A question of answers With Kalpana Lajmi and Rahul Dev on the sets of Kyon

It is hard to spot director Kalpana Lajmi amongst the crowd of twenty-year olds. In a beige-coloured Tee-shirt, slacks, sunglasses and Reebok shoes, you tend to dismiss the fact that this is the same woman who gave Indian cinema critically acclaimed films like Rudaali and Darmiyaan.

We are on the sets of her latest film, about 'erosion of cultural values amongst the youth of today' titled Kyon with Rahul Dev, Sanober Kabir and newcomers Chaitanya Chowdhary, Pratiksha Patel, Sachit Patil and Amit Jain.

A school in Central Mumbai is transformed into a college basketball court for today's shoot. On the agenda is a song picturisation with newcomers Chaitanya Chowdhary and Pratiksha Patel. Pratiksha is supposed to score a basket while Chaitanya cheers her on.

Lajmi fumes when she spots Pratiksha applying too much makeup. "You cannot look like a princess. You are supposed to be playing basket ball," she yells at the newcomer and the make-up assistant.

After three rehearsals and two takes, the shot is canned. Pratiksha, who has lived in Britain for most of her life, is delighted with the progress. "I always wanted to become an actress. It has been my dream for the past 19 years. I was so emotional when I canned my first shot that I began sobbing," she laughs.

Kyon also stars Rahul Dev as the main protagonist. While he is busy lunching, Pratiksha informs us about his role. "He plays a cop who is held responsible for the murder of his unfaithful wife."

Chaitanya Chowdhary has also acted in Dev Anand's Love at Times Square with Salman Khan. "In Kyon, I play the son of a politician," he says. "My character is carefree, totally laidback. In the first half, I am a confident guy, the decision-maker of the group. However post-interval, as the film progresses, certain incidents transform me into a meek, insecure person."

The director conducted workshops with the newcomers for a month. Sanober Kabir, who debuted with Mother elaborates, "Initially, Kalpanaji would be rehearse the scenes. Later, her assistants helped out. That improved our confidence and comfort levels; I'm sure the improvement will show on screen."

Sachit Patil, a well-known face on television and theatre, joins in. "I play a boy who suffers from an complex because he comes from a middle-class family."

Patil, who bears an uncanny resemblance to Style star Sharman Joshi, laughs when he is reminded of his looks. "Many people confuse me with Sharman. Actually, the part which Saahil Khan played in Style was originally offered to me. But after two days of trial, the makers realised that Sharman and I looked like brothers and I had to opt out because they had signed Sharman before me."

Lajmi elabourates about her film, "The film revolves around the lives of five youngsters and their relations with their parents. It is about how a prank leads to crime and that crime leads to some one's death." The film also depicts the constant need of today's youth for excitement and in this regard, also broaches the topic of drug addiction and its effects.

Incidentally, Riya Sen [Style] and Neha Dubey [Monsoon Wedding] were signed for the film. "Since the film dealt with a mother-daughter relationships, I thought of approaching their respective mothers, Moon Moon Sen and Lilette Dubey for the roles. Lilette was busy and Neha dropped out fearing that she would be lost in the group.

"Moon Moon had taken the signing amount too and was present at the song recordings. All of a sudden, Riya and Moon Moon dropped out of the film, not informing me, but my assistant director. I am not at a stage and age to run after them asking for a reason for this kind of behaviour. I am more than satisfied with the efforts of this lot of newcomers."

Lajmi also had to rewrite most of the script that writer Patrick Biswas had left unpolished. "I am not saying that Patrick is not good -- he has done a good job. But the man is very lazy," she says.

With music by Bhupen Hazarika and the lyrics by Prasoon Joshi, the film is expected to be complete by December 2002.

Hazarika says, "As this was not a formula film, I wanted to experiment with modern sound and music. I have recorded songs with Asha Bhosle, KK, Alka Yagnik and Sonu Nigam."

Lajmi has also roped in the Delhi-based band Silk Route as guest composers for Kyon.