I love sappy films... the ones that make me cry.
If I had to talk of films in that context, I would have to say that one of my favourite directors is Ang Lee. Both Brokeback Mountain (2005) and Life Of Pi (2012) are such exceptional films.
One scene that still haunts me is the whale breaching in Life of Pi .
A still from Ang Lee’s ‘Life of Pi’
There is something just so cinematically outstanding about that moment that it sucks your breath away [gasps]. That sense of awe and wonder is something that, I think, has to happen when you are sitting in a cinema theatre. That is the point of seeing it, seeing something a bit fantastic. All of Ang Lee’s films are of such different genres. But the way the content, the performances, the story draws you in... that, I think, is most important.
Then, there are quite a few films that are close to my heart. I would definitely pick Roman Holiday (1953) and Breakfast At Tiffany’s (1961) because Audrey Hepburn remains a big muse. I would also think of a few films like Rudaali (1993) and Gandhi (1982) for their amazing costume design. And then there’s Chandni (1989), which, for me, is the reference point for syrupy, beautiful romance in the classic style.
A still from Alfred Hitchcock’s ‘The Birds’
There is a story behind this bundee I’m wearing here. It was inspired by Alfred Hitchcock’s film The Birds (1963). Have you seen the film? Do you know those terrifying scenes in which the birds are swirling and filling up the entire screen? Those scenes are why my bundee has birds swirling about on it.
- Ang Lee won the Academy Award for Best Director without Life of Pi winning the Best Motion Picture. The previous instance also involved Lee. The film was Brokeback Mountain .
- It was one of two films featuring Irrfan Khan from the year 2012, which had a character named Richard Parker. The other was The Amazing Spider Man .
- Alfred Hitchcock used as many as 3,200 birds like ravens, seagulls and sparrows in The Birds . To monitor the birds’ health, an avian hospital was constructed on the set.
- The scene where the female lead Melanie (played by Tippi Hedren) is attacked by birds was filmed by attaching them to her clothing using long nylon threads, so that they would not get away.
Hitchcock is such a visual raconteur. Every single thing in his movies is very specifically designed. Nothing happens by accident. And he always has the most chic leading ladies... the whole thing put together is quite amazing to watch. There is a certain Hitchcock-ian template that always works quite nicely.
I also love Zoya Akhtar’s work. Her Luck By Chance (2009), Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara (2011) and Gully Boy (2019) are all fabulous, moving films in their own way.
( As told toMeghna Majumdar )
