The man’s got thirst!
ANUJ KUMAR
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Even as he adds cerebral value to television, Shekhar Kapur shares the new challenges in his life.
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KING Of ELIZABETH Shekhar Kapur continues to surprise us with his moves.
Shekhar Kapur continues to drift against the tide. Even as we thought we have lost the maverick director to the Wild West, he is back to add dollops of intelligence to television, a medium often credited with immense dumbness. Shekhar is on the jury
of “India’s Got Talent”, starting on Colors this weekend. “Television is in a transient phase. I believe when they got the power to switch channels, things got into disarray. When they had just one, it was much more experimental. I have some great memories of those times.”
It is heard that he recently broke down on the show. “It was not as dramatic as it is being made to be. I hope they will keep the simplicity of it intact while telecasting the episode. It was like when you could not control your emotions after reading a touching script or story.”
Lesson in humility
Talking about the episode, he relates when a physically-challenged classical dancer performed during the show, he got a lesson in humility. “We artistes are egoists. Watching him I realised all over again that artistic expression is beyond the ego. It is about losing the individuality for art and in the process becoming closer to the God for all art forms have an expression of Him. I got the same humbling feeling after completing an art installation recently.” What? “The Swarovski museum (in Austria) had asked me to turn my short film “Passage” into an art installation. I have done it with the help of my architect friend David Adjaye. It gives a great feeling to have your work where Picasso, Dali and Warhol have contributed.” Shekhar says “Passage” creates an illusion of time and that time can be reconstructed. “I have tried to convey these feelings in the installation. It will be on show for a year.”
In the entertainment world, image tends to be bigger than the reality and one begins to avoid moving forward. Shekhar, who once traversed genres – “Mr India” to “Bandit Queen – with consummate ease, now seems so concerned with his international appeal, that he is keeping the connoisseurs of cinema thirsty for “Paani”. His dream project is waiting in the pipeline for quite some time. The acclaimed director refutes the charge. “I have never played safe. Had it been the case I would not have given up a flourishing career in India to venture into international cinema. It is just that I keep looking for fresh challenges. The latest is art installation.”
As for “Paani”, Shekhar says the project will finally get underway with Danny Boyle coming on board. “It is a big budget film which could not have been launched without a sound financial and marketing plan.” Set in Mumbai, the futuristic film has already been compared to Chetan Anand’s “Neecha Nagar”. “Yes, it draws from it in spirit. It is not only about water scarcity in future. It also tells how the global elite control the natural resources and devising devious means to keep the have-nots away from their share.”
Flavour of the season
India seems to be the flavour of the season, but Shekhar says it is still a case of individual perspectives. “It is like L.N. Mittal one day deciding to invest abroad, Danny Boyle decided to tell his story in Mumbai.” A sustained inflow could diminish the cultural identity of Bollywood, which has been able to withstand the Hollywood onslaught for so long. “I don’t think there is any cultural identity of Bollywood. There is indeed an identity of classical arts and should be respected but I don’t think it applies to Bollywood. And even if there is any I don’t mind sacrificing it if the content improves. For now, there is no threat as such for Warner Brothers delivered ‘Chandni Chowk to China’!”
However, when an Indian tries to cross over, the West expects him to imbibe their values while telling global stories. He himself suffered it in “Elizabeth” and “The Four Feathers”. Didn’t he? “We have to understand that there is a fundamental difference in Western and Oriental thought and it reflects in every art form, including cinema. We strongly believe in Karmic theory and mythology while the West is all for individual enterprise. It reflected very well in the opening ceremony of Beijing Olympics. London people have a task at hand to match it.” Can the two meet? “Of course! ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ is one example. ‘Hero’ and Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon have achieved it in the past.”
He believes some Indian directors could very well achieve it as well. “We are let down by marketing. It is a crucial factor for your product to make it to the world stage. I quite like the way new directors are telling their stories. Films like ‘Mumbai Meri Jaan’, ‘A Wednesday’ and ‘Dev D’ show that we have no dearth of innovative ideas and formats.”
A chartered accountant by training, Shekhar says the entertainment industry would not be affected by recession. “Films are a way to cheer up and ideally we should see more films but those who were relying on corporate support are feeling the pinch. There is a lack of liquidity in the market because corporate houses invest in different sectors and when they suffer losses in some of them they start to play safe. Perhaps, it is time to look for traditional investors.”
His uncle, Dev Anand took him to Bollywood to make an actor out of him but we have not seen that side of his after the good old Doordarshan days got over. “I am open to act. The only condition is that the offer should be challenging enough.”
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