Gurinder Chadha

Gurinder Chadha at Sikh International Film Festival

It’s that time of the year again when the annual Sikh International Film Festival takes place – and this year one of the featured guests is film-maker Gurinder Chadha who is a panelist at the inaugural Leadership Summit and is being honored with an Arts award. at the Sikh Heritage Gala on October 15 at Cipriani.

Lassi with Lavina caught up with the hugely popular director in London to get a heads-up on the festival which starts tomorrow.  Here’s Gurinder Chadha on her award, the Sikh Film Festival, the changing face of Southall and – ‘Bend it Like Beckham’ – the Musical.

A Quickie Interview with Gurinder Chadha

Q: What are your thoughts on getting the Sikh Heritage Award?

Gurinder Chadha: I think it’s always wonderful to be honored for what you’re doing and always wonderful to be honored by your own. So yes, I’m very pleased!

Q: How far do you think the Sikh community has come?

Gurinder Chadha: The Sikh community has made huge strides in all kinds of areas globally and I think it’s part of the Sikh ethic to go out and forge new ground and  be warrior-like. I think that’s kind of what I do and the reason I’ve been able to break so many boundaries and barriers is because I have that Sikh fighting spirit in me!

Q: How is the community creating awareness of the issues important to it, especially with regard to discrimination or hate crimes?

Gurinder Chadha: Well, of course any Indian has those concerns but the Sikhs have very much a can-do attitude – we have a very socialist kind of outlook – we go all over the world with our langar system and the redistribution of wealth and I think it’s a very human, humane philosophy that Sikhs are born into.

Q: What do you think is the importance of Sikh Film Festivals in the diaspora and how much do you think they can help in spotlighting the Sikh identity?

Gurinder Chadha: There are Sikh Film Festivals in the UK, as well as in California, New York, Vancouver and Toronto. It’s all good because it shows how active we are and also how important the visual image is to Sikhs.

Gurinder Chadha with Sendhil Ramamurthy and Goldy Notay on the sets of 'It's a Wonderful Afterlife'

Q: You grew up in Southall and I was wondering how that neighborhood had changed since you were a kid?

Gurinder Chadha: Well, it’s changed enormously in that it’s a very confident Asian community –  a lot of people have done very well in Southall  and so many of the villages and towns surrounding have big mansions which are populated by people who’ve  made their money in Southall. It also has a great satellite appeal – many people go for food, shopping, for the movies, for the gurudwaras, the mandirs, and the masjids  – so it’s very much the pulse, the heartbeat of the Sikh Punjabi community of London.

Q: Tell us about your upcoming movie about Indian independence and Partition in 2012 , which I heard is based on ‘Freedom at Midnight‘?

Gurinder Chadha: It’s based on a popular text and some original stories too but it’s looking at the role of British  in the time leading up to Partition, focusing  on the timeline from  January  47 to  August 47 and what exactly happened at that time and how Partition came about. So it’s a British period piece about why India was divided.

Q: So that‘s a different kind of movie for you, different from what you have done before. A challenge to go into the past really?

Gurinder Chadha: Aboslutely –yes, yes.  Most people want me to do “Bend it Like Beckham’ over and over again!

Q: Well, we all love ‘Bend it Like Beckham’!

Gurinder Chadha: The good news is that we are doing the stage musical version of ‘Bend it Like Beckham’ – West End and Broadway!

Q: Here I hope you’ll take the love story a bit further and not leave us in the dark, wondering about what happens to Jess and Joe. We want to see them happily married!

Gurinder Chadha:  (Laughs) The good thing about doing a stage musical is that you have to go much deeper on the emotions for the songs so for people who liked the movie it will be an altogether thrilling kind of musical – it will give them the movie  - plus a lot more.

Q: Do you have the casting in place for the musical?

Gurinder Chadha: It’s still in the writing stage and composing the music and working with choreographers.

Q: You are married to the Japanese-American film maker Paul Mayeda Berges.  In an intercultural marriage, what’s the food served on the table?

Gurinder Chadha: (Laughs) Everything!  Chinese, Japanese, Indian, Korean, English, Thai, Vietnamese – we have it all!

Q: So it must be a fun life – it must be like eating out everyday?

Gurinder Chadha: Even my children eat all this.

Q: Speaking of children, you’re the mother of four-year-old twins – how tough is life with them – and how much fun is it?

Gurinder Chadha: Oh, it’s brilliant – brilliant! It’s a shame I can’t be more productive in my work because I enjoy every moment I can with my children. So I don’t like working when they come home and I never work weekends any more – I used to work a lot more before but now I just enjoy the children!

Q: Your kids are named Ronak and Kumiko. One Indian name and one Japanese. Was it some kind of a deal with your husband?

Gurinder Chadha: No, we never had any alternative names!

Q: Finally, as you head out to New York for the Sikh International Film Festival, can you tell me what you like the most about the city?

Gurinder Chadha: Oh, I love the vibrancy, the diversity and the fact that it looks like a movie set! I have some dear cousins and dear friends so I always feel very much at home. I’ve had some wonderful times in New York and I look forward to going there!

(For those who may have been living on Mars and don’t know what ‘Bend It Like Beckham’ is, it  was the highest grossing British-financed, British-distributed film ever in the UK box-office, prior to the success of ‘Slumdog Millionaire’.  It was a critical and commercial success internationally, topping the box-office charts in the U.S., Australia, New Zealand, Switzerland and South Africa, and winning audience favorite film awards at the Locarno, Sydney and Toronto film festivals.

It received a Golden Globe Nomination for Best Picture (Musical or Comedy), a BAFTA Nomination for Best British Film, a European Film Academy Nomination for Best Film, and a Writers Guild of America Nomination for Best Original Screenplay.)

Sikh International Film Festival – 2011

A scene from 'Jagjeet' at the Sikh International Film Festival in New York

The Sikh Art & Film Foundation presents its eighth annual Sikh International Film Festival and inaugural Leadership Summit, October 13‐15, 2011 at the Asia Society and Museum. The panelists at this first-ever summit include Gurinder Chadha, Dr. Mohanbir S. Sawhney, Distinguished Professor, Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University, and Dr. Gurvendra S. Suri, Founder and CEO, Optimal Solutions Integration, Inc.

Images have power and can capture real stories of real people – a living testimony.  Powerful stories of the Sikh community are being told by the diaspora across the globe, probing important issues. The festival showcases 14 documentary and short films from established and new filmmakers who bring these concerns into the open. Premiere films debuting include Harpeet Kaur’s feature-length documentary A Little Revolution, a poignant tale of the children of farmers who have committed suicide. Canadian Soldiers Sikhs, director David Gray’s chronicle of ten Sikh men in the Canadian army struggling through enlistment, training, and the battlefield. Even short films can convey an important message as shown by the film ‘Let it Out’ – a music video addressing the bullying which happens in schools.

The two day film festival is followed by the Heritage Gala at Cipriani Wall Street on October 15, where Gurinder Chadha will receive an Arts Award for her work. Other Sikh Heritage Awardees are Jaspal Bindra (CEO, Standard Chartered Bank Asia), and Navtej Sarna (author, The Exile; India’s Ambassador to Israel). This year’s Chief Guest is Preneet Kaur, Minister of State for External Affairs, India.

At the Sikh Heritage Gala, winning films in the category of Best Short Film and Best Documentary will be recognized with cash prizes. The Sikh Art & Film Foundation supports the work of filmmakers with cash prizes and screening fees totaling $15,000.  Sukhbir, the Prince of Bhangra, will be performing at the gala.

More details about the Sikh International Film Festival here

Related Articles:
Celebrating a Way of Life

A Little Revolution at Sikh International Film Festival

Madhuri Dixit Photo (C) Lavina Melwani

Where is Madhuri Dixit?

Is Madhuri Dixit, Bollywood Superstar, really moving back to India?

Economies and nations can fall, but there is frenzied speculation in the Indian media about this earth-shattering move. The reasons for the move are being analyzed with much indepth analysis by media seers and gossip columnists. Chill, folks! This is the new global age when anyone who can buy an air-ticket can fly wherever they like and for whatever reasons they like!

Meanwhile, one lucky fan in Denver managed to come face to face with the Superstar – in the shoe store! And she heard it right from Madhuri’s mouth – yes, she is moving back to India! This story has all the old-fashioned magic of a fan meeting an unreachable star…truly the world is full of random surprises….

For the past year Sadhana Nandi, who had moved to Denver, had hoped to come across her favorite star – but it never happened. Then on October 2, while going for a stroll with her husband Kapil, on a whim they wandered into DSW – the store which sells designer shoes at warehouse prices – close to the Park Meadows Mall.  “That one decision got me to meet my favorite actress!” says Sadhana.

There surrounded by shoes, was Madhuri Dixit in a simple white top and blue jeans – wearing no makeup – not even lipstick – but looking gorgeous all the same. With her were her mother, husband Ram, and two cute young sons – both busily playing hand-held video games while sitting quietly on the floor next to their granny who was seated on a low seat trying on shoes.

Star Power – Madhuri Dixit in the Aisles!

Here in Sadhana Nandi’s own words is the story of this brief encounter in the shoe aisles.

“I met Madhuri Dixit yesterday when she was shopping for shoes with her family here in Denver… OMG… She is so down-to-earth and it was really nice to see her select shoes for her mom and tie those for her.

Madhuri and her husband were selecting the shoes for Madhuri’s mom and she would bend down and tie the laces of the sneakers so that her mom could try out various shoes… I found this especially sweet because I remembered my mom… she is back in India and I miss her a lot.

Madhuri’s husband was seeking her suggestions with his shoe choices, and they looked like a normal middle-class Indian family who went out for shopping on a Sunday just like everybody else!

I did not know if I should go and talk to her or not… I was trying to contemplate if I should give her the privacy and let her shop normally or just walk up to her and tell her that I am her fan – which she already has heard a million times from millions of other fans!

My husband was like… ‘It is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for you… she is going back to India and you can never be anywhere near her like this…’ (I mean we were literally in the same aisle!)

A Fan Meets Madhuri Dixit

I finally summoned the courage and spoke to her… she was very nice and not dismissive at all. I asked her if I could take a picture with her and she very sweetly declined,  saying that she doesn’t take pictures. At that point, I did not know what to do and was like “Uh, ok… no problem” and tried to slip away… when she smiled.  Oh My God! That smile is amazing – and then she said “Nice meeting you!”

My husband then asked me if I at least said – ‘ Nice to meet you too!’ or if I just acted like an idiot!?

I said, ‘Come on…. that is not fair… She has so much experience meeting fans… and I do not have any experience meeting celebrities… I have no idea how to behave when I am around them!’

Bon Voyage, Madhuri Dixit!

In fact, just couple of days earlier, we had read in some news article that Madhuri was going back to India and I had sadly told my husband that even though we were in Denver – we never got to see her even once. The first thing my husband said in the store when we spotted her… ‘You ALWAYS get what you want… don’t you? You just mentioned that you wanted to meet Madhuri two days back – and there she is!’

Before leaving, my husband did ask Madhuri if they were moving to India… and she said, ‘Yes, we are.’ She was smiling the whole time.”

So, soon Denver will be losing its natural, unaffected beauty with the million dollar smile. The main visual image which stays with one on hearing this story is of Madhuri Dixit, Bollywood Superstar, wandering through a shoe store, putting on the sneakers on her mother’s feet and tying the laces for her.

That’s the charm of Madhuri, her absolutely down-to-earth mother-daughter-wife persona, her endearing human qualities, the dazzling smiles she doles out for free.

Bon voyage, Madhuri Dixit! Denver’s loss is Mumbai’s gain!

Related Article:
Madhuri Dixit’s Wonderful Life

Parampara -  Celebrating a Dance Tradition with Hema Malini, Esha & Ahana

What can be better than seeing the wonderful Hema Malini performing Indian classical dance live on stage? Watching Hema performing Indian classical dance live on stage with her two daughters Esha and Ahana Deol! Three for the price of one you could say!

For New Yorkers this will be a unique experience as the famous mother and daughters have never performed together in the US before. Hema Malini is known to generations as the quintessential superstar and the Bollywood Dream Girl  - and also one of the most well-known dancers in Indian classical dance. It will be an intriguing and rich experience to see the two generations performing together.

A Trio of Talents

This concert has been dreamed up by SAMAA (South Asian Music and Arts Association), a new organization which wants to keep dance and music alive for future generations and familiarize the west with diverse artists from the east.

Parampara – Bharatanatyam and Odissi by Hema Malini and her daughters Esha and Ahana is a rare event which shouldn’t be missed. It’s being held on October 1^st at the  Skirball Center for the Performing Arts.  There’s also a chance to meet the star performers at an after performance reception at Rosenthal Hall, catered by Tulsi. All details are here

“I think this concert is important to me as  I am able to get top Bollywood stars, Hemaji and her daughters to promote South Asian Arts via this pure classical dance show,” says Simmi Bhatia, executive director of SAMAA which is bringing the show here. “I am quite excited since our aim is to promote classical music and arts in a way which could get nearly as much exposure as the regular Bollywood shows,  as well as get noticed by non South Asians as well.”

Meanwhile, while Hema Malini is a household name for all Indians, less is known about Ahana and Esha, the lively daughters of Hema and Bollywood legend Dharmendra. Lassi with Lavina  brings you an exclusive chat with Ahana Deol.

Hema Malini, Esha and Ahana Deol in Parampara

Q and A with Ahana Deol

Has dance always been an important part of your life?

Ahana Deol: It’s definitely been an important part of my life ever since I started performing. It’s a very different experience, a more spiritually beautiful one.

Why is this concert different from others you may have performed in India?

Ahana Deol: This concert is different because I love New York. I have taken many trips there and had some great times, but this trip would be this first one I take to perform my classical Odissi dance there. It would be a brilliant experience and a pleasure to perform there along with my mum and my sister.

What are you going to be performing for New Yorkers?

Ahana Deol: My sister and I perform a classical dance form called Odissi. This is different from what my mother does, which is Bharatanatyam .  We all do few solo items and then we do a jughal bandhi with the three of us together. All these items are based on different stories of our Gods and our love and devotion towards them.

Why do you think organizations like SAMAA are important?

Ahana Deol: They are making space for people to understand, experience not just different types of art forms, but also the culture and diversity of different countries, which people really appreciate.  Just like we appreciate and are eager to experience and enjoy different cultures from around the world. I believe organizations like SAMAA are doing a beautiful job in connecting different cultures and helping people share their form of art.

You worked with Sanjay Leela Bhansali as an assistant director on ‘Guzarish’. What lies ahead for you?

Ahana Deol: I do plan on directing a movie. I have always been passionate about writing and directing. As of now I have been writing a script which is very dear to me.  It’s in the middle stage right now so I’m hoping to start by next year.

Tell me about your clothing line?

Ahana Deol: My clothing line called Ahana.   I recently started another line which is totally eco-friendly and consists of bags, stationary, and yoga accessories. Sticking to eco-friendly things is very important to me.  I am hoping I could do much more with my line in order to spread the message – GO GREEN !

What does your father Dharmendra think of the mother and daughters dance team?

Ahana Deol: My dad totally loves it that three of us dance together. He is not only supportive but he also appreciates the dance form.

Does Dharmendra attend your shows?

Ahana Deol: He has seen us perform a couple of times . It has always been a pleasure to have him as audience, even though the first time he saw me dance I was really nervous , but as soon as the show was over he came up to me and said ‘Great show!’ with a big smile. I was never nervous to dance in front of him after that. His smile is really comforting.

Hema Malini, you and Esha work closely but mothers and daughters don’t always see eye to eye. Do you think the joint performances and camaraderie help the mother-daughters relationship?

Ahana Deol: My mum, Esha, and I are extremely close anyway, and when we get together it’s always so much fun because we are like friends or sisters. For sure there are times when we don’t see eye to eye, but that’s normal. We enjoy fighting also, because the fight is never serious. Definitely traveling, and performing together has made us so much closer and more understanding of each other’s own personality.

New York Indian Film Festival features 'Metropolis@Kolkata"

NYIFF  – Indian Cinema Comes to the Big Apple…

In the city of reinvention, what better way to stand out from the crowd than to reinvent yourself?  As the film festivals focusing on South Asian films have multiplied in the Big Apple, the oldest and most noted showcase of them all, the MIACC Film Festival,  is now known as New York Indian Film Festival (NYIFF) and is focusing on independent and regional films, while still being open to Bollywood blockbusters.  The opening film ‘Do Dooni Chaar’ is a Disney film with Bollywood stars but imbued with the indie spirit.

“It has a new name, ” says Aroon Shivdasani, the Executive Director of Indo-American Arts Council, who founded the 11-year-old festival. “It has a new season  - spring instead of winter; a new Festival Director  - Aseem Chhabra is a film journalist, has been on our Selection Committee for years and is very familiar with Indian film; partnership with NYFA and Whistling Woods; a children’s afternoon; and a Tagore celebration.”

At the NYIFF, 'Raakh Redux'

Filmi Melting Pot

As she points out, the festival adds to New York City’s diversity by presenting independent and Diaspora films, Bollywood’s foray into alternate cinema as well as the partnership between Hollywood and Bollywood.  This year an intriguing development is the inclusion of many regional films in different Indian languages with subtitles in English.

Indian cinema has always been much more than just Bollywood and at The New York Indian Film Festival, which kicks off on May 4 and runs through May 8,  you get to see it in its many avatars. The opening night showcases Disney’s life action film ‘Do Dooni Chaar’ at the Paris Theater, starring the real life couple Rishi Kapoor and Neetu Singh. The stars will walk the red carpet and this will be followed by a gala dinner at Essex House which will be attended by Indian Ambassador to the US, Meera Shankar, and several celebrities.

NYIFF will screen 25 feature films including 15 world and US premieres. Some of these include the US premiere of Sudhir Mishra’s crime drama ‘Yeh Saali Zindagi’, starring Irrfan Khan; A ‘Decent Arrangement’ starring Shabana Azmi; ‘Raakh Redux’, which is a digitally remastered version of Aamir Khan’s early hit which won three National Film Awards.

Documentaries also get full play in the festival with ‘The Bengali Detective’, ‘Made in India’ and ‘Bhopali’ – each of which looks into very different issues. Also screened will be  ‘Karma to Nirvana’,  the second Film in the Holy Kitchen Series by Vikas Khanna,  exploring the food sharing traditions of Hinduism.

Regional Cinema

The Indian  regional cinema also gets centerstage with Marathi, Bengali and Malayalam films. For fans of  Aparna Sen, there’s ‘Iti Mrinalini’ and Rituparno Ghosh buffs can look forward to ‘Nauka Dubi’ which is based on a Tagore story which will close the festival on May 8, which happens to be Rabindranath Tagore’s 150^th birth anniversary.  Closing night at Asia Society will be awards night, followed by an after-party at the Asia Society Cafe.

Rituparno Ghosh's 'Nauka Dubi' at NYIFF

NYIFF Highlights

As NYIFF Director Aseem Chhabra puts it, “We are presenting a wonderful mix of films from India and other parts of the subcontinent as well as the Diaspora – a blend of works by young independent filmmakers and a few masters. The program represents films from Mumbai as well as other regional filmmaking centers in the subcontinent.”

Ask Shivdasani about the highlights of the festival, and how it’s different from other festivals across the US, and she points out several factors: ‘Mira Nair is our face – like Robert De Niro is for Tribeca and Robert Redford is for Sundance,” she says. “We have a diligent screening/selection committee and only screen NY premieres. We also award a special scholarship to an emerging filmmaker to attend New York Film Academy. We team up with the Department of Cinema Studies at Tisch, NYU for post screening discussions as well as for one –minute cell phone films of our festival.”

Rishi Kapoor and Neetu Singh in Disney's 'Do Dooni Chaar' at NYIFF

Masters and Emerging Filmmakers

This year NYIFF is teaming up with noted filmmaker Subash Ghai’s Whistling Woods International, a film institute, to showcase the award-winning shorts of student filmmakers.  As Ghai says, “These graduates will be part of India’s next generation of filmmakers and have commenced their filmmaking journey with these films. I am extremely happy to see the quality of their work.”

Jaya Bachchan in 'Meherjaan' at NYIFF

So there you have it – a feast of Indian cinema for New York film buffs. Are mainstream Americans also getting involved with NYIFF and Indian cinema in general? Says Shivdasani, “There has been a sea change in  the attitude of Americans to Indian cinema.  Bollywood led the way.  However, film aficionados increasingly gravitate towards our festival films; the audiences who view “foreign” films are equally comfortable reading English subtitles on Indian films as they are reading subtitles on French or Italian films.”

For a listing of movies, panel discussions  and stars attending, check out  New York Indian Film Festival

Related Article: Rahul Bose, Aparna Sen and the Japanese Wife.

Freishia Bomanbehram, Rahul Rai, Stefanie Estes, and Osvaldo Hernandez Chavez in 'When Harry Tries to Marry'

Arranged Marriage or Love?

Do you think it’s still possible to dream big and actually see that dream become a reality? Ask first-time filmmaker Nayan Padrai. His project ‘When Harry Tries to Marry’ – made on hope, persistence and a limited budget has gone on to bag several awards at the recent London Asian Film Festival: Best Crossover Film and the Audience Award for Best Film. Rahul Rai, the young actor who’s never acted before, was named Best New Talent. The film has already shown at the Austin and Mumbai Film Festivals, and its script was a featured project at the Sundance Institute Independent Producers’ Conference.

‘When Harry Tries to Marry’ is a romantic comedy set in New York, about Harry, a young cynic who, after witnessing the debacle of his parents’ love marriage, is determined to go in for the security of an arranged marriage himself. In spite of meticulous plans laid out with the precision of an accountant, he forgets to include the possibility of a gate-crasher – that crazy, impetuous thing called love…

A Look at ‘When Harry Tries to Marry’

So you have Harry engaged to be married to Nita, the perfect arranged marriage candidate with the same background in caste, class and occupation, found by his uncle back home in India. While he’s courting Nita on Skype, he’s stumbling into an attraction – possibly love? – for the warm and fun Theresa, a classmate in college.  Soon you have the conflicted Harry and his friends, including Theresa, headed out for the arranged wedding – and comedy chaos – to India.

We in New York have seen a lot of cross-cultural comedies over the years and somehow arranged marriages always creep into them. This one is different in that it’s Harry himself – not his relatives – who wants an arranged marriage. The good-looking, likeable Harry (played by newcomer Rahul Rai) is appealing, earnest and really sincere in wanting to make this arranged marriage idea succeed.  But can it?

The film has received mixed reviews such as the one in The New York Times, but it worked for me as a light, good-natured comedy, ‘timepass’ as they say in India. It’s funny and sweet, and you somehow connect with the characters. All three actors – Rahul Rai, Freishia Bomanbehram and Stefanie Estes - are newcomers in lead roles but are pretty winning. You find yourself rooting for all three, an odd situation when it’s a love triangle.

Harry’s parents – divorced and leading their own lives – are pretty well etched characters, played with spirit by Tony Mirrcandani  and Zenobia Shroff, who was last seen in Sooni Taraporevala’s ‘Little Zizou’. The actors, the locales and the music are all an engaging east-west blend, reflecting how things are in today’s convoluted world where New York and Mumbai are just a click away.  The movie has some kinks but on the whole, considering its a debut and made on a budget, it’s an entertaining movie which keeps you smiling, and while I don’t want to be a spoiler, I’ll just say it’s a happy ending – both for the hero and the people who made it!

Director Nayan Padrai on the set of 'When Harry Tries to Marry'

When Harry Tries to Marry: An Interview with Nayan Padrai, First-time Filmmaker

Nayan Padrai is co-writer ( with Ralph Stein), director and co-producer of this little Indy film. For him, it’s been a long journey, going from an idea to an award-winning film. The original script was a featured project at the Sundance Institute Independent Producers’ Conference and was a top-ten finalist of the Creative Screenwriting contest, and has been acknowledged in several other writing contests.

5 Questions for Nayan Padrai:

1. Was making movies something you had always wanted to do?

Yes.  Ever since I can remember, I wanted to be a part of the big screen. It’s probably a cliché – but I worshiped at the altar of Amitabh Bachchan as a child and used to dance at school events.  Eventually, I decided to get into drama in high school – it sort of tugged at me, and then I went to film school.  I can’t recall ever wanting to do anything else.

2. How difficult was it making the film?

It’s probably the hardest thing one can set out to do but it’s also a passion, so the journey is like a fun roller-coaster, and when you get off the ride, you want to get back on line and do it again.

3. How was ‘When Harry Tries to Marry’  received in Mumbai?

To my amazement – it was awesome.  We were scheduled against some pretty strong films and I was worried that we’d have an empty house, but we were full and the audience appreciated the film so the festival gave us another screening the next night opposite the closing film of the festival.  That was really cool of them to do, and it really filled our hearts with joy.

4. What are the plans for releasing it in different countries?

We are in talks for sales in various territories through our international representatives at Cinemavault.  We hope to be in Latin America, UK, Australia, South Africa, Middle East, and of course South East Asia.

5. Any amusing anecdote you’d like to share from the making of the movie?

Working with kids is awesome, and there were three scenes where we had toddlers.  In India, we shot a scene where a bunch of toddlers are watching a wedding in progress, and getting the toddlers to just sit and look at the camera was a marathon as I just kept running to the stage to set them – one would sit, the other would crawl, one would cry, the other would laugh, and one fell asleep.  I was more of a wrangler than a director at that moment – so I asked our DP – just keep rolling – don’t cut till we get the shot.  You had to be there.

When Harry Tries to Marry Premiere: Rahul Rai, Stefanie Estes, Ash Pamani, Fern Mallis and Dr. Murali Doraiswamy (L to R) photo courtesy Devin Sinha

‘When Harry Tries to Marry’ – How the Actors Got their Roles…

‘When Harry Tries to Marry’ is really the realization of a dream for many people, including first-time producer Sheetal Vyas.  Here she talks about hiring the three stars for the movie, and also the agony of raising funds. She blogs about the travails at Adventures of a First Time Producer

1. How did you select the three actors for this love triangle?

All the three main cast members were selected in a very unusual fashion. Firstly, our hero. Harry. Director Nayan Padrai saw Rahul Rai dancing as part of a dance troupe from Long Island called BollyArts for a ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ party at Pranna, in NYC. Our “Harry” had never ever read or auditioned for anything before. He came, read and conquered our hearts with his innocence and earnestness. And he was only 18, still in high school and preparing to go to NYU to become a dentist. He’s now enrolled in Pace’s performing arts program.

The second unusual casting we did was for Theresa – Stefanie Estes came to read for a small part of a stripper for the bachelor party scene. I saw her sitting outside with a bunch of other girls and just something about the way she carried herself,  I felt she was the one. I went running to the audition room and asked the director to take a look at her. We gave her the lines and she just bowled us over.

Finally, the role of Nita, the other main lead female, was auditioned over Skype. We had gone to India to do the casting, but found no one that we were really passionately happy with. So Nayan went back to NY while I was finishing deals for locations. Then our India line producer recommended Freishia Bomanbehram.  She came in, read, went home with the script, came back that evening, read again, I sent the DVD to Nayan, and he said, put her on Skype with me. Let me do the “Skype” scene of the film with her live. If she can convince me this way, then she can carry the role.

I think the  movie-making business is a lot like Russian roulette. You leave everything to destiny and your karma. That’s what we did with our cast – we took a huge chance with them and we WON!

Freishia Bomanbehram, Rahul Rai, Stefanie Estes photo credit John DeAmara

2. What were the special challenges of this film?

Raising money and distribution are the two toughest parts of this business.  I think raising money for any business is tough, and independent film is a business.  Our plan was very clear from the beginning.  We would showcase what we had instead of doing PowerPoints so we basically turned the movie into a stage play and invited potential investors to see the film enacted at these readings of the script.  That really paid off and got us financing immediately.  It took about 4 months to get the funds in place for production.

3. Any advice for Indian-American filmmakers trying to make an Indy film?

Shooting in India is great as there is a constant supply of chai – and if you want lassi on the sets that’s pretty doable – so try to shoot some parts in India!

Smita Patil in 'Deliverance' by Satyajit Ray (Photo courtesy TBD)

Long Shadows: The Late Work of Satyajit Ray

Dhukia, a poor untouchable, journeys to the home of Ghashiram, the village brahmin, to request him to set an auspicious date for his daughter’s wedding. He is made to wait, told to clean the stables and chop wood. The hapless man, burdened by caste and class, malnourished and starving, labors in silence – finally dying in the scorching sun. For Ghashiram, the death is an inconvenience; the dilemma is how to get rid of the corpse of an untouchable man…

“Deliverance’ (Satgadi) is a powerful short film by Satyajit Ray based on a short story by Munshi Premchand.  This stark film underlines the brutishness of life, the inhumanity of man to man, and is one you won’t forget in a hurry.

New Yorkers got to see this film in the recent film series – Long Shadows: the Late Work of Satyajit Ray, at the Walter Reade Theater, organized by the Film Society of Lincoln Center. This series showcased the later works of  Ray which have not been screened as frequently as his earlier ones. ‘Deliverance’, with little dialogue and evocative close-ups, has a strong cast of actors – Om Puri, Smita Patil and Mohan Agashe. It’s a film which stays with you, leaving a lot unsaid and a lot to mull over.

'The Home and the World' by Satyajit Ray - photo courtesy of TBD

Satyajit Ray’s ‘The Home and the World’

The series also showcased ‘The Home and the World’, Ray’s adaptation of the novel by Rabindranath Tagore, whose 150^th birth anniversary is being celebrated this year. Another important film was Ray’s last work, ‘The Stranger’ starring Utpal Dutt. The film prints screened at Long Shadows are from the Collection of Satyajit Ray Film and Study Center, University of California, Santa Cruz.

The series which started on April 19 runs through April 26. It includes ‘An Enemy of the People’, based on the Ibsen play and starring Soumitra Chatterjee; ‘Distant Thunder’ (about the Bengal famine of 1943), ‘The Branches of a Tree’, about an ailing patriarch and a family reunion;  ‘The Golden Fortress’, ‘The Elephant God’ – both movies about the master detective Feluda; ‘The Kingdom of Diamonds’ about the delightful duo Goupy and Bagha.  Also shown was ‘The Chess Players’ set in British India, and ‘Sikkim’, a film rarely shown.

‘The Stranger’ can be seen on April 26 at 2.15 pm,’ Sikkim’ on April 26 at 4.15 pm,  and ‘The Branches of a Tree’ on April 26 at 6.10.  Below are brief synopses.

‘The Stranger’ - In this disarming, thoughtful coda to Ray’s career, a forgotten uncle (Utpal Dutt) visits his family after decades of wandering, leading to debates over civility and civilization.

‘Sikkim’ – Commissioned by the ruler of a Himalayan state, Ray made this controversial poetic sketch, which was swiftly subjected to censorship. Screening with Bala  (1976, India; 33m) Ray’s rarely screened record of the famed Bharata Natyam dancer.

‘The Branches of a Tree’: When a family patriarch falls ill, his grown sons rush in from Calcutta, leading to a reunion filled with painful ironies and lingering disillusionment.

For details on these screenings, check Long Shadows – the Late Work of Satyajit Ray

Satyajit Ray- Master Filmmaker

Already an acknowledged giant of world cinema, Ray in these later works reveals a more meditative side: his brilliant powers of observation lead him to pare down his style, allowing his characters and the world to reveal themselves to us.  Satyajit Ray (1921-1992), was born into a family of distinguished printers, writers and artists in Calcutta. At the age of 18, upon his mother’s prodding, he started studies at Rabindranath Tagore’s Vishva-Bharati University in order to become a commercial artist. Ray left the university before graduating and joined an advertising agency, where he would work for 13 years.

An avid film fan since school years, he co-founded Calcutta’s first film society in 1947. Around the same time, Ray started writing film criticism, which appeared in both English and Bengali publications. In 1949, Ray met Jean Renoir, while the French director was scouting locations in India for The River. Renoir encouraged Ray’s passion for cinema; however, an appointment to the London office of the ad agency prevented him from working on Renoir’s film. While in London, Ray saw De Sica’s The Bicycle Thief, which solidified his ideas about making a realistic Indian film, shot in existing locations with a non-professional cast.

A prolific director, Ray made a feature every year from 1956 to 1981. In addition, Ray developed a notable literary career, writing short stories, articles and novels as well as reviving a children’s magazine, Sandesh, started by his grandfather. On March 30, 1992, Satyajit Ray was awarded the Honorary Oscar for lifetime achievement. Due to ill health, he could not attend the ceremony and his acceptance speech was pre-recorded in Calcutta. He died on April 23 that year.

(Source: Film Society of Lincoln Center)

For those of you interested in learning more about the films of Satyajit Ray, The Satyajit Ray Film and Study Center (Ray FASC) is a non-profit educational organization dedicated to the preservation and dissemination of  his cinematic, literary and artistic oeuvre. It is organized as a Focused Research Activity in the Humanities Division of the University of California, Santa Cruz.

Freida Pinto in 'Miral'

Miral – Walking in the Shoes of a Palestinian….

It is a film which touches you and makes you think and realize that there are always two sides to a story. Julian Schnabel’s ‘Miral’ was bound to cause controversy because the noted Jewish director shows the world from the perspective of a young Palestinian girl in occupied East Jerusalem,  something which has rarely been done. This blistering film is based on an autobiographical book of the same name by Rula Jebreal, who grew up in the occupied territory and is now a journalist in Italy but has never forgotten the traumas of her scarred land.

.Asked about  the best part of having the much admired Julian Schnabel direct ‘Miral’, Jebreal spoke of  his sensibility and his humanity: “He was able to empathize and walk in the shoes of a Palestinian: her search for freedom, the search for a dignified life, her fears, and her anger. I admire how he has sought to bring a story rarely told to US audiences while humanizing the Palestinians. He is a hero in this regard.”

Schnabel himself has observed, “Before I made this film, I hardly knew anything about Palestinians.  Making this film in Jerusalem allowed me to see this world for the first time, and to work with a landscape that I needed to see.”  Perhaps filmgoers too will see a landscape that must be seen and the bitter harvest it has yielded.

Meet Julian Schnabel and Rula Jebreal

Both Julian Schnabel and Rula Jebreal were in New York for screenings of ‘Miral’ and have received mixed responses to the film from critics and audiences, some of whom have felt the movie is one-sided. To those critics, Schnabel has responded: “‘Miral’ was never meant to give an exhaustive, historic view of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.  Her story is not about historical events, but about what is felt within the body and the heart.”

Director Julian Schnabel with Freida Pinto on location for 'Miral'

At one of the screenings, in a Q and A. Schnabel was asked why the film was made in English. He responded, “I wanted to reach as wide a population as possible. I really don’t have a hierarchical notion of language – for me, all language sounds like music. I wanted as many people to see the film as possible – I thought it was the right language for this film.”

‘Miral’ has already been screened in the United Nations. As to whether he would be able to show the film in Israel, Schnabel said it had already been shown in Ramallah, at a theater with 400 seats, to over 500 people. “I’m sure we’ll show it in Israel some day,” he said. “I did show it to the Mayor of Jerusalem in New York and he did say he would host a screening in Jerusalem.  I don’t know when that will happen. We will show the movie in Israel – I’d like as many people to see it as possible.”

Someone from the audience asked if there would be a sequel to the movie. To which Schnabel responded, “The sequel will be will be when the settlers pull out off the occupied territory. That would be a good sequel. I don’t have a sequel to make after that.” The answer provoked a few members of the audience who used some choice words and left.  Many in the audience booed, and stood up for the filmmaker.

“There’s one thing that all Palestinians and all Israelis have in common and that’s that none of them have a guaranteed trip that their children are going to come home from school at the end of the day,” said Schnabel.

“Whether it’s a terrorist that’s going to blow themselves up and Israeli children are going to die or a stray bullet is going to hit a kid in the occupied territories – none of these people have the security that their family will be intact at the end of the day. It’s a hell of a way to live and I think that civil society is held hostage by fanatics on both sides.”  Needless to say, there was a lot of applause. A story with two sides and both need to  be told.

Julian Schnabel and Rula Jebreal on the sets of 'Miral'

Q and A with Rula Jebreal

What do you hope viewers will take away from this film?

I hope viewers take away a most beautiful journey that touches their mind and heart. What is seen in the West of the Israel-Palestine situation is but the tip of the iceberg. This film delves into the actualities which will be novel for most Americans. And at the heart of this film is a 3D love story: between Miral and her father, Miral and her teacher, and Miral and her country.

What was your most memorable experience during the filming?

My most memorable experience during the filming was when we filmed at Al-Aqsa mosque. It was difficult to get permissions as foreigners aren’t typically permitted but once inside, I witnessed how Jews and Muslims came together – regardless of race, religion, and language – and worked together on this film, sharing the same love of our country.

Your thoughts on Freida Pinto as the lead in this film – what impressed you the most about her?

I was impressed by her dedication and sensibilities, especially for someone who is so early in her career. I have always believed art can transcend nationality and she reaffirmed my belief. Freida is capable, sweet and humble and she naturally fit into the role. I admire her commitment to the character and saw how hard she studied for the role. She was great as Miral.

What kind of a reaction has the movie had with audiences?

People are moved, people are happy. You know there is debate – some people agree, some people, they don’t agree but it’s about keep on talking, keeping the dialogue, debate going.  The moment it shuts down, the only thing which you hear is sounds of bullets and  Molotovs and bombs.  Its time to break that circle of violence, it’s something that is destroying us and is compromising the future of our children and that scares me. Education saved my life, writing books gave me the possibility of bringing out the voices of many women.

Will the movie be traveling to India?

I hope it goes there because of Kashmir and Pakistan. It’s a universal story, it’s about everyone who lives in a conflict area and it’s the same dramas you see everywhere, be it Somalia or Afghanistan. This is what women are subjected to when they live in a war zone. This is what war creates, this is the psyche of a war zone, and this is imposed destiny on women.

What will you yourself always cherish about this film?

I will always cherish having the possibility of bringing this film to the Western world that has no idea what is happening in Palestine. The Palestinians are screaming for freedom and yet their screams go unheard here; they are silenced in this part of the world. I cherish being able to lift the lid of silence, even if just a little bit.

Sally Bollywood shows her desi dance moves

Sally Bollywood, Super Star….

Who is the Indian Bollywood star with a huge mainstream fan following in Spain, Germany and France? Amitabh Bachchan? No. Aishwarya Rai? No. Shah Rukh Khan? No. It’s Sally Bollywood!

Who would have thought a time would come when there would be a Bollywood movie made by a totally non-Indian team, and its heroine Sally Bollywood would become a super-star with French, German and Spanish fans, her own series of books, stationery line, a comic strip, a luggage and textile line.

‘Sally Bollywood’ is an animated TV series created by Zodiak Kids and Family, which develops, produces and distributes children’s brands to the global marketplace. It is part of the Zodiak Media Group, a French and Australian company which is an international leading distributor of content for TV, radio, new media and cinema, ranging from animation to talk shows and game shows. The company is based in London and Paris

Meet Sally Bollywood, Super Detective

According to the Zodiak Media site, “the group consists of 45 production companies with presence in 17 countries including the US, the UK, France, Italy, Spain, Scandinavia and Russia. The Group also incorporates an international distribution business based in London and Paris whose catalogue boasts over 10,000 hours of content.”

‘Sally Bollywood’ is about a 12 year old girl detective who always manages to solve the case. And can she dance! This strong-minded, smart detective who wears a bindi and is totally comfortable in her skin should be a great role model for desi kids in any part of the world. And can she dance! It’s kind of hypnotic to see her perform to some catchy Bollywood music.

Sally Bollywood at your service!

Sally Bollywood: All about the show

She’s the twelve-year old detective who walks to the Bhangra beat!

“School books gone missing? Parents blaming you for something you didn’t do? Then you need Sally Bollywood Investigations! 12-year old Sally knows how to solve a mystery because she’s learnt from the very best – her private detective dad Harry. She knows all the tricks of the trade and has a few of her own too, and with the assistance of her occasionally clairvoyant friend Dowee she guarantees results in just 24 hours – providing you’ve got the candy to pay for it.

Ideal for boys and girls aged 6-10, Sally Bollywood is a fast paced, funny and exciting cartoon with a great multi-cultural feel and charming characters. With music, musical sequences and graphic transitions heavily influenced by the glamorous world of Bollywood cinema, it’s a cartoon like no other and is making waves right across Europe.

Don’t believe us? Why not ask Sally to investigate…”

Sally Bollywood’s Desi Dance Number

Lassi with Lavina interviewed Philippe Alessandri, producer of the Sally Bollywood series, to find out who is Sally Bollywood and when we can expect to see her in the US.

Philippe Alessandri, producer of 'Sally Bollywood'

Q:  I’m quite amazed that Bollywood has caught on in Europe enough for a series to have Bollywood in the name! How did this happen?

A: Bollywood has became more and more popular over the years in Europe. So, when two talented authors pitched us, three years ago, their animation project Sally KUNGFU about a young Chinese girl and her best friend running a detective agency for kids, we asked the creators to change Sally into an Indian girl and to rename the show Sally BOLLYWOOD.

Q: Who conceived of the Sally Bollywood character?

A: Pepper Sue, a designer and Elastik Jane, a writer, have created the character of Sally Bollywood.

Q: There seems to be enough knowledge about India and Bollywood in the series.

Were there any Indians involved in the planning or production of the series?

A: There were no Indian talent involved (the French Indian community is not as large as it is in the UK for instance), but we have asked our creative team to learn about Indian culture.

Q: Who are the viewers and how popular is the series?

A: The audience is kids – boys and girls – between 6 to 11 years old. On Super RTL, a daughter company of Disney and RTL,  in Germany, the series has been the best launch of an animated series for the last four years!

Q:  Finally – I’m still not clear if the show runs on regular television or is only Internet based.

A: The show runs on regular television in several countries such as France (France 3), Germany (Super RTL), Spain (Cartoon Network), Italy (Disney Channel), Australia (Network 7)… and India (Disney Channel).

Q: Are there plans to bring Sally Bollywood to the UK and the US?

Our distribution arm – Zodiak Rights – is in discussion with several broadcasters in the UK and the US but the series has not yet been sold.

(A thank you to Hinduism Today’s HPI service which alerted me to the existence of Sally Bollywood)

Nadiya sings the Sally Bollywood song

Abhishek Bachchan and Deepika Padukone lead a star cast in Ashutosh Gowarikar's KHJJS

Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey

The men all wear dhotis (and look darn good in them), the women are covered from head to toe and there’s not a swinging item dance number in sight. In an age of mindless Bollywood entertainment, Ashutosh Gowariker’s ‘Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey’ (KHJJS) is a film you can sink your teeth into. It’s the real stuff.

Based on the book, ‘Do or Die: the Chittagong Uprising 1930-34’ by Manini Chatterjee, the movie documents the little known revolution against the British by a stoic school master and his small band of freedom fighters, assisted by a group of fresh-faced young boys who discover the true meaning of patriotism when they move from trying to reclaim their playing field from the British to really understanding the meaning of ‘Bande Mataram’ and what it means to die for your country.

The film focuses on the single day execution of a well-laid plan to cripple the British by simultaneous raids on their power bases in the small town of Chittagong – minutely planned attacks on the Cantonment, railway station, the officers’ club, telegraph office and the armory, and if one didn’t know it was a true story one would be hard-pressed to believe it.

Abhishek Bachchan, Deepika Padukone, Sikander Kher & Vishaka Singh in Ashutosh Gowariker's 'Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey'

KHJJS – Abhishek tells Surjya Sen’s Story

These attacks are led by this motley crew with little money, few arms and a ragtag army of cherubic boys who have hardly grown a beard. They are led by Surjya Sen, also known as Masterda, who is a school teacher but also the leader of a band of freedom fighters determined to get India’s independence by any means. He is superbly underplayed by Abhishek Bachchan, conveying anger, frustration and determination just through his smoldering eyes.

Abhishek Bachchan is ably supported by the lovely, spirited Deepika Padukone and a cast of consummate actors who all seem very comfortable in their skin. Sikander Kher stands out as Nirmal Sen, whose passion for freedom trumps all else.

The casting of the youths is perfect, each boy’s individual personality comes out, and you care what happens to them. What is particularly satisfying about Gowariker’s movies is the intense care paid to locales, costumes and the creating of a real world in which you can immerse yourself. There’s not a false note in here though the film could have been tighter with a faster tempo.

Abhishek Bachchan leads a band of revolutionaries in 'Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey'

KHJJS – Ashutosh Gowariker’s tribute to heroes

My only quibble would be that the characters don’t seem to have a well-etched past life so that you can’t connect to them in a deeper sense – nor do any of them have much of a family, so the emotional angle is missing. And of course, unlike ‘Lagaan’, there’s no cricket to endear these characters to you or to make you root for them!  Revolution – blood, guns and bombs – is  much more of a serious matter and in these days of terrorism something we all are ambivalent about.

In ‘KHJJS’ this is a band of heroes who took the less popular path to freedom and so sometimes don’t get their due. Yet seeing them battle on, unaware of the happy ending we know occurs in 1947, you have to salute their sacrifice of love and life. It is a movie the young, who take freedom for granted and hence don’t value it as much, need to see.  KHJJS  is a live history lesson in this age of electronic media. The Chittagong Uprising,  lying forgotten in dusty tomes, is once again remembered.  Surjya Sen would have been pleased.

‘Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey - A Taste of Revolution

Rahul Bose, who starred in 'The Japanese Wife' in a Q and A with Minu Tharoor at the MIAAC Film Festival

Rahul Bose in Aparna Sen’s ‘The Japanese Wife’

It’s a bitter-sweet love story you could hardly imagine in today’s frenetic world – a man and woman separated by oceans and countries yet married to each other, without having ever physically met. ‘The Japanese Wife’ is as spare as a Haiku, and as beautiful. Recently Rahul Bose was in town for the MIAAC festival premiere of this Aparna Sen movie, which is based on a short story by Kunal Basu.  The film stars Rahul Bose, Raima Sen and Chigusa Takaku, and a stellar support cast headed by Moushami Chatterjee.

This atmospheric film, set in a village in Bengal, moves slowly, almost like the river which is so much a part of it, yet it fully draws you on with finely etched characters. The tale revolves around Snehamoy, a non-assuming schoolteacher in a village in the Sunderbans, who has a long distance love marriage with Miyage, a Japanese pen friend in Yokohama. The two never meet yet you feel the strength and the commitment of that love, and are touched by it. The story gets more complicated when Sandhya, a young widow comes to live in the home Snehamoy shares with an aunt.

Filmgoers saw Rahul Bose recently in Onir’s ‘I Am’ and can look forward to seeing him in Deepa Mehta’s ‘Midnight’s Children’ based on Salman Rushdie’s acclaimed novel. Says Rahul Bose, “It’s one of my top 3 novels of all times – and to be actually in it is surreal – it’s fantastic to be in it and Salman Rushdie has written the script.”

Aparna Sen, director of 'The Japanese Wife' with Rahul Bose and Chigasu Takaku

Rahul Bose, consummate actor that he is, absorbs and takes on the coloring of the characters he plays. In ‘The Japanese Wife’ this savvy urbanite becomes the quiet village schoolmaster right down to his Bengali accented English.  He is Snehamoy and you believe in his love for Miyagi and the reality of the world Aparna Sen has woven.

In a Q and A after the screening with Minu Tharoor, English professor at New York University, Rahul Bose talked, often tongue in cheek, sometimes movingly about his passion for acting and cinema.

Rahul Bose on The Japanese Wife…

Q: What was it that attracted you about this script?

A: Well, what’s not to be attracted by it? It was just a wonderful piece of cinema and I can see what stemmed from a piece like this, and I think what she did with Kunal’s short story was heroic, it was wonderful. The only thing that was a stumbling block was I thought I was totally inappropriate to play this guy – so I was terrified.  I didn’t discover this character till 24 hours before we shot the movie – normally it happens a little earlier but in this case I didn’t really get Snehamoy till 3 o’clock-ish the afternoon before shooting,  when I was in the dhoti and kurta with specs and wig and I was cycling around the block in Calcutta where I was staying in Alipore and I knew I didn’t have him.

I think acting, especially in something as delicate as this, is like when you’re switching a radio knob to look for a correct frequency and you know the program you want to listen to is at 99.5 and you don’t get it. You try 4 and you try 6 and you still don’t get it and you feel that you’ve lost it forever, it doesn’t exist. And then suddenly at 99.48 something happens and you suddenly can hear very clearly the song you were looking for, the radio station you were looking for. It’s really a chance – you have to try hard but ultimately it’s a lot to do with chance and I think I got lucky. At least I hope so!”

Q: Whether it was luck or talent, I think everyone will agree you certainly got it. What you got was, of course, very apparent for us all to see in the very sustained performance through out the film. But is it possible for you to suggest in words what it was that you think you got and that you conveyed?

A: I think the greatest challenge to play Snehamoy was to be invisible. He’s the kind of person who, if the panwalla across the road was told that this boy had died, he would barely recollect who this person was although perhaps Snehamoy might have gone there every day to eat paan.

In cinema,  to be invisible and yet to be charismatic enough to be the soul of the film,  so to speak, I think you have to let the camera do what it has to do and you just have to dive really deep into the truth. As long as you’re true you don’t need to worry too much – at least I thought that let me do this part and forget about being charismatic – which in any case is a losing proposition when it comes to me!

Raima Sen in 'The Japanese Wife' with Rahul Bose

Rahul Bose on working with Aparna Sen…

Q: This is the third film directed by Aparna Sen – Was this experience different from the other two?

Yes, it was because we fought a lot – you know familiarity breeds contempt. As we were shooting this movie we had huge disagreements and arguments and flaming rows – it was all very dramatic. On a boat in the middle of nowhere and 40 degrees centigrade!  It was a very hard shoot – we stayed in places that were completely inhospitable, 400 insects in the room plopping all over your machar-dani and gradually becoming lower and lower as the night progressed.

It was very humid – in fact, they had a sign above the showers which said ‘Why Bother?’

I had my own internal problems – none of them psychological – I was preparing to play a rugby tournament for India two weeks after I finished the shoot so I had to keep training in that little room; wake up at four a.m, train till six and then start shooting.

I think you start a relationship with a director just like you are new lovers – you are very eager to agree with the other person’s point of view and say ‘Ah, I think the same way too and how alike we are – and how magical this relationship is going to be!’  Then you go to the next film whereby you go ‘You know  we’ve had a wonderful honeymoon and we’re lovers and it’s wonderful’ but then you say, ‘Oh, my God,  you do smell sometimes!’

And then you go to the third film and its like ‘Listen, for God’s sake, do not, do not come to my side of the bed’ – you get my point! You start getting very crabby and it was like that in film no. 3 and I’m quite sure she’ll never work with me again! But the communication becomes telepathic – a frown from her and your heart sinks and you know you just haven’t got it. You know exactly what she wants and you know exactly where you went wrong. So I think, in that respect, there was much more silence and much less discussion this time, but it was equally, if not more, dense.

Q: Talking about cultural affinities, the Bengali accent you adopted for the purpose of English in the film – how hard did you have to work on it and did you feel it was like a caricature and that it would in any way diminish the character?

Well, I still fear that – I still think in a few places Sneho is a bit of a caricature – I did three takes for every single line I did – one was over, one was what I thought bang on,   and one was under. It normally takes an actor in a lead of a film about five days to dub a film – this one took me 29 days.

It was incredibly difficult to be a South Bombay boy who’s being rural Bengali and then speaking English in that way. It was phenomenally difficult – in fact she said I’m going to dub you. She dubbed me with Rudro’s voice. My heart broke – I said let me use Rudro’s dubbed track to give you my version of the dubbed track. Rudro was brilliant but there was no soul – he wasn’t Snehamoy.

I spent 29 days dubbing and I remember very clearly, 31st of December, she called me and said, it’s fantastic and I’m going to use it. And I said that’s the best New Year’s gift you could give me. But I had been perilously near to losing what I believe was half a performance.

Rahul Bose on the Craft of Acting…

Q: How do you compare your performances to ‘English August’?

A: I saw ‘English August’ a year ago and it still remains to my mind the best film in English that’s come out of India ever and for that Dev Bengal, the director needs to be congratulated.

You start your life wanting to be the best, and you want to be perfect and you strain really hard to being that and I was very fortunate to get films like ‘English August’ and ‘Split Wide Open’ early on  in my career. Then midway through, you realize that maybe I should relax a bit and let things come to me a little more organically.

And then finally you come to a point where you say, ‘Now I’m going to mess with this, I’m not going to learn my lines any more for any of my movies – I’m going to actually say the words as if I’ll just struggle through, muddle through them – and directors hate me for this because I’m never on the page, I’m always changing things around. It gets very frazzling for them but it’s my way of now saying I’m OK, I know that I can.

I just now want to get to a point of greater truth, so it should not be too pat, it shouldn’t be perfect and it shouldn’t be pre-thought out. That’s where I am now. Today I’m in the disrespect phase of my career.