‘Didn’t Know Mirch Masala Would Be Her Last Film’

‘She
was
my
only
choice
to
play
Sonbai.
The
moment
she
read
the
script,
she
slipped
into
character.’

Ketan
Mehta’s

Mirch
Masala
was
the
last
film
that
Smita
Patil
worked
in
before
her
shocking
death.

Subhash
K
Jha
celebrates
the
actor’s
69th
birth
anniversary
on
October
17
by
looking
back
at
the
film,
and
asking
the
director
for
beautiful
insights
into
its
making.

What
was
it
like
working
with
Smita
Patil
in
her
last
film?

We
didn’t
know
while
shooting
that

Mirch
Masala
would
be
her
last
film.

Smita
was
a
very
dear
friend.

Mirch
Masala
was
one
of
her
best
performances.
It
turned
out
to
be
her
last
film.

She
just
dubbed
the
film
and
went
away.
She
got
all
the
nuances
right.

How
long
had
you
known
her?

I
knew
her
from
our
film
institute
days.
When
I
was
assisting
a
senior
director
Arun
Khopkar
in
his
diploma
film,
Smita
had
come
to
act
in
it.

She
also
acted
in
my
first
feature
film

Bhavni
Bhavai.

Was
Smita
the
non-negotiable
choice
for

Mirch
Masala?

She
was
my
only
choice
to
play
Sonbai.
The
moment
she
read
the
script,
she
slipped
into
character.

What
made
you
choose
this
story?

Mirch
Masala
is
a
film
about
the
human
condition.
There’s
a
short
story
by
a
Gujarati
writer
Chunnilal
Madia.

It
was
a
four-page
story
but
that
was
based
in
a
tobacco
factory
in
Saurashtra.

It
ended
with
the
watchman
of
the
factory
dying.
I
converted
it
into
a
chilli
factory.

The
red
chillies
made
the
film
visually
resplendent.

The
moment
I
saw
these
chilly
fields
in
Gujarat,
the
idea
came
to
me.

The
film
ended
with
Sonbai
throwing
chillies
in
the
villain’s
eyes.

The
protest
had
begun.

Do
you
feel
the
position
of
the
rural
woman
has
improved
since
you
made

Mirch
Masala?

Not
at
all.
All
the
actors
in
the
film
were
my
friends.

Naseer
(Naseeruddin
Shah)
and
Om
(Puri)
were
with
me
in
the
film
institute,
and
both
were
brilliant.

Mohan
Gokhale
was
also
a
friend.
He
had
also
acted
in

Bhavni
Bhavai.

Mirch
Masala
is
recalled
with
great
fondness
even
after
37
years.

Yes!
It
was
shot
in
a
village
named
Chotila
near
Rajkot.

Funnily,
I
had
selected
another
location.
I
had
just
finished

Holi.

Suddenly,
the
NFDC
funding
for

Mirch
Masala
came
through.
So
I
rushed
to
location
and
got
to
know
that
if
I
didn’t
finish
all
my
shooting
by
March,
all
the
chillies
would
be
gone.

So
I
asked
my
cast
and
crew
in
January
and
like
a
miracle,
they
agreed
to
accommodate
me.

Smita,
Naseer,
Raj
Babbar
and
Suresh
Oberoi
were
busy
actors.

The
film
remains
your
signature
work.

In
2010,
there
was
a
film
festival
devoted
to
women
film-makers
in
Chennai.
They
had
invited

Mirch
Masala
although
I
am
not
a
woman.

They
obviously
saw
it
as
a
film
on
women’s
empowerment.

So
far
away
from
Gujarat,
that
evening
in
Chennai,
young
Tamil
women
responded
so
well
to

Mirch
Masala that
they
brought
tears
to
my
eyes.

Is

Mirch
Masala
your
favourite
work?

That
and

Bhavni
Bhavai
and

Maya
Memsaab.