2024-08-14 17:38:45
‘Phir Aayi Haseen Dilruba’ director Jayaprad Desai talked about struggle and rejection. Jayaprad Desai recalled the time when he was in a wheel chair for 3 years and escaped death. Jayaprad Desai shared his experience of ‘Phir Aayi Haseen Dilruba’ and Taapsee Pannu.
Highlights
- ‘Phir Aai Haseen Dilruba’ director Jayapradha Desai talks about struggle and rejection
- Jayprad Desai recalls the time when he was confined to a wheelchair for 3 years and narrowly escaped death
- Jayapradha Desai shares his experience of ‘Phir Aayi Haseen Dilruba’ and working with Taapsee Pannu
Jayaprad Desai, grandson of the famous musician of his time, Vasant Desai, completed his studies in computer engineering, but his inclination towards art brought him to films. Jayaprad, who gained fame from the award winning Marathi film ‘Nagarik’, has so far directed films and series like ‘Kaun Praveen Tambe?’, ‘Mukhbir: The Story of a Spy’, ‘Hutatma’. These days he is in the news for his new film ‘Phir Aayi Haseen Dilruba’. A special conversation with him. Jayprad Desai, grandson of music composer Vasant Desai, who gave timeless music in films like ‘Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baaje’, ‘Ghoonj Uthi Shehnai’, ‘Do Aankhen Barah Haath’, says about his background, ‘Yes, I am the grandson of the famous music composer Vasant Desai ji, so art is in my blood, but there was no one from my father’s generation in this field and since I am from a middle class Maharashtrian family, I completed my studies in engineering, but my inclination towards art brought me to the entertainment world.’
Photo: Insta/jaypraddesai
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‘I was rejected twice for FTII’
Narrating his story of entering the entertainment world after engineering, he says, ‘Due to my strong voice and personality, I got a chance to work in the Ramlila held in college. Once, through the choreographer who came as a judge during Ramlila, I got a chance in modeling and I started feeling connected to the things behind the scenes. To go deeper into this field, I applied for FTII (Film and Television Institute of India). In the first year, despite reaching the finals, I got rejected. They said that you have already done engineering and are also working, then why do you need to study here? The second time when I got rejected, that rejection was very heavy for me, because one of my engineering friends started taking interest in entertainment because of me. He passed and I got rejected. I felt that I had worked harder, but I was rejected there.’
Photo: Insta/jaypraddesai
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‘He came back from the jaws of death in that accident’
Despite not getting selected in FTII, Jayapradh did not give up. He says, ‘I decided to continue my film studies from New York. The cost of living there was also quite high, so I did many part-time jobs. I worked as a waiter and a library assistant. I did many other small jobs, like selling T-shirts in stalls at the bus station. Then one day I met with an accident and had to stay in a wheelchair for three months. I was seriously injured. I came back from the jaws of death. During that time, my teachers and my fellow students became my family. Someone would bring food for me, someone would take me around in a wheelchair. However, initially the local students there were angry with me, because I had gone there on a scholarship, they felt that I had snatched their rights, but then after this accident, everyone supported me. That accident made me strong mentally, physically and creatively. My diploma film Rosebush won awards. Nana Patekar’s wife Neelakanti Patekar acted in that film. My college was in New York, but I shifted to LA. I was financially secure there, but I wanted to do something creatively in my homeland.’
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‘Theatrical experience is fun in itself’
Taking his point further, he says, ‘This was the period of 2012-13, when the atmosphere of India Against Corruption was prevailing in the whole country. People had come out on the streets due to the Nirbhaya incident. Anna Hazare’s movement was going on. During that time, I read a story, ‘You Can Also Win’. I made Sachin Khedekar starrer ‘Nagarik’ on that story. My film ‘Nagarik’, which came in the year 2015, was in many film festivals including MAMI. This film got many awards in Marathi. Neeraj Sir (filmmaker Neeraj Pandey) wanted to produce this film, but it could not happen then. During that time, I also did web series like ‘Hutatma’. During that time, my series like ‘Kaun Praveen Tambe?’ and after that ‘Mukhbir: The Story of Spy’ were quite popular. During ‘Mukhbir’, Anand Sir (Anand L Rai) called me. I had gone to meet him for some other script, but then I got ‘Aai Haseen Dilruba’. Now this film will soon be seen on OTT. OTT has its own grammar of storytelling, but I miss the theatrical experience. I had made ‘Kaun Praveen Tambe?’ as per the theatre. We wanted to release ‘Phir Aai Haseen Dilruba’ in theatres first.
‘Taapsee and her character Rani have become complementary to each other
My first film ‘Nagarik’ was a political thriller. After that film, people started considering me a serious filmmaker, so I started writing a comedy script, which I will make very soon. Then I made the sports drama ‘Kaun Praveen Tambe?’. My ‘Hutatma’ and ‘Mukhbir’ were films of different zones, and now I have come with ‘Phir Aai Haseen Dilruba’. The experience of working with Taapsee was memorable. She is completely dedicated to her craft. Taapsee’s character Rani and Taapsee have become synonymous with each other. We have given an erotic form to pulp fiction (erotic content or characters that arouse sexuality) in our film. The characters of pulp fiction are a little wrong from the moral point of view, but they are disgusting. There is a secret desire to see forbidden things. We have embellished that streak that if you touch it, you will burn, but you must touch it.
About the Author
Rekha KhanRekha Khan is the Features and Entertainment Editor at Navbharat Times of the Times Group. She has spent more than two decades working in renowned publications, magazines and radio. For her contribution in the field of journalism, she has been awarded many awards like Stree Shakti Puraskar, Power of Pen, Most Inspiring Woman in Journalism, Most Powerful Woman in Media. Apart from journalism, Rekha also loves to read and write. She has written a Gujarati novel called ‘Koi Sapna Na Kharido’. She is a very good speaker and anchor. Along with anchoring TV shows, she has also shown her talent in acting. … Read More
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