The John Matthew Matthan Chat
There was no doubt that director John Matthew Matthan was proud of his film, Sarfarosh. Though he alternated between diplomatic and dry answers, he came across as approachable and forthright and, as a result, commanded respect.
John Mathew Matthan (Mon Jun 28 1999 6:1 IST)
Hi everyone, this is John.
Rakesh (Mon Jun 28 1999 5:56 IST)
John uncle, this is Rakesh here. Do you remember me? I used to live in Bandra. Does Skaria and Lizzy Koshy ring a bell?
John Mathew Matthan (Mon Jun 28 1999 6:2 IST)
Rakesh: Hi, did you and your family see my film? :-)
Shahezadi (Mon Jun 28 1999 6:0 IST)
Hi John, did you think you will be proved a visionary with Sarfarosh, given the Kargil betrayal by Pakistan?
John Mathew Matthan (Mon Jun 28 1999 6:3 IST)
Shahezadi: No way. I have no illusions of being an astrologer.
Darshan Vaidya (Mon Jun 28 1999 6:4 IST)
Hello John. Congrats on Sarfarosh. Do you believe you have successfully managed to marry arts cinema with commercial cinema?
John Mathew Matthan (Mon Jun 28 1999 6:6 IST)
Darshan Vaidya: That's something that you should tell me.
Shahezadi (Mon Jun 28 1999 6:6 IST)
Tell me, I always wondered... How did Aamir Khan react during the shooting, especially mouthing the anti-Pak dialogues? And Naseer? And, when you approached Aamir with the script, was he thrilled right away, did he think over it? I am cuuuuurious....
John Mathew Matthan (Mon Jun 28 1999 6:7 IST)
Shahezadi: He said yes immediately on hearing the script. Also, the film is not anti-Pakistan. It's against only those who want to stage a proxy war against India.
Vish (Mon Jun 28 1999 6:7 IST)
JOHN... is there any specific reason for why u made this film??
John Mathew Matthan (Mon Jun 28 1999 6:10 IST)
Vish: No specific reason, but still plenty. It's a theme that every Indian should be concerned about, it's about national integration, communal harmony, patriotism, trying circumstances under which the police work and how vulnerable we are as ordinary citizens.
Rekha (Mon Jun 28 1999 6:9 IST)
Congratulations. I am an Aamir Khan fan but after seeing your movie I became a John Mathew Matthan fan. Any new projects coming up?
John Mathew Matthan (Mon Jun 28 1999 6:11 IST)
Rekha: Thank you, that feels good. Though I'm still a fan of Aamir. I hope to start working on my next subject soon... No idea what it's gonna be till I go someplace and sit alone.
ashish (Mon Jun 28 1999 6:5 IST)
hi John... my family is very proud of the film you made... It makes us Indians proud specially with this Kargil issue
John Mathew Matthan (Mon Jun 28 1999 6:14 IST)
Thanks Ashish.
pushkar (Mon Jun 28 1999 6:12 IST)
John, I think the highlight of your film was the junior actors... Were you involved with the casting?
John Mathew Matthan (Mon Jun 28 1999 6:16 IST)
Pushkar: I saw a lot of theatre and tested almost all the actors before I confirmed their roles. Including Mukesh Rishi who had worked in 30 films before I video-tested him.
Sarita (Mon Jun 28 1999 6:15 IST)
Hi John! Seven years ago, you made an ad film for us on Rin. Congratulations on making a great feature film today.
John Mathew Matthan (Mon Jun 28 1999 6:17 IST)
Hi, Sarita. Thanks.
ashish (Mon Jun 28 1999 6:17 IST)
Were there any problems having Naseer & Aamir working together? Why so many songs in such an intelligent film? Any problems from the armed forces while shooting?
John Mathew Matthan (Mon Jun 28 1999 6:20 IST)
Ashish: If you are making a mainstream film with stars, you have to accept the fact that music is a very important territory. Its price helps you in the budget of your film. It's a commercial necessity and also what the audience looks forward to. You can make a film without songs provided its budget is small and you're lucky enough to find a distributor.
thokuchand (Mon Jun 28 1999 6:29 IST)
Johnsaab, You forgot one issue. There is an international law that diplomatic passport holders' baggage is not checked. And the Pakistan govt is exploiting this law like hell. They are using their diplomats to carry drugs worldwide. This drug economy is $ 100 billion plus. Will you try to show this issue in your next film?
John Mathew Matthan (Mon Jun 28 1999 6:30 IST)
THOKUCHAND: I have done my bit. Why don't you do it :-)
ashish (Mon Jun 28 1999 6:22 IST)
Did you get your distributors easy because you had Aamir in your film? Do they (music owners) control the type of songs? Because you had everything... a ghazal, a love song, etc?
John Mathew Matthan (Mon Jun 28 1999 6:31 IST)
Ashish: It wasn't easy as it was my first film. But Aamir was very important; that's why the film did get sold. The music company did not interfere in anyway.
push (Mon Jun 28 1999 6:30 IST)
John... the end of your movie leaves room for a sequel (for the exploits of ACP Rathod and his gang). Anything in the pipeline?
John Mathew Matthan (Mon Jun 28 1999 6:32 IST)
Push: Nothing yet.
Rekha (Mon Jun 28 1999 6:33 IST)
Who are the directors you like from Hollywood and Bollywood?
John Mathew Matthan (Mon Jun 28 1999 6:35 IST)
Rekha: Fave directors -- Bollywood: Guru Dutt, Mehboob Khan, Bimal Roy, Raj Kapoor, K Asif. In Hollywood: The list is too long but if I could get as much satisfaction as Fellini, I would die happy.
push (Mon Jun 28 1999 6:31 IST)
John, is there any way i can lay my hands on the script?
John Mathew Matthan (Mon Jun 28 1999 6:33 IST)
Push: I'm hoping to have it published. Please give me a little time.
ashish (Mon Jun 28 1999 6:32 IST)
John, how long did it take you to make this film?
John Mathew Matthan (Mon Jun 28 1999 6:37 IST)
Ashish: One-and-a-half years of waiting and two-and-a-half years for shooting and completing the film.
push (Mon Jun 28 1999 6:37 IST)
John, do you think a movie like Life Is Beautiful is possible in India? India has more pain and human tragedies...
John Mathew Matthan (Mon Jun 28 1999 6:38 IST)
Push: I haven't seen the film as yet. I have to catch up on a lot of things.
Ashish (Mon Jun 28 1999 6:43 IST)
Did you have any difficulty working with two temperamental artistes like Nasser and Aamir? Did you need to have songs in your film? Did you have any difficulty with the army?
John Mathew Matthan (Mon Jun 28 1999 6:43 IST)
Ashish: Just the usual problems, but both of them being professionals and good actors made a lot of difference. Regarding songs, it's difficult to market your film without songs. I had no difficulty with the army. There was no reason for it.
pallav (Mon Jun 28 1999 6:47 IST)
John: What does it take to make a movie?? Where do all these people come up with these movie stories? And is it true that many Indian film directors are stealing Hollywood ideas and making movies? I saw many movies like Daraar (Sleeping With The Enemy), Junoon, which are exactly like some Hollywood movies? Why is that????
John Mathew Matthan (Mon Jun 28 1999 6:51 IST)
Pallav: Because that's the easy way out. To even try to do something original requires a lot of work. In Sarfarosh, I have not consciously picked up even a single scene from any film, but still I've had people saying that I have plagiarised a scene or two from films which I have honestly not seen.
Shahezadi (Mon Jun 28 1999 6:46 IST)
Ok, John, tell me. Do you see genuine peace between India and Pak in our lifetimes?
John Mathew Matthan (Mon Jun 28 1999 6:52 IST)
Shahezadi: I truly hope so.
push (Mon Jun 28 1999 6:47 IST)
John... what is the most important department in a film-making? Cinematography? Editing? Screenwriting?
John Mathew Matthan (Mon Jun 28 1999 6:54 IST)
Push: To me, first things first ... screenwriting... Then whatever comes next... casting... then shooting... then post... in that order... Everything is as important.
push (Mon Jun 28 1999 6:44 IST)
John, what do you think is the most essential trait a film-maker could have?
John Mathew Matthan (Mon Jun 28 1999 6:55 IST)
Push: Maybe the urge to never give up and never say no.
Grand Gup (Mon Jun 28 1999 6:55 IST)
Love. Violence/Gang wars/Underworld. Pseudo-patriotic themes. Why is Indian cinema unable to extricate itself from this suffocating triangle?
John Mathew Matthan (Mon Jun 28 1999 6:57 IST)
Grand Gup: Please write me a script and find a financier. You'll truly get what you are asking for.
Grand Gup (Mon Jun 28 1999 7:9 IST)
OK sir, here's a theme: A multi-culture, multi-religion India coming of age, trying to catch up with the developed world, liberalisation, advent of TV, impact on social fabric/values, especially the changing face of Indian woman, Miss contests and all that. Don't you think this can make for a good feature, entertaining, engrossing and commercially sound?
John Mathew Matthan (Mon Jun 28 1999 7:13 IST)
Grand Gup: Each of these would make fantastic films, but whose gonna work out the scripts? And decide whose gonna act? And finally whose gonna pay? A good Hollywood script costs as much as a major Hindi film or more.
Shahezadi (Mon Jun 28 1999 6:56 IST)
John, are you a jingoist, by the way?
John Mathew Matthan (Mon Jun 28 1999 7:2 IST)
Shahezadi: Am I a jingoist because I said you should not give up? *lol*
BambaiWaalah (Mon Jun 28 1999 7:13 IST)
JohnM, are you going to make more patriotic movies?
John Mathew Matthan (Mon Jun 28 1999 7:15 IST)
BambaiWaalah: No, not for some time, but certainly a subject that will be issue-based and concerns most Indians.
Grand Gup (Mon Jun 28 1999 6:56 IST)
We hear film music rights are a big business now. Does this mean accent will shift from a film's content to commerce of music? If yes, is this a desirable trend?
John Mathew Matthan (Mon Jun 28 1999 6:59 IST)
Grand Gup: I don't know about that, but it would be unfortunate if that is true.
push (Mon Jun 28 1999 7:7 IST)
John, I think your film was about the underdogs... India, Indian ethos of tolerance, Indian Muslims, Indian police/army, junior actors all of them... was it a conscious effort?
John Mathew Matthan (Mon Jun 28 1999 7:9 IST)
Push: It was certainly a conscious effort.
MUDIT (Mon Jun 28 1999 6:14 IST)
Hi John.... How are you?? I just wanted to know where you got the idea of making such a terrific movie?? And also did Aamir Khan interfere in your direction??
John Mathew Matthan (Mon Jun 28 1999 7:8 IST)
MUDIT: It's a myth that Aamir interferes with a director and, as far as I am concerned, I like it if he does because it questions things that I have taken for granted. I get an opportunity to cross-check if I am correct. Incidentally Aamir always gives the final veto to the director.
John Mathew Matthan (Mon Jun 28 1999 7:19 IST)
Thanks for being with me. Bye.
Photographs: Jewella C Miranda
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