Not Madhuri Dixit But This The Kashmir Files Actress Was Supposed To Lead Prakash Jha's Mrityudand

Prakash Jha is a national award-winning director who has several critically acclaimed films to his credit. The filmmaker has helmed classic movies like Raajeneeti, Gangaajal, Aarakshan and the Bobby Deol starrer web series Aashram. In a new interview, Prakash Jha opens up about the film he considers Mrityudand to be a ‘turning point’ in his career. 

Prakash Jha opens up on Mrityudand’s budget 

In an interview with ANI, Prakash Jha opened up about why he thinks Mrityudand is a turning point in his career. The director recalled how the film, which narrates the life of three women in a society dominated by patriarchy, came out to be made on a higher budget than he thought. He said, “What has happened in Mrityudand is that until then I was happy with doing pure cinema, telling my stories the way they are like Damul and Parinati and many years later I did another film Matto Ki Saikil, that’s pure cinema.”

He then elaborated on what he thinks ‘pure cinema’ means. He added, “What has happened in Mrityudand is that until then I was happy with doing pure cinema, telling my stories the way they are like Damul and Parinati and many years later I did another film Matto Ki Saikil, that’s pure cinema.” The filmmaker recalled how the film ended up being made on a higher budget than he had anticipated. He recalled, “When I wrote the screenplay of Mrityudand, it got approved for a loan but I realized because the market had opened, new technologies had come it had become expensive. You can’t make a film in Rs 12 lakhs. It will cost you Rs 25-30 lakhs and you have to earn at least Rs 40 lakhs to recover.” 

Prakash Jha reveals Madhuri Dixit was not the first choice for the lead role in Mrityudand

In the same interview, the Mrityudand director recalled how Madhuri Dixit got on board in the film. He recollected, “I had signed Pallavi Joshi for Mrityudand but I just couldn’t make it and then I just met Subhash Ghai one day and he asked me ‘What are you making?’ So I narrated him the story of Mrityudand and he liked it. He asked me to make this film with Madhuri Dixit and then he (Ghai) introduced me to Madhuri on a film’s set. She was shooting for the song Dhak Dhak Karne Laga and in between the breaks I narrated her the story and by the end of the day she said yes and then it started.” 

Released in 1997, Mrityudand starred Madhuri Dixit in the lead role along with Shabana Azmi, Ayub Khan, Mohan Agashe and Om Puri. The film was set in Bihar and was a social commentary on social injustice in the country. It remains one of Madhuri’s most critically acclaimed roles to date.