After scripting a drama around the Gangs of Wasseypur, Akhilesh Jaiswal will make his directorial debut with Mastram, a fictional biography of a real life pulp writer whose erotica has been bestsellers on railway stations and roadside stalls for decades.
The author, whose identity is still a mystery, sold many risque titles under his pseudonym. His books are available on stands even today so Akhilesh didn't have to go looking for props. "I've read a few too and would wonder about Mastram's identity and how he explained his vocation to his family," says Akhilesh , who after GOW tried tracking him without success.
"I didn't find him and discovered even his publishers didn't use their real names because while these books made money, they weren't the kind you'd want to be associated with," says the director, who then set about giving Mastram a credible back story—a bank clerk with dreams of becoming a litterateur, who in an attempt to 'spice up' his story ends up authoring the first pornographic series in Hindi.
The film's first trailer is out online with a 'strictly for adults' disclaimer. Akhilesh is prepared for an 'A' certificate and doesn't expect the censors to ask for too many cuts because the bold scenes have been aesthetically shot. "I wasn't making a B or C-grade film, and neither a Grand Masti which I hated for its double innuendo laden dialogue. I loved Dedh Ishqiya," he says, happy that a Honey Singh track, Achko Machko, used in the trailer, has caught on in a big way.
One of the biggest hurdles was the casting. A popular TV actor opted out after the narration saying he didn't have a "good feeling about the film". Several starlets turned down the film before Kapil Dubey, Rahul Bagga and Tara-Alisha Berry agreed to live out Mastram's journey.
"We had a modest budget so didn't approach the big stars. We wrapped up the film in a monthlong schedule in Manali," he says.
After the trailer launch, Akhilesh has been flooded with offers from producers, wondering if he has another Mastram they can make. But his next script is a realistic crime drama in the GOW zone but with an urban backdrop. What about a GOW3? "No, that story is over," he says with finality.