Calamity Jane

It is a small town set that looks very convincing. Bustling with people, authentic looking shops, cowsheds with real cows, huts with curious villagers, proper looking houses bearing name-plates and even a church complete with a huge swinging bell. Amidst it all, the entire film crew in concentrated motion. The scene to be shot becomes clear as four tough looking guys, with blackened faces, carrying huge toy rifles, make an appearance. Om Puri, clad entirely in black, gives Sameer Soni a run for his money. Soni, sporting a suede leather jacket and dark glasses, positions himself beside the senior actor and the rest of the gang, for the `surrender’ shot. The 10 men, rigged out in army-type outfits, put their hands in the air and walk forward slowly, followed by the dacoits. The scene is shot at least 10 times in varying angles, before the director is satisfied and calls for a `cut’.

The actors escape from the heat and walk over to sit beneath the shade of an awning. Soni shrugs off his jacket, Jagdeep starts to retouch his make-up which hasn’t survived the blistering sun and Om Puri saunters across to join Soni. A former model, Soni makes his debut in this film opposite Mamta Kulkarni.

He is more than a little nervous about this film. First, the film was in the news about a falling out between the director Rajkumar Santoshi and Mamta with threats of legal notices being hurled at each other. Then there was a quiet reconciliation and convenient amnesia about the whole affair.And then, there is his obvious inexperience. "I am taking it as a good sign that I have been accepted by such senior stars. Hopefully, it will translate into an acceptance by the audience," he says.

In the film too, Soni plays a young man who has to go through a trial by fire to join his late father’s former colleagues. Initially they are reluctant to take on an inexperienced `civilian’ into their troup. But later they change their minds.

The script goes somewhat like this: a group of 11 ex-army men redeem their earlier inglorious careers by becoming crusaders for a cause. As army men, their battalion has been sent on Mission Chinagate. Their task is to bomb a terrorist hideout but at the last minute, Krishan Kant Puri (Om Puri) changes his mind when he sees civilians at the spot. But as he asks his group to retreat, the terrorists attack, killing some of his men. The army sees this as an act of cowardice and suspends the entire battalion. Puri fights the army’s decision in the Supreme Court for 13 years but is not vindicated. The story is interspersed with vignettes of the other men’s lives. Naseeruddin Shah, Amrish Puri, Danny, Tinu Anand, Kulbushan Kharbanda, and Jagdeep play the mercenaries.

The battalion gets together again after many years, when the clarion call for help is given by the village `leader’ Mamta. Her father (played by Girish Karnad) is killed by a marauding gang of dacoits, led by the terrifying `Jagira’. She approaches his friend of yore, Puri and enlists his help to rid their village of this menace. Amidst all these acts of purposeful valour, a romance between the young hero who comes to Mamta’s village, and Mamta, is inserted.Eventually of course, they are able to overpower the gang of dakus, even though they lose a few good men. The film had a distinct touch of Sholay to it. Although Santoshi and Puri hotly deny this. Says Puri, "Then you could say, it is a copy of Mera Gaon Mera Desh or Mujhe Jeene Do." What Santoshi does admit is that the film was an inspired version of Kurosawa’s The Seven Samurai. He says, " I wanted to do an adventure film, like a western movie with lots of horses, dacoits and action; and The Seven Samurai has been a childhood favourite. So here similarly, a group of war veterans like warriors or samurais, come together for a common cause. For the first time so many good actors have come together. And the film could also stand out as I’m undecided about including any song or dance sequences."

Then Santoshi goes back to direct the next shot: the cremation of Jagira’s brother, who has been gunned down by the crusaders. A huge pile of logs are arranged in the centre of the town, with the town tower and Mamta’s haveli as the backdrop. Jagira, played by newcomer Mukesh Tiwari, looks terrifying with long, flowing tangled locks and an equally long beard. He practices advancing up to the pyre on his horse and raising his gun in a gesture of vengeance, eyes burning with rage. His brother in the meantime is being covered with a gore-splattered sheet, his makeup being touched up while he plays corpse. Then, he is garlanded and agarbattis are lit.A few finishing touches and it’s time for the cameras to roll again, as Santoshi yells, "Action".