<span class=normal>Rajneeti - An ambitious film<BR><br><p class=clear>&nbsp;</p>A couple of reasons for that, actually. One is that while Ive dealt with political subjects in a couple of earlier screenplays, this is the first time that Im tackling a plot that deals squarely with the electoral politics of the Hindi heartland. When Prakash (Jha) invited me to write Rajneeti with him in 2004, my first reaction was to decline politely, as I didnt have any useful understanding or even familiarity with that political culture. I mean barring what one gleans from the news media. However, Prakash knows that territory like the back of his hand - having observed it for decades and now being an active participant in elections there. He assured me that hed educate me about the ground reality and since he was to co-write it too, he was responsible for ensuring that the script and the film would have a credible political flavour. That made me comfortable taking it on. Two, apart from the backdrop, the scale of the human drama too is immense. Not just does it deal with the shenanigans, skulduggery and manipulation that go on during the run-up to an election, but the dramatic canvas includes sub-plots of relationships that get rocked and buffeted by electoral imperatives, often with tragic personal consequences. The challenge therefore was to weave in the stories of these interesting characters into the political manoeuvres and keep it credible. </span>