It’s Boyled down to another Mumbai film

Page

nahian

@nahian

Inactive

Posted: 17 years ago

It's Boyled down to another Mumbai film

Posted On Friday, September 12, 2008
Subhash K Jha

While other international crew may have a different story to tell about their experience of shooting in Mumbai, eminent British director Danny Boyle (of Trainspotting , The Beach and 28 Days Later fame) has gone back home swearing by the city's name. In fact, he has been invited by Slumdog Millionaire actor Anil Kapoor to direct a film for his production house.

Danny has already spoken to Anil Kapoor about making another film in Mumbai. "Yes, I have spoken to Anil about making another film. And if all goes well, I'll be back to this amazing city to do another film. Anil's a wonderful actor. But he never forgets his producer's hat. He's always surveying the situation, cutting deals. I had such an amazing time here. One reason why Slumdog Millionaire works is because we've successfully captured the city's vivacity on screen. It's been a while since we saw Mumbai in this light," added Boyle.

When we contacted Anil to know more about Danny Boyle's next Mumbai film, Anil Kapoor said, "I'll speak about this only after the London Film Festival."

So, did Boyle have a peaceful working experience in Mumbai?

Danny Boyle said, "I don't know whether 'peaceful' would be the right word. For me, it was a happy experience. I got so attached to the city, they had to stop me from filming and push me out of Mumbai. The only way to make a film based on Mumbai is to accept how extraordinarily complex and interesting the city is. If you go to make a film in Mumbai thinking you'd be fully in control of the situation, the film would never get made. If you trust and respect the city, it delivers back to you ten-fold."

But, there's also a risk that Slumdog Millionaire will be portraying India primarily as a slum just like Roland Joffe's City Of Joy and Mira Nair's Salaam Bombay did. "The word 'slum' in my film's title has not been used in an obvious way. I found the so-called slum areas of Mumbai to be a fantastically organised place. The people were so generous, dignified and warm. I hope my film has captured their dignity. They're not portrayed as poor and desperate people in my film. I think people in India should see the film before judging it," said Boyle.

But, that may not be as easy as it sounds since the film has yet to get an Indian distributor and won't be released in the country when it opens worldwide in November.

Danny also hopes Mira Nair will be able to make her second Mumbai-based film Shantaram after Salaam Bombay. "If Slumdog Millionaire works for a mainstream audience, international studios will be encouraged to make mainstream films. There's a line in the film where a character says, 'India has become the centre of the world now." People from all over the world are now warming up to India," said Boyle.

https://www.mumbaimirror.com/net/mmpaper.aspx?page=article&sectid=30&contentid=200809122008091202390957084813a77