Guns & Jalebis

February 26, 2011 by FSJ

A Tip From Aamir Khan & The Dabangg Effect Sent Actor Ruslaan Mumtaz On A Trip That Changed Him Forever A First Person Account

As a child I travelled a lot with my parents, so globe-trotting and seeing different places was always a passion for me. We went on a vacation every year but I have surprisingly never really travelled within my own country.

When one of my friends told me that he was visiting his village in Uttar Pradesh, the success of Dabangg prompted me to ask him if I could tag along. Aamir Khan had once said that every actor should live in a village and the craze that Dabangg created inspired me to make this trip.

Aamir was right. My 11-day- stay in Bagahidarh village right next to Azamgarh has affected me as an actor and changed me as a person.

My initial decision was to fly to Benaras and travel by car to Azamgarh but if I wanted to experience the real India, I knew I had to abandon my luxuries and travel like the common man.

We travelled by train from Mumbai which took 34 hrs to reach Benaras. I had a great time on the train eating and playing cards all the way. Also adding to the entertainment were two small children role-playing Dabangg characters. Fighting about who would be Chulbul Pandey and who would be Chhedi Singh.

We reached Bagahidarh village at 2 am. I was made to sleep on a charpai and was told by my friend that since we reached so late in the night proper arrangements must not have been made. But to my surprise that was my sleeping arrangement for the rest of my stay. My morning started at 7 am with all the young boys from the house paying me a visit.

They were all waiting for me to wake up and seeing that I wasn’t going to do that soon, they all just sat in my room waiting for my eyes to open. I woke up to find six young boys staring at me, they were my friend’s cousins. From the age group of 8 to 28. I guess they wanted to see how an actor looks when he just wakes up. They were really fascinated seeing me do my morning exercises.

I was told I would have to bathe in the open at the tube well or water pump and I was a little nervous about that but once I wore my boxers I felt like Salman Khan from Dabangg. By the end of my trip I got completely used to people watching me have my daily bath. I’d smile or wink at my audience and they’d blush and run away.

My day would start with a glass of hot milk and jalebis. For breakfast I’d eat chappati and sabzi, so technically I’d eat two breakfasts. What we consider healthy in the city is in total contrast with what is called healthy in villages. Oil, ghee and butter are total no-nos for actors but in the village it’s considered really healthy.

I had to throw my diet in the bin and after a few meals I decided that if I wanted to enjoy my village stay I should forget I was an actor and just accept what was offered to me. In Mumbai I would never touch gulab jamuns but in the village they were served in really small matkas called kulhads and even the tea there was served in kulhads. Without fearing the wrath of Mumbaikars I must say that tea in a kulhad is way better than the cutting chai of Mumbai.

I will never forget the tikkis, pakoris and a sweet dish called laung latta that I ate here.

Every evening we’d walk through the sugarcane fields to reach the market and all the way we’d crack jokes about Dev D’s Paro and her bicycle ride into the fields with a mattress. Supposedly such things are common as young lovers cannot meet openly.

Notorious gangsters like Abu Salem were brought up in this little town and I did have the opportunity to meet such people. I was also gifted a gun which I obviously did not have the courage to accept. I discovered that Azamgarh houses factories that make guns which cost just `600 and most youngsters have one.

“Saw Aakrosh in a local theatre. The seats were all broken and the film looked like it was shot only at night. I could recognize the actors only by their voices!”

During random arguments these guns are used and that’s how most of the youth end up entering the underworld. Once they are in jail the local politician gets them out in exchange for their services. That’s why there is such a big nexus between politicians and the underworld, especially in UP and Bihar.

I visited the famous Shibli National College. Shabana Azmi has donated a beautiful girls’ hostel and looking at the building my respect for her grew 100 fold. Also met a few students who are involved in college politics and was reminded of Tigmanshu Dhulia’s Haasil.

Saw Aakrosh in a local theatre. Even though the ticket price was `50 the movie-watching experience was miserable. The seats were all broken and there were no seat numbers. Something was wrong with the projector and the film looked like it was shot only at night. Everything was dark.

Although the latest UFO technology was available the benefits did not reach the masses due to bad implementation. I could recognize the actors only by their voices.

Even then the theatre was house full and the audience was reacting to every dialogue, song and action sequence. This kind of audience reaction I had only seen once in a single screen in Mumbai and that was for Om Shanti Om. I am sure Aakrosh did not get the same reaction in Mumbai. This goes to show the kind of audience we have in the interiors and their passion for cinema, good or bad.

That one show also made me realise that the kind of acting I consider good will never be appreciated by the masses. They want drama and larger-than-life characters. They want a ‘hero’, someone they can cheer when he’s beating up the bad guy. They don’t want a wimp.

They don’t want underplaying. They want overacting and loads of style. I am sure my future films and acting style will be affected by this trip.

In 11 days I realized that the people in our villages are very emotional. They get attached and are loyal by nature. That’s why if an actor wins their hearts once, they will go and watch his films even in the worst possible conditions, even after having to pay a big amount of their hard-earned money.

In cities we do not respect movies that are made for the masses, movies that are loud with larger-than-life characters. Movies that don’t make sense to us, seem to make sense to them. I have realized that big cities are not the only audience.

My career choices henceforth have been altered. Will they be for the better or worse? I guess only time will tell.