I think the start has to be made in our own life, in a small sort of way. I think too many people obsessed with social change tend to reach too far, too quickly. I feel that if I'm rearing my children with an awareness of each religion, as I understand it, and not classifying them as Hindu or Muslim, it's a progressive step. I'm leaving them free to choose the religion that suits them; that serves their purposes because that's what religion is supposed to do. Sweeping it under the carpet and apathy are old characteristics of our nation.
This is obviously a very difficult position to maintain, given the circumstances. Does that sometimes frighten you, the sheer magnitude?
It terrifies me because I don't know when it's going to end. It seems that religion, which was perhaps created to unify, is serving the opposite purpose. At the same time what also terrifies me is if my children, 20 years from now, are confronted by a mob that wants to know their religion: What are they going to say?
But at least I take solace in the fact that they will not be parochial, and hide under the shelter of the false hopes of "I belong to this community and so I am safe". The narrowing interpretation of Islam that is taking place is what really terrifies me because it is giving Islam a worse name than it already has. Too many of our so-called spokesmen are aggravating the issue. This has become clearer over the past few years.
Professionally, do you feel that you are currently at the richest stage of your life as an actor, or do you feel that you have done terrific work earlier and now it's no longer the same?
The environment is more conducive to doing better work. I don't feel like I've done whatever I am capable of. I don't look back on my past work and think it's fantastic. There's a lot of it I don't like in fact, and yes, I would say the answer to that is yes. Because the craft of the film-maker has grown over the last 30 years, their consciousness has grown too.
It's no longer fashionable to make movies on exploited peasants, about whom we know nothing. The situation is much more alive now because film-makers are attempting to make films on subjects they know about; subjects they've seen before. I've always believed that you cannot calculate the success of a movie before it's made; it should be made with conviction.
There seems to be lot more courage in today's film-makers. You have, apart from a film like Khuda Kay Liye, a film like A Wednesday, which is Nandita's new film, based on Godhra, which is extremely hard-hitting and extremely well made, and which I am very proud of. Even a movie like Parzania, which it still takes a NRI to make.
Still, he is an Indian who feels for the situation. You have directors like Anurag Basu, Rituparno Ghosh and Neeraj Pandey - these are the people I have hope for, and these are the people who have got their craft down pat and have a socially aware mind. These are people who want to tackle the real issues and not make fancy movies.
Among the film-makers of the 70s, there was a bit of posturing and it showed in the way their commitment disappeared as soon as greener pastures arrived. As an actor too, I feel it's richer ground for me. I may not be getting great roles to display my abilities as I did in the past, but that doesn't trouble me because to prove my worth as an actor is not of any concern to me anymore. To participate in a project, which I feel is significant, is what attracts me.
You were a very strong critic of the cinema that existed, even though you were a part of the industry…
I was a critic of the quality of work, not a critic of the type of cinema. I've been misinterpreted greatly. In fact, I've even been quoted somewhere as saying that I hate good cinema. Why would I be idiotic enough to say that?
My complaint was against the level of commitment of those film-makers and the stagnation of their craft. That's what I was angry about and that's what turned me against them, in the sense that I don't want to work with some of those film-makers anymore.
But, there are plenty of youngsters who I'm still working with; more first time film-makers than established ones. So perhaps it is my maturing as an actor and my realising that acting is not an end in itself. You don't act to show off your acting, you act because you've put your abilities at the service of somebody who helps to make a statement. As an actor you are never making your own statement, you're a mouthpiece for others.
How has the Hindi film industry, in your opinion, progressed? Has it got better? It has become more self-congratulatory. It believes the world is sitting up and taking notice. In a way the world is sitting up and taking notice, only because of the varied colour mithai.
I don't know if there is true enjoyment of these movies or whether they are considered to be anything significant. For the NRIs it is a great link to home - you get together and eat your samosas and talk in Hindi and you cry. It's a mirage to say that Bollywood cinema has gained acceptance worldwide. As far as the film industry is concerned, it is exactly where it was; the concerns are still with making huge amounts of money and satisfying the self-agenda.
It must be a business kind of pursuit when the money involved is so great and so many lives are depending on it. Is this because somebody is coughing up money and you need a return on the investment?
Our cinema has modeled itself on the Hollywood of the 40s and 50s, with one huge difference: They are still trying to make those kind of musicals, those musical numbers, those basic stories - exchange babies, boy meets girl, or rich boy-poor girl. We are still making those kinds of stories without the excellence of the old music.
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