We couldn’t even find out where the books were printed. Beyond that, either no one knew who the writer was or no one wanted to tell us. And so we tried reverse tracing the books from the market, but only got to the wholesale dealers. I tried researching Mastram first in Bhopal, then in Delhi, places where I had contacts. We went hunting for small, old-time publishers. If the film does well, they’ll get paid.Ĭonsidering there is very little information available on the man himself, what sort of research went into the making of the film? All the crew members are friends who’ve come aboard without any personal fee. I approached Ajay Rai, the producer of the film, whom I knew since the Gangs of Wasseypur days. So we made a fictional account of his life. After much research, however, I found nothing on the man himself. Reading the books, I often wondered, what does this man tell his family? Many years later, when Gangs of Wasseypur was in post-production, I came back to this idea. Also, that was the age when we were all curious about sex. We had just a few ways of entertaining ourselves.

In the 1990s, every home did not have a TV set. If interested, find some old copies of Mastram instead.The idea for Mastram came many years ago when I was in school. The film does offer bits of humour, even if below-the-belt.īut do you really want to go to the theatres to watch a film that doesn't add up to anything worthwhile? I would suggest not. Rahul Bagga and Tara Berry are convincing for most of their parts in the movie. There are, nonetheless, a few high points in the film. He is happy that he has fodder for one more Mastram story.

The protagonist, who is supposed to be a 'clean' writer, is forced to write porn when he sees his wife having sex with his friend. The developments in Rajaram aka Mastram's life are too abrupt to develop any emotional connect with the audience.Īnother sore point is the stereotypical objectification of women in the movie as mere sex objects. Secondly, Mastram also lets down people looking forward to watch the life of a writer like Mastram. The film doesn't even cater to people looking for the relieving Mastram era of 1980s. Not enough to qualify for an erotica.Įven in the most hard-hitting story of Mastram, the one where he talks about his own wife's sexual adventures, all you see is a messy Tara Alisha Berry (Rajaram's wife) mixing sex with cooking in a fling with her husband's friend. There is some skin show, stripping and heaving that you are subjected to, but there's only so much.

The movie falls short of an erotica (or porn, whichever term you prefer) you can enjoy. First of all, all fans of Mastram planning a nostalgic visit to the theatres will be disappointed.

Mastram stories