‘It would have never crossed anybody’s mind where life would have taken us or that Irrfanji would fall sick.’
Key Points
- ‘I started reading the script and I could virtually imagine Irrfanji narrating the voiceover, speaking those lines.’
- ‘The film had already been released and now no one was interested in the BTS footage. But for my personal happiness I decided to watch what was leftover on my own laptop.’
- ‘Irrfanji had given me an exclusive interview about his process and how he became the character. Even that interview was gone. I was dejected.’
Tigmanshu Dhulia’s Paan Singh Tomar remains one of the most important films highlighting Irrfan Khan’s career. In 2013, the film won Khan his only National Award. The film also won the Golden Lotus Award for Best Feature Film.
The biopic film tracked the life of an ordinary villager who joined the army and became a sports hero, representing India at international levels. But when he returned, he felt cheated. There was a family property feud and Tomar, despite his national hero status, did not get the support of the authorities. In frustration, the man became a dacoit.
It was a story Dhulia had patiently carried with him since he did the casting of Shekhar Kapur’s Bandit Queen (1994). Years later, a young filmmaker Ranjeeta Kaur carried that same passion about finishing a documentary she was making on Dhulia’s film. She faced many tough hurdles, but was finally able to recently screen the film at Mumbai’s Nita and Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre.
Aptly titled A Story That Refused to Die, Kaur’s film has now started making the rounds of film festivals — 13 years after Paan Singh Tomar was released. In the film, Kaur’s camera captures the excitement behind the making of the film; Khan and other actors working with Dhulia in key scenes that we remember from the film. Her documentary is a wonderful piece of nostalgia that was almost lost.
Aseem Chhabra spoke to Ranjeeta Kaur about the hardships she faced in completing her documentary.
“When Paan Singh won the National Awards, the news came on the sets of Bullett Raja; I was doing the BTS for that film. We were ecstatic. The next day, Tishu sir asked me what happened with the documentary I was making. I informed him that I had run out of funds, and his response was ‘You go ahead. I will help you complete it.’.”
I have watched Paan Singh Tomar at least three times. Watching the documentary brought back the memories of discovering this powerful film and then studying it carefully when I worked on a book on Irrfan. You bring Irrfan alive right in front of our eyes.
They say actors never die since they leave their body of work for us to revisit. But in the case of your documentary, we see Irrfan as Irrfan and not always as Paan Singh Tomar. He is vibrant, funny, and at times serious, as he is shown focusing on particular scenes.
How did you decide to make this documentary?
I was doing BTS (behind the scenes) work on the film. The project came to me via UTV. The script was sent to me. I wanted to know more about the film I was going to work on, what were the possibilities. I started reading the script and could virtually imagine Irrfanji narrating the voiceover, speaking those lines.
Then I met Tishu sir (Dhulia) for the first time. I told him that I could see it turn into a brilliant film but I had one question: Who would play the journalist who comes to interview Paan Singh Tomar towards the end?
When I read the scene of the journalist’s and Paan Singh’s interaction, I was laughing away. It was such a well-written scene. Tishu sir laughed and told me an actor called Brijendra Kala would play the role.
‘He’s a fantastic actor,’ he said.
That’s how the journey started.
‘I could not complete what I had planned’
Do you recall exactly when it was?
We did the first schedule in December 2008. The next two schedules happened in 2009.
When you do BTS work, are you visualising the work as documentary filmmaking?
I was commissioned to do BTS, fun content, trivia and small videos to enhance the film’s publicity. I did not step into it thinking that I will make a documentary. But in the process, I started shooting beyond what was probably required.
It was because I sensed I was watching a special film being made. I decided to go that extra mile because something beautiful and important was happening. I was essentially doing this for my own satisfaction.
But because the shooting was staggered for many reasons, I could not complete what I had planned. I had interviewed Irrfanji, but wanted to do some more actors’ interviews. In 2009, after the second or the third schedule, I called the production house and asked if I could do more interviews. Their response was that it was fine, but they would get back to me at some point.
I knew my work was not complete. So I called the production house again and this time, they told me that the film was going to be released soon. I had missed that announcement since I was busy with another project.
‘Irrfanji had given me an exclusive interview about his process’
Sorry for cutting you, but in the documentary, I saw how you had covered the shooting of the film, from Paan Singh Tomar’s sports career, his joining the army to the point he becomes a dacoit. You even covered the shoot in the Chambal Valley.
Yes. But I thought I would do more.
Anyway, I sent all the tapes to the production house and waited for the BTS section to be up on YouTube. I knew there was such valuable stuff, which I had shot but nothing came online. I called the production house and they said, ‘Don’t you know what happened with the tapes? They were ruined.’
Irrfanji had given me an exclusive interview about his process and how he became the character. Even that interview was gone. I was dejected.
The film was released and got good reviews. Then about eight or nine months later while I was clearing up some files, my editor handed me a hard drive with a folder marked Paan Singh Tomar.
I open the folder and could see some footage in it. I guess what happened was that I was working on multiple projects at that point. We used to take those tapes and digitise them. While working on some other film, we must have digitalised parts of the Paan Singh Tomar footage as well.
I was thrilled because I had given up hope. The film had already been released and no one was interested in the BTS footage now. But for my personal happiness, I decided to watch what was leftover.
The making of the documentary idea came about at that time as I started watching that footage. I even wrote the script.
The challenges were there. Even in the found footage, some of the shots were pixelated. So I cleaned the footage and pulled out only that which can be used. That is how I started making the documentary. I hired an editor, and would sit with him. But soon, I ran out of funds.
When Paan Singh won the National Awards, the news came on the sets of Bullett Raja; I was doing the BTS for that film. We were ecstatic.
The next day, Tishu sir asked me what happened with the documentary I was making. I informed him that I had run out of funds, and his response was ‘You go ahead. I will help you complete it.’
We started working again. Eventually, the film was ready. But then suddenly, the only hard drive I had crashed. What remained is this one film, one render, one big file with the music, the sound embedded. Now I had only one cut; this was my first draft. It was like only one cut piece of cloth was left with a tailor. I couldn’t re-edit it.
You had one bad luck after another!
Every six months, every year, I would watch the cut on my laptop. My editor would sit with me. This was the journey for 13 years.
‘It could have been an hour long’
Your film is about 47 minutes long. Is that how long you wanted it?
It could have been an hour long. But my story, which I wanted to share, which came from the core of my experience, I have managed to put it out.
Unfortunately, there is no interview with Irrfan, or the other key players. But you have been able to share with us the making of the film. You have the reactions, the laughter and the conversations between the cast and the crew on the set. We see Irrfan’s ankle injury and more.
This looks like a complete documentary to revisit the film and see Irrfan before he became unwell.
If you hadn’t told me all of the story, I wouldn’t have known. I would have thought, okay, this is exactly the documentary you made. Why did it take you so long to bring this version of the film to the audience?
When I showed the first cut to some people, they were so attached to it and naturally got emotional. So the idea was to release in the form of a DVD along with a coffee table book. Even Irrfanji wanted it. But somehow, that didn’t happen. I did spend time trying to recover the lost footage.
I went to some production houses. They showed interest, but nobody followed up. Eventually, I showed it to some of the programmers at the Nita and Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre. They loved it so much that they decided to host a screening.
Now suddenly, there is interest in this film from festivals.
What is your reaction when you revisit the film after all those years? There is so much innocence, the moments of laughter, especially the scene when an old man claims to be Irrfan’s schoolmate.
See, it would have never crossed anybody’s mind where life would have taken us or that Irrfanji would fall sick. But when I go back to that moment, it only brings smiles to me.
It was a special moment being there in the midst of all this energy of people who against all odds — the production and budgeting issues — believed in this film, for the love for cinema, the love for art.
It had such a beautiful impact on me, both personally and professionally, that it inspired me to go beyond what I was doing. That is why I kept pushing to get this documentary made.
Scenes from the documentary A Story That Refused to Die:
Photographs curated by Satish Bodas/Rediff
