Ashutosh Gowariker, Abhishek Bachchan Must Bid’ Bye To Historicals

Talking of Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey, it must be mentioned that both, Ashutosh Gowariker and Abhishek Bachchan, need to seriously think of their future course of action. Gowariker has gone on record to say that he was consumed by Manini Chatterjee’s novel about the Chittagong Uprising, on which ‘Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey’ is based, and was surprised that school students never learnt about the Chittagong Uprising in history. It is this fact – about the majority of the people not even being aware of this Uprising during India’s freedom struggle – that prompted Ashutosh to make a film based on the novel. One would think, Ashutosh Gowariker should’ve dropped the idea the moment he realised that many in India are not aware of this chapter in history.

As a filmmaker, it is Gowariker’s job to entertain the public, not educate it. Why he donned the mantle of a history professor rather than that of the director is a mystery. It’s not incorrect to educate the audience through a film but surely not at the cost of entertaining them. If, while entertaining the public, a film can double up as a platform for education, there’s no harm. But simply educating the public through a film? What are books for then? Since a large chunk of the audience today consists of the youth, it would’ve been anybody’s guess that youngsters are not going to visit the cinemas to learn history.

It is equally shocking that Abhishek Bachchan chose to act in a dull and dry film like ‘Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey’. Before it is too late, Abhishek needs to get his act together – and that will begin by him signing the right kind of films. Given the nature of this industry, it is, of course, very difficult to decide at the time of signing a film if it would or would not work when it is completed and released but an actor ought to at least know what’s good for him at what stage of his career. And a serious historical was definitely not in the best interest of Abhishek’s career.

After the debacle of ‘Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey’, Ashutosh and Abhishek, both, need to bid goodbye to historicals for some time, at least. They need to let historicals be history in their respective careers.