‘Mohandas’ Movie Brings Out The Common Man Of Gandhiji  A Still From Mohandas Movie |
Mazhar Kamran, cinematographer-turned-director, is all set to make his debut in Bollywood with his movie “Mohandas”, which explores the problem of identity theft in rural India.
He had been the lens-man behind successful films like `Masti`, `Jhankaar Beats` and Ram Gopal Verma`s `Satya` and `Kaun`. "It is not uncommon to hear about identity theft in today`s world with so many scams happening everyday but what interested me was the setting of the story. A similar incident had happened in Madhya Pradesh and we sort of recreated the story," Kamran told the reporters in an interview.
The movie, which is slated to hit the theatres on August 14, stars Sonali Kulkarni, Sushant Singh, Nakul Vaid, Sarbani Mukherjee and Govind Namdev among others.
The name `Mohandas` instantly evokes the image of Mahatma Gandhi, when asked whether the title had any connection to the father of nation, Kamran said, "We debated a lot on the name and settled on this title because the film is the story of Gandhiji`s common man and how he is being manipulated by people in power. It has a sense of nation and the notion of Gandhian ideas."
The film revolves around Mohandas, a man hailing from a poor community of basket-weavers in Madhya Pradesh`s Anuppur. A topper in studies, Mohandas is overjoyed when he is selected for a good white-collar post in Oriental Coal Mines. But he is kept waiting and waiting to get the job. Long afterwards, when he has given up all the hope, he learns that someone else has assumed his name and has already taken his job.
To give the movie a realistic landscape, Kamran has shot the film in a remote village of Sonbhadra district in Uttar Pradesh.
"Being a cinematographer I believe that a movie needs a huge canvas and I wanted the backdrop of a place which has never been shown in Bollywood. We have shot 80 per cent of the film in a real village and a coal mine complex. The film has a very authentic and rich feel to it," the debutante said.
"The story is about contemporary young India and how media has become so intrusive in our day to day lives," he added.
Kamran took up cinematography to learn the craft of the filmmaking, which has always been a passion for him.
"Direction has always been my dream but I wanted to learn the aspects of filmmaking. So, I started as a cinematographer, which has helped me in my training as a filmmaker," he said.
