I'm not pursuing bestsellers: Mira Nair
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NRI
filmmaker Mira Nair says it's a sheer coincidence that her films
"Vanity Fair", "The Namesake" and the ready-to-shoot "Shantaram" are
based on bestsellers. While
the Tabu and Irrfan Khan starrer "The Namesake", releasing Friday, is
based on Jhumpa Lahiri's novel of the same name, "Shantaram", for which
Nair has roped in Johnny Depp and Amitabh Bachchan , is a screen
adaptation of Gregory David Roberts' book.
"I've equally
enjoyed doing original screenplays like 'Salaam Bombay' and 'Monsoon
Wedding'. So I'm not pursuing the bestsellers of the world (laughs).
It's just that the stories in 'The Namesake' and 'Shantaram' possessed
me. I'm developing an original screenplay about the war in the
world...about the Iraq war etc. Right now it's just an idea," Nair told
IANS in an interview.
Nair is excited about "Shantaram" because she will get to shoot it in her favourite city, Mumbai.
"It's
the same territory as 'Salaam Bombay'. It's set in my beloved city of
Mumbai. I guess it's my love for Mumbai city, my knowledge of the
script and their fondness for my work that clinched the matter. And of
course Johnny Depp felt 'Shantaram' was in secure hands."
Excerpts:
Q: You're next getting into another big one, "Shantaram".
A:
(Laughs) Yes, I'm very charged about it. When in June 2006 Peter Weir
left the project, the Warner Brothers, who had approached me for the
"Harry Potter" film, called me. It's a big project. Not like you make a
phone call and you get 'Shantaram'. They sent me the script in
confidence and warned me other directors were being considered.
I
went off to Kampala where I've a home and a film school, for the
summer. There I read the book. When I returned they requested for a
private screening of "The Namesake". They liked the film. We met in
October. By then I was completely immersed in the book and its concept.
I knew it thoroughly. It's the same territory as "Salaam Bombay". It's
set in my beloved city of Mumbai. "Shantaram" is set in the 1980s'
Mumbai at a time when I was in the city.
Q: And how should it be done?
A:
It's about time we got Mumbai and India right. Who needs another "City
Of Joy" here? Really, so much talent in such films! But there's
hollowness from inside. Authenticity is very important to "Shantaram".
And the producers feel I can deliver. I guess it's my love for Mumbai
city, my knowledge of the script and their fondness for my work that
clinched the matter. And of course Johnny Depp felt "Shantaram" was in
secure hands.
Q: How's Johnny Depp?
A: Oh, for all
stratospheric box office status he's a humble soul. He's generally
inquisitive about the world. He considers "Shantaram" his bible. You
know, Russell Crowe and Brad Pitt were also very keen.
Q: Bachchan is very impressed by you.
A:
By chance he was there for the first screening of "The Namesake" in
Mumbai. Everyone was transported... the response was overwhelming. He's
overwhelming in "Black" and "Sarkar". The best part is he loves to act.
He still enjoys the process. I can close my eyes and see him and Johnny
together.
Q: And Kal Penn?
A: He was a comic star
before "The Namesake". It's a groundbreaking role for Kal. I've to give
my 15-year-old son credit for my signing Kal. He loved Kal for "Harold
& Kumar Go To White Castle" (a teen film). Then Kal wrote to me and
urged me to see his work.
What really won my heart was when
he said he saw my "Mississippi Masala" when he was eight years old in a
mall in New Jersey. He was amazed to see people on screen who looked
like him. Then he also said "The Namesake" was his favourite book, and
he empathised with the part of Gogol. He flew in on his own from LA to
NY and auditioned. Every aspect of his personality seemed correct for
him to play the American desi. I allowed him to speak the way he does
because that's the right accent for Gogol.
Q: Your last three films are based on works of literature.
A:
That's just a coincidence. I've equally enjoyed doing original
screenplays like "Salaam Bombay" and "Monsoon Wedding". So, I'm not
pursuing the bestsellers of the world (laughs). It's just that the
stories in "The Namesake" and "Shantaram" possessed me. I'm developing
an original screenplay about the war in the world...about the Iraq war
etc. Right now it's just an idea.
Q: Where do you place "The Namesake" in your oeuvre?
A:
This one...I'm totally happy with it. The synergy came together. This
film is in a deep way inspired by personal grief. I went through that
for the first time in my life. I lost my mother-in-law, who was like a
mother to me. She died unexpectedly of medical malpractice in NY. We
were suddenly burying a woman we loved. The finality of death got me.
"The Namesake" comes out of the needs and the commitments of a family
life. I made it entirely for myself.
Jhumpa Lahiri's novel
distils grief and also represents the power of living in two worlds. I
myself have lived in Kolkata and Manhattan. In one city I was an actor
in political theatre, in the other I became a filmmaker. I think I was
qualified to make "The Namesake". It gave me an opportunity to unite
the two cities.
Q: Are you okay being an NRI filmmaker?
A:
I've three fully functional homes in Delhi, Kampala and Manhattan. I've
my whole community in Delhi. I give the airlines some serious business.
This year I'm in India a lot. (The character) Shantaram goes to three
continents. But it'll be shot mostly in Mumbai.
Q: People think you're making a film on the life of the filmmaker V. Shantaram.
A:
Yes, my whole community thinks so. A photographer-friend sent me an
image of V. Shantaram's studio. I sent it to Johnny telling him, here's
the Shantaram in our life.
By Subhash K. Jha, Indo-Asian News Service
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