After unveiling the first look of his film on Adolf Hitler at the Berlin Film Festival, its maker says the film doesn’t glorify Hitler, but juxtaposes him against Gandhi’s ideology of peace
For the first Indian film to deal with the sensitive subject of Hitler’s life, the actors of Dear Friend Hitler have a fairly simple approach to their parts in the movie.
Instead of focussing on the controversial aspect of the subject, they’ve focussed on getting into the skin of their characters. After all, if Indian actors are to portray themselves convincingly on screen as Hitler and his associates, their ability to play their part well will make all the difference.
As Dr Anil Sharma, the film’s producer, shares, “When we took the out-takes of the film to the Berlin Film Festival, the audience was excited at the prospect of seeing a Bollywood actor play the part of Hitler. There was curiosity about it. If Ben Kingsley, who was British, continues to be the face of Gandhi in cinema, there is no reason why the audience will not be able to accept Raghuvir Yadav as the German dictator, here or in Germany.”
Yadav, who plays Hitler as he was in the last 10 days of his life, understands that it’s a difficult proposition, but hopes he’s been able to cross the cultural barrier. “It was difficult to play someone as complex as Hitler. I didn’t know what to focus on — the gestures, the character or the language. Finally, I had to get into the spirit of the character to bring all the nuances,” he says.
And if Neha Dhupia is to be believed, “There is very little of me or Raghuvir in the film, or so we have tried. Because this is about the characters we play. The idea is to be able to overcome the obstacles to communicate the emotion.” Neha, who plays Hitler’s wife, Eva Braun, in the film, adds, “The audience has to be entertained, and if a story is well told, nothing else matters.”
The outing at the film fest also gave the filmmakers a chance to clear some misconceptions about their movie. “We clarified that the movie is not about Hitler’s ideology, but how his ideology of violence conflicts with Gandhi’s ideology of peace. There is no glorification of Hitler’s character,” says Sharma.
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