Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra’s autobiography is steeped in secularism

The memoirs of the filmmaker who gave us 'Rang De Basanti' 15 years ago, a heady tale of idealistic youth fighting a second freedom movement

At the turn of the millennium, when the Hindi film industry was looking for new voices to break the monotony of mindless violence and NRI romance, Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra emerged as a filmmaker who was unapologetic about the roots of Hindi cinema and dared to tell original and relevant stories. Rang De Basanti (2006), Delhi-6 (2009) and Bhaag Milkha Bhaag (2013) are significant landmarks for anybody researching the relationship between popular cinema and society. When intolerance and hatred for the other was gaining currency, Mehra was showing a mirror to society, urging: “Rehna tu, hai jaisa tu”. . Mehra’s recently released autobiography, The Stranger in the Mirror (Rupa), is laced with the honesty and warmth that mark his films. Written in collaboration with marketer-author Reeta Ramamurthy Gupta, the memoir chronicles an eventful life that has helped shape Mehra’s persuasive narratives that negotiate human imperfections.