Keep off the celluloid

With the international film awards season kicking off with subtle surprises and some obvious ones, predictions are on with writers, bloggers and the works throwing in their two cent worth. While Danny Boyle’s Slum dog millionaire — an adaptation of Vikas Swarup’s bestselling novel Q & A — is winning its way to the critics good books, closer home international media giants are taking a keen interest in producing films in India. Close on these tracks, Mosaic Media Group — the producer of blockbuster international hits Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, Talladega Nights, Get Smart etc. — will be collaborating with Ben Rekhi, the 29-year-old whiz-kid producer-director of cult, independent Hollywood hits, Waterborne and Bomb the System to bring Karan Bajaj’s best-selling novel, Keep Off the Grass to the big screen. “Like thousands of other readers, I was immediately hooked on to Karan’s story and his distinctive literary voice. Being of Indian descent and moving to India to work, I instantly connected with his characters and internal monologue. My dad was an IITian and the mix of campus life coupled with a spiritual journey was a fascinating juxtaposition. I have yet to see a film like this in Hindi cinema, and for me it is exactly the type of story I want to tell,” says Ben on taking the book to the celluloid.
And just as we have learnt with Chetan Bhagat’s One Night at the Call Centre (Hello) and wait with bated breath for another of his book adaptation Three Idiots, an author must surely be apprehensive about the portrayal of his word onto live images. But with Karan, the confidence and faith might just get the better of him as he says, “I have a sneaking suspicion that the film will be way better than the book. This is because I have met the Ben (director) in person and his vision for the book is extraordinary. I almost wished I had met him while writing the book since I would have added some scenes in the book!”
And the admirations is somehow mutual. “Karan has a hilarious way of building anxiety and doubt internally that will have to play out externally on screen. For example, the way each chapter ends with the title of the next chapter - this is a tool that I want to build into the film version in a new way. In any adaptation, things will condense, change, and evolve from book to screen. Even if the details change, my goal is to retain the heart of the story. The trick of any work of storytelling is nailing the tone,” says Ben.
While Karan’s book was launched, he had said that ideally he would just sign the film and have no desire to be personally involved in any capacity with the film. Changed his mind ever since? “A little bit! I am helping the director with the screenplay a bit since he is making some major changes. But on the whole, I am not very involved with it. It’s a different medium and I will let the experts do their job without meddling in it,” says Karan. While he may be leaving it to the experts, Ben might just be swinging from his take on the book to a more stringent approach to adapting it. “It is too early to talk about what will come out of an adaptation. The ideas are still forming as we speak. The only thing I would say is that I see a lot of Fight Club angst in it, mixed with Good Will Hunting friendship and mentorship, splashed in with the Motorcycle Diaries road journey to spirituality. If people recognise these films as influences in our final movie, then we will have done our job,” says Ben.
Keeping in mind the sensibilities of the writer, Ben adds, “Everything is a challenge when you set out to make a film. One of the major challenges is making the conflict more immediate and external, whereas the book has an existential philosophy to it. The surrealism to me is very real — we all have our own notions and daydreams of the way we interpret the world around us. This is what gives the book unique character, and what hopefully will set the film apart from other movies.”
While Ben’s choice of actor ranges from Dev Patel of Slumdog Millionaire to Irrfan Khan, if they sky is the limit he'd “love to see Abhishek as a college student”. “After I saw Guru I said to myself, ‘this guy is the real deal’. Given the right roles, he can knock it out of the park. But first things first, let’s get the script ready,” he says. But the range ends someplace else for Karan. “:I think a younger Rahul Bose would have been great. Maybe Abhay Deol since I really liked him in Manorama Six Feet Under.” Says Karan. And just how is the cult of the overpaid, under-worked manager coming along so far? “With the job market and the recession the way it is, it is probably going to be the unpaid, unemployed manager!” Karan says. As he wraps up his second novel which isn’t “a sequel to my first, or has anything to do with the first” let the hilarious journey of Keep Off the Grass capture the sentiment of the new Indian youth.