', 'Raajneeti' among others.

The film was about a corrupt politician from Bihar named Sadhu Yadav, played by Mohan Joshi. Interestingly, the name of the antagonist was similar to that of then-chief minister Rabri Devi's brother and a Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) MLA. Sadhu's supporters accused the filmmakers of defaming their leader by using his name as a negative character in the film.In a recent interview with ANI, Prakash Jha talked about the controversy that erupted due to the antagonist's name in the film.He said, "It was quite accidental. Sadhu Yadav, the name I don't know from where it came to my mind. They (protestors) burnt my effigies, the screening of the film was stopped, the film didn't run in Patna, and the audience had to go to Hajipur to watch the film. They did a lot of things. It happens with every other film of mine."However, post the entire row, RJD's founder and husband of Rabri Devi, Lalu Prasad Yadav met Jha and cleared that there was nothing objectionable in the film.'Gangaajal' also starred Gracy Singh, Mukesh Tiwari, Daya Shankar Pandey and Yashpal Sharma in pivotal roles.The film did well at the box office and was honoured with the National Film Award for Best Film on other social issues.A sequel titled 'Jai Gangaajal' starring Priyanka Chopra was released in 2016 which under-performed, both commercially and critically.Other than 'Gangaajal', Prakash Jha is known for his films like 'Mrityudand', 'Aarakshan', 'Raajneeti' and the web series 'Aashram'.

Prakash Jha is known for helming acclaimed projects like 'Gangaajal', 'Raajneeti', 'Aarakshan' and the web series 'Aashram'.He has also helmed Madhuri Dixit and Shabana Azmi starrer 1997's 'Mrityudand' which revolved around the story of three women dominated by a patriarchal society and their struggles to overcome it.In a recent interview with ANI, on being asked whether he considers 'Gangaajal' or 'Raajneeti' as the turning point of his career, Prakash Jha said "Mrityudand".He said, "What has happened in Mrityudand is that until then I was happy with doing pure cinema, telling my stories the way they are like 'Damul' and 'Parinati' and many years later I did another film 'Matto Ki Saikil,' that's pure cinema."Emphasizing more about 'pure cinema', he said, "There are two reasons when you make films ...one is because you want to tell a story, so you find the story and you tell it the way it is and you don't care whether it will find an exhibition or not because you want to stay pure and true to the cinema, true to the story. When I wrote the screenplay of Mrityudand, it got approved for a loan but I realized because the market had opened, new technologies had come it had become expensive. You can't make a film in Rs 12 lakhs. It will cost you Rs 25-30 lakhs and you have to earn at least Rs 40 lakhs to recover."The filmmaker also recalled how the casting of Madhuri Dixit happened in the film.He told ANI, "I had signed Pallavi Joshi for Mrityudand but I just couldn't make it and then I just met Subhash Ghai one day and he asked me 'what are you making?' so I narrated him the story of Mrityudand and he liked it. He asked me to make this film with Madhuri Dixit and then he (Ghai) introduced me to Madhuri on a film's set. She was shooting for the song 'Dhak Dhak Karne Laga' and in between the breaks I narrated her the story and by the end of the day she said yes and then it started."Talking about his future projects, Jha said, "I have just completed another web series 'Sankalp' which deals with part reality part fantasy, in which there is a whole aspiration of a section of a society which is dying to achieve something. To become IAS, IPS or IRS and there is someone who has a devious mind to use this whole thing to exploit a system or whatever it is. Nana Patekar, Sanjay Kapoor and Neeraj Kabi, and Kubra Sait are a part of the series."Apart from direction, Jha has also acted in films like 'Saand Ki Aankh' and 'Matto Ki Saikil'.

Prakash Jha who has worked with an array of stars across a career spanning said when he expressed his desire to pursue a profession in the fine arts, his father was shocked and very ashamed of him."What will you paint? 'Tum sign board paint karoge?,'" Jha, whose films 'Damul' and 'Sonal' have picked up National Film Awards in a recent interview with ANI recalled his father's words when he told him that he lost interest in pursuing an academic life and wanted to go to Mumbai to take up a career as a painter.The 71-year-old producer and director, who has also acted in several films said, "I was selected for the National Defence Academy. I got through. My batchmates have retired as Lieutenant General and Major General. But I didn't join the Army. I did my 12th from CBSE and then I went to Delhi University. I was in Ramjas College. But by the time I began college, I realised that I wanted to do something different.""In Bihar, UPSC, IAS, and IPS everyone was pursuing this. So I thought that I'd do something else and it was a big shock to my father and my mother. When I told them that I was not going to do my graduation and was going to go and join JJ School of Arts, I was an outcast from the whole society," said the director who was born in West Champaran in Bihar.He also talked about the hardships he had while studying in Mumbai, saying, "When I was leaving home, so I didn't take any money from my father. I had some 300 rupees when I left home. Aur usme se 127 rupya ka ticket lag gya Patna se Mumbai. The struggle went on for about a year."I still don't understand why I went to Mumbai. But I went to Mumbai only. Because I could have gone to Delhi to join the school of art. So while I was kind of preparing to join the school I had no place to live and I had no money. So I was to do odd jobs. I tutored English to Gujarati businesspeople in Kalbadevi for them to converse with the foreigners," Jha recalls.He also recounted that he became fascinated with the process of filmmaking while he was preparing for the JJ School of Arts and happened to witness the shooting of the 1973 film 'Dharma'.He said, "I made friends with someone from Jaunpur while on the train itself. So I used to meet him sometimes. In his building, an art director, Aghajani used to live. Then, he and I became friends. So, one day he was leaving home and I asked him, where are you going. He said, 'to meet my director Chand Sahab.' So for the first time in my life, I asked him, 'Can I come with you?'""Then, we went to Sun and Sand, where Dharma film's shooting was going on. Navin Nischal, Rekha ji, Pran Sahab were there. The picturization of a song was going on. This is 1972. I stood in a corner and I watched and then I saw the trolleys being laid, the lights being set up.. it was an action scent,and there was a song going on, and the dresses were going around. And there were the actors and the music and everything."And I said, my God. This is it, this is what I would like to do. Director banna hai mujhe (I want to become a director)."Notably, Jha is known for helming acclaimed projects like 'Gangaajal', 'Raajneeti', 'Aarakshan' and the web series 'Aashram'.Apart from direction, Jha has also acted in films like 'Saand Ki Aankh' and 'Matto Ki Saikil'.

Venkatesh Daggubati starrer Telugu action thriller 'Saindhav' is all set to begin its OTT journey. Helmed by Sailesh Kolanu and produced by Venkat Boyanapalli, the action-packed drama stars Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Shraddha Srinath, Ruhani Sharma, Andrea Jeremiah, Sara, and Jayaprakash. Venkatesh Daggubati plays the role of Saindhav Koneru, aka SaiKo. Entrenched in a shadowy past, SaiKo has since embraced the responsibilities of a doting father, leading a simple family life with his daughter, Gayathri. However, the tranquility shatters when Gayathri is diagnosed with a life-threatening health condition. Faced with the dire situation, SaiKo plunges back into the underworld, determined to save his daughter at any cost. This sets the stage for a relentless battle against his past adversaries, among them the merciless gangster Vikas Malik, portrayed by Nawazuddin Siddiqui.Interestingly, Venkatesh's 'Saindhav' marks Nawazuddin Siddiqui's Telugu debut.'Saindhav' was released in the theatres on January 13. Now 'Saindhav' will stream on Prime Video on February 3.Apart from this, Venkatesh Daggubati is also coming up with the second season of the high-octane action thriller series 'Rana Naidu'.The first season received appreciation in India as well as globally.Helmed by Karan Anshuman, 'Rana Naidu' is an adaptation of the popular American series, 'Ray Donovan' and is streaming on the OTT platform Netflix from March 10, 2023.'Rana Naidu' marked the first collaboration of the 'Baahubali' actor Rana Daggubati with his uncle Venkatesh Daggubati.Produced by Sunder Aaron and Locomotive Global, the series is created by Karan Anshuman and co-directed by Karan Anshuman and Suparn S. Varma. 'Rana Naidu' Season 1 brought together a versatile cast featuring Rana Daggubati, Venkatesh Daggubati, Surveen Chawla,Sushant Singh, Abhishek Banerjee, Gaurav Chopra, Ashish Vidyarthi, and Rajesh Jais.