Richie Mehta: If you care about the subjects as you're conveying their stories, you give them veto power over you to stop it

Time of India

6 days ago

Filmmaker Richie Mehta stood before an audience recently in Mumbai at and spoke about the intent behind storytelling.
He said that with Delhi Crime, 'I wanted to show the world this - you (the world) think India is gangrape and sexual molestation of women when you show up here.
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You do not realise that there are women solving the crime in a manner that you have never seen on Earth.
You think India is a poor country. There is poverty here. There is also the best artistic talent on Earth. I'm going to show you both.'
That intention - the duality, the dignity, and the truth of the case is what became Delhi Crime.
Talking about his approach, Richie added, 'If you care about the subjects as you're conveying their stories, you give them veto power over you to stop it."
Excerpts from his masterclass at the recently concluded Waves Summit in Mumbai -
'I told retd. Delhi Police Commissioner that I don't think anyone should be doing the story of this case, ever'
Talking about the 2012 gang rape and murder of a young student in Delhi, Richie said 'I was still moved by this, like all of us were." He returned to Delhi to do research and met a family friend - retired Police commissioner
who had supervised the investigation.
'I have a concept, I'd like to pursue it,' Mehta told him. 'I just have some questions about protocol in the Delhi Police.'
Neeraj Kumar replied, 'I have a better idea for you. I think you should do the story of the case itself.' Richie said, 'I don't think anyone should be doing the story of this case, ever.' but Neeraj Kumar told him, 'I will introduce you to the woman who solved the crime. I will give you case files, the sessions court verdict, read it.
Meet her. If you think there's a story here, I'll open this whole world to you.'
'I haven't met a superhero before or after her'
Richie read it.
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And he couldn't stop, and said,"I went back to the flat I was staying at in Delhi and thought, 'Oh my God.' I started reading it. I have never read something like this in my life - how 12 officers of an institution that many of us don't have much faith in came together for one week and said, 'Evil has reared its ugly head. We are gonna make sure this never happens again.' And they were led by a woman. I met her (then DCP Chhaya Sharma who investigated the case).
I haven't met a superhero before or after that."
'Sitting in police stations in neutral situations, you realise they're just human beings, suffering as much as anybody else'
The investigation wasn't just about solving a case - it was, Richie realised, an analysis of why such crimes happen. 'If you look at both, you answer all the questions. It was a life experience.'
He began four years of research, splitting time between Canada and India, shadowing Delhi Police officers, sitting in their offices for hours. 'I don't know if any of you have gone to a police station for reasons that aren't terrible.
If you just go in a neutral circumstance and watch, it's very interesting. You realise they are just human beings suffering as much as anybody else. Once in a while, there's one or two who are trying to do the right thing.
'
He was struck by the working conditions of police - who sometimes had no electricity, officers paying for their own fuel, taking bus to reach crime scenes. 'Simple details like this are the reason I did Delhi Crime.
Under the auspices of a much bigger issue - sexual violence, of course.'
'Delhi Crime is about the world that these people inhabit'
When at a film festival, an HBO executive who was part of shows like Game of Thrones, Wire in Los Angeles became Richie's mentor, the idea of a web series came up.
Richie shared, 'He told me - 'I'd love to see this as a series.' I said, 'I don't know how to write a series.' He said, 'I'll teach you.' Out of the goodness of his heart, once in a while, we meet these people.'
The mentor shared research from The Wire and broke down the difference between film and series - 'In a film, plot comes first, then character, then world. In a series, it's the exact opposite.'
That idea - that a series is a world you build and your characters inhabit changed Richie's approach.
'I constructed Delhi Crime according to that. It's about the world that these people inhabit. That's why I take digressions - like a five-minute argument about cutting a chicken's throat - which has nothing to do with the plot, but everything to do with the lives of these officers.'
No one would fund it. 'Too controversial,' Richie said. 'Nobody wanted to touch sexual violence in a series, understandably.' But he was determined to make it entirely in India. 'All of the talent was Indian. Nobody was from abroad. That was a big goal for me, because I'm convinced India has the best talent on Earth.'
There was one rule for him - 'I will never show the crime. Because it is not about the violence. It is about the people fixing the violence.
The other side of the coin.'
Before proceeding, Richie insisted on meeting Nirbhaya's parents. 'I said, 'Tell me to stop and I'll stop.' That was four and a half years into the process. It was very important for me. To deal with imposter syndrome, you have to give your subject veto power at every stage.
The mother told me 'If you do exactly what you say you're gonna do, I support you.'
Later, before the series released, he showed it to her.
'I said, 'Tell me to change anything, I'll change it, and she said - No.''
I've made promises to the people these projects are based on. I cannot break those promises
The same principle guided Poacher, Richie's follow-up series set in Kerala and based on real-life wildlife crime-fighters. 'After Delhi Crime won Emmy, I thought if I get one chance to leverage with no questions asked. What do I burn it on? I believe in wildlife conservation.' He approached wildlife officers - 'How can I help you?' They said, 'Show how difficult our lives are as we try to save species.
There will never be any reward - other than what our heart tells us.
'
He built Poacher like Delhi Crime - as a procedural thriller. 'Delhi Crime was a shot in the dark. This time I said, let me do it in a more refined way.'
For Richie, storytelling comes with responsibility. 'From the first film onwards, each one gets more difficult. I've made promises to the people these projects are based on. I cannot break those promises.
If anyone forces me to, I'll turn on them. Everyone on my projects understands that. The intent is pure.'
'Nobody wants to see an elephant shot in the head'
After Poacher premiered, it became a rallying point for wildlife crime fighters globally.
Richie shares,'They said, 'We've never seen anything like this. This is our story. Can you tell our story now?'' Richie spent the last year and a half traveling to wildlife crime conferences, meeting conservationists most people have never heard of.
'These are the most noble people I've ever met. In a polarising world, I thought - maybe we can all agree on this. Nobody wants to see an elephant shot in the head.'