Synopsis
Sunil and Malti love each other. A marriage
of choice, it is clear that the early years were
very happy. Now they have the usual indicators
of a good middle class life: double income, single
kid, nice apartment, decent job, some good friends,
washing machine, desktop computer and car. But
while there is still comfort, after ten years,
the spark is gone. Life has become a chore. Sunil
tries to do his part. But even making love to
his wife has become a dreary duty, one best avoided.
Knowing that this upsets her, he tries all kinds
of tricks to ensure that the opportunity does
not occur. Malti, hurt, tries to talk to him,
to be alluring, to negotiate, but to no avail.
And then…it all changes. Suddenly Sunil
is all loving and amorous - he is no longer bored.
Malti is pleased until Sunil tells her of his
new obsession. She is shocked. His plan is unacceptable.
She will bear no part in it. But Sunil cannot
do this alone. He cajoles, he pleads, he yells
and finally, he tricks her into capitulation…The
dice is thrown. But gambling, as Sunil discovers,
is never predictable…
Mixed Doubles is Rajat Kapoor’s
third film after Private Detective and
Raghu Romeo. Speaking about the film,
Rajat, an alumnus of the Film and Television Institute
of India (FTII), Pune says that's it's essentially
a film about marriage - about a couple Sunil and
Malti played by Ranvir Shorey and Konkana Sen
Sharma - about their marriage, which is ten years
old. It goes through certain crises and comes
back to what is normal. In terms of treatment
and style, Rajat says hopefully that Mixed
Doubles is a funny film. It should be a funny
film because things like marriage and sexuality
should not be treated in a very serious or heavy-handed
manner. It's as much fun as anything else, just
like a sport or anything else in life. There is
no 'great emotion' - nothing is a 'great emotion'.
Everything is very mundane, very comic...when
it can be. At least that's what he'd like to believe,
what he’d like to see in relationships...in
life, he adds.
 The
film has the element of wife swapping but before
one can delve deeper, lead actress Konkana Sen
Sharma is quick to say that the film is not about
wife swapping. It's about marriage - the representation
of marriage. If the film was about wife swapping
purely for the purpose of titillation then she
would have had a problem doing it. But she didn't
feel like that and trusted Rajat completely so
that was that.
In terms of casting I've been very lucky to
have such wonderful actors, says Rajat. Everybody
- Ranvir and Konkana, especially, because they're
practically in almost every frame of the film.
They're wonderful not only in terms of what they
do and what they're capable of giving but beyond,
as people, as human beings...as friends to have
around on set. They have this great energy and
belief for the project and when you have belief
and trust then you can really push the boundaries
and take it further...one's own performance and
the film as a whole. Apart from them, Koel, Saurabh
Shukla, Vinay Pathak, Naseer saab...a lot of very
talented actors came in just because they're generous
and they were friends. And I believe everyone
has been cast right, which makes the look very
real...like it's our world.
Mixed Doubles also sees Rajat play a
key role himself in the film. Though he has acted
in several ads and feature films - Dil Chahta
Hai and Kisna among others, this is
the first time he's directing himself on screen.
Speaking about the experience, he says it's been
very difficult to act and direct simultaneously.
It was my first time and something I don't want
to repeat very soon. Moreover, when you're in
front of a camera you're not sure anymore. You
tend to be less objective and in the course might
lose track of the film as whole. The chemistry
between the actors however was very real...so
that helped. Chemistry is a strange thing though.
When two people get together, it's not just them;
it's the chemistry amongst the entire cast and
crew. Everybody's chemistry has to work for the
scene to work...and even if there are one or two
people on the unit who are not with it, it ends
up affecting the entire unit.
Speaking about the look of the film, Production
Designer Meenal Agarwal adds, Rajat's last two
films had so much of red and yellow that this
time, the starting point was to completely avoid
them. With Sunil and Malti's house, it was decided
to exclude red and make it completely normal like
an everyday house. Kalpana and Vinod's house on
the other hand would be a complete opposite to
this. The colour red would only be brought in
when they come into the picture so that would
be nice because there would be a subtle change
in one's perception in an emotional sense. Maybe
nobody would notice the fact that there is no
red in the beginning of the film but it might
bring in a change because suddenly you have this
warm colour. It was an interesting concept to
play with and it was fun yet painful because one
went on shoots outdoors and tried to avoid the
reds. And then Kalpana and Vinod's house becomes
a completely exaggerated kind of space...a little
far removed from the reality of things. Yeah,
so red comes in with a big splash on the wall...and
then in little bits like the lining on the bed
cover and little props. It then even comes into
Sunil and Malti's house, like in the form of the
red flowers...
 Continuing,
she says that most people think if you're a good
production designer, you make things look beautiful
and pretty. In fact, that's the biggest misconception
about production design. You succeed in design
if you convey the space of the characters and
the reality of the characters more than making
beautiful curtains or beautiful walls...you can
tell the story further with that. And it depends
so much on the camera work. What you convey and
how you design is taken further through the camera
person.
The film has an extremely competent technical
crew - the cinematographer Rafey Mahmood has been
Rajat's cameramen for his earlier two films as
well. Resul Pookutty (Everybody Say's I'm Fine!,
Black, Zinda) is in charge of sound
design and the film is edited by two time National
Award Winning Editor, Suresh Pai. Speaking about
Suresh, Rajat says that Suresh is one of the most
agreeable, mild and gentle fellows you would ever
meet - and he brings his personality to the edit
room.
Rajat says he hopes Mixed Doubles would
be a film about our times, our lives...about us.
If a film manages to tell you something about
your life...if it touches you or moves you...
makes you laugh...then it's worth it! A film should
be able to make you see things differently, everyday
things, in a new light. Make you look at people
differently - your wife, your husband... If your
film accomplishes that then it's more than you
can expect from a film or any work of art. And
if it can make you laugh...then wow, that's a
bonus! So one hopes one has ended up making a
film that does some of that if not all.
Mixed Doubles releases all over on February
10, 2006.
To
know more about the film visit www.mixeddoublesthefilm.com
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