Big moment for India as Chaitanya Tamhane's The Disciple selected in the competition section of Venice Film Festival, 20 years after Mira Nair's Monsoon Wedding bagged top honour
Shaheen Parkar (MID-DAY; July 30, 2020)

Almost two decades after Mira Nair's Monsoon Wedding (2001) bagged the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival, Chaitanya Tamhane's Marathi film, The Disciple, has been selected in the competition section of the 77th edition of the prestigious gala. Scheduled from September 2 to September 12, it is one of the first film festivals to be held in the wake of the pandemic with strict social distancing guidelines and screenings in outdoor venues.

Tamhane is overwhelmed that his sophomore directorial venture is set to compete with Majid Majidi's Sun Children and Andrei Konchalovsky's Dear Comrades, among others. "The competition section has showcased some of the best films in cinema history. The selection of The Disciple is a milestone in the Indian independent cinema movement. I am relieved that it has found such a great start even in these tough times," says the director. The Disciple, which is set in the world of Indian classical music, chronicles the journey of a vocalist, who has to balance life in contemporary Mumbai with his chosen vocation. "We have poured every ounce of energy and effort into the film over the last four years," adds the filmmaker.

Counted among the finest storytellers in Indian cinema, Tamhane will return to the festival after six years. His directorial debut, Court (2015), had premiered at the gala, where it bagged the Best Film in the Orizzonti section and the Lion of the Future award. Back home too, the film — a commentary on the Indian judicial system — bagged the National Award and was India's official entry to the 2016 Oscars.

Producer Vivek Gomber, who has teamed up with Tamhane after the 2015 outing, says, "I hope this makes it easier for new voices in our country to follow their paths."

Mohar Basu (MID-DAY; March 30, 2020)

Almost 19 years after its glorious run at several international film festivals followed by an adaptation at Berkeley, Mira Nair's Monsoon Wedding was to get a stage rendition at two of the most prestigious theatres in the UK. The musical was to open at Leeds Playhouse on June 22 for a three-week run followed by shows at The Roundhouse in London from July 17 to August 29. However, the musical — that reflects the Indian culture through the story of a Delhi-based family coming together for a lavish wedding — has now been postponed.

Namit Das, who is a part of the cast, says, "[The shows are] unfortunately cancelled because of the COVID-19 outbreak. We will do the show in 2021 once the pandemic subsides."

The actor, who has worked closely with Nair for a long time, will also be seen in her web series, A Suitable Boy, based on Vikram Seth's best-selling novel of the same name. "Monsoon Wedding [the musical] is where I met Vishal ji [Bhardwaj] and other delightful musicians from all over the world. Mira keeps throwing surprises at us, and we become better artistes as we move along with her. A day of work with her feels like an achievement."

File photo of Amitabh Bachchan breezing through the French Riviera, 2002

While Bollywood glamour has been flashing on the Cannes red carpet, concluding today, as many as 1,845 Indian films were rejected this year by the festival’s decision-makers
Khalid Mohamed (MUMBAI MIRROR; May 25, 2019)

Sipping on a fruit smoothie, offseason on the French Riviera’s Croisette, Amitabh Bachchan had asked seriously, “So what does it take to get one of our films to compete at Cannes?”

“A serious theme and plenty of marketing,” an aide had replied succinctly, Bachchan had nodded, non-committally, and had completed his breakfast with a croissant.

This was circa 2002. Bachchan was travelling through Paris-Nice-Cannes-Monte Carlo in connection with the release of a fragrance named after him. Whether the superstar ever followed up the Cannes reverie, is doubtful – since no film of his has ever competed for the award of awards, the Palme D’Or.

Along with his The Great Gatsby co-star Leonardo DiCaprio, he did announce the opening of the event in 2013.

Despite constant grouses by trackers of the world’s most in profile international film festival, the Cannes bosses have still not opened the floodgates of its Palais des Festivals for Indian cinema.

In fact, this year – the 72nd edition of the event which ends today — marked a new low. A sizeable number of 1,845 films were submitted for consideration. None made the cut, except for the short film Afternoon Clouds directed by the Pune Film Institute graduate Payal Kapadia.

Neither was any filmmaker or actor included on the jury unlike Chetan Anand, Mrinal Sen, Shekhar Kapur, Mira Nair, Sharmila Tagore, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Nandita Das and Vidya Balan in earlier years.

Mira Nair, whose debut-making Salaam Bombay! way back in 1988 had bagged the Camera D’Or as well as the Audience Award, lately remarked in an interview, “The tastes and agendas of the selection committee and that of Indian cinema don’t necessarily align.” Quite.

Perhaps the usually feisty director was being polite. Without a doubt, she was left chagrined when her widely-hosannaed films Monsoon Wedding (2001) and The Namesake (2006) had been rejected. Ironically, Monsoon Wedding picked up the Golden Lion at the Venice festival.

Indefatigably, the late New Delhi critic, radio broadcaster and government civil servant, Indra Mohan Sahai, had addressed the festival’s then-President, Gilles Jacob, time and again about “the all to apparent prejudice” against Indian entries. To a degree, Jacob and the current President Pierre Lescure, did attempt to remedy this criticism but in fits and starts.

Suddenly Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Devdas (2002) was showcased to mixed response among the Cannes cognoscenti. Steadily the Bollywood set, among them Shah Rukh Khan, Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Karan Johar and Preity Zinta, began fetching up for photo-ops at the Cannes famed Carlton Hotel.

Last year, Nandita Das’ Manto in the Un Certain Regard section and Rohena Gera’s Sir in the Critics’ Week had at the very least, stirred the attention of the festival goers.

Meanwhile over time, in lieu of Indian films, high-profile Bollywood heroines have been making a splash on the red carpet, merci beaucoup to top global beauty product conglomerates and fashion houses.

Cannes, then, in the public mind, is associated with the haute couture cool displayed most notably by Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Sonam Kapoor. Ditto Priyanka Chopra. This time around, Kangana Ranaut, Deepika Padukone, Hina Khan, Huma Qureshi and the irrepressible Mallika Sherawat received their share of the paparazzi’s flash bulbs on the red carpet.

Director Anurag Kashyap and his team gained their share of the Riviera limelight with the screening of Gangs Of Wasseypur (2012). Four years ago, Neeraj Ghaywan’s Masaan, became an exception to the Cannes rule, by being laureled in the Un Certain Regard section besides bagging the FIPRESCI award, adjudged by the International Film Federation of Film Critics.

Yet, there’s no gainsaying that Cannes hasn’t opened up hidden masterworks by indie and rising auteurs of Indian cinema. Shyam Benegal flanked by his Nishant (1975) stars Shabana Azmi and Smita Patil, had made an impact. But were many of Benegal’s subsequent films screened there? No.

Ray’s Ghare Baire (1984) and Mrinal Sen’s Genesis (1986) did compete for the Palme D’Or, in vain.

Indian films which have aced Cannes are few and far between. Besides Masaan and Salaam Bombay!, count Ritesh Batra’s The Lunchbox (2013) declared as the Critics’ Week Viewers Choice, Murali Nair’s short film Marana Simhasanam (1999) lavished with the Camera D’Or for a debut director and Mrinal Sen’s Kharij (1982) presented the Special Jury prize.

Ray’s Pather Panchali (1956) was recognised as the Best Human Document, Bimal Roy’s Do Bigha Zameen (1954) was saluted with the Prix Internationale, V. Shantaram’s Amar Bhopali (1951) was thumbed up for Excellence in Sound Recording, and Chetan Anand’s Neecha Nagar was garlanded with the Grand Prix du Internationale du Film (the earlier name for Palme D’Or).

How many milestones of our cinema, in the last seven decades, have gone cavalierly ignored at Cannes is another story.

Perhaps the key reason for this rebuff is the fact that the nation’s meaningful cinema has been hardly marketed and promoted if at all. The National Film Development Corporation does set up a stall — complete with free cups of teas and samosas — at the Marche du Film. But do the spends of the ever-enlargening delegations fructify in monetary deals? Debatable.

To conclude on a positive note, here’s wishing Cannes unconditionally embraces the best of our quality cinema — and there’s plenty of that, I can assure you, compared to the best of Hollywood or any Wood.

And then who knows? Mr Bachchan will no longer have to ask, “What does it take to compete at Cannes?”


Richa Chadha, Neeraj Ghaywan, Shweta Tripathi and Vicky Kaushal at Cannes where their film Masaan premiered on May 19, 2015


Shyam Benegal with his Nishant actors Shabana Azmi and Smita Patil

Moving out of the periphery of pop culture consciousness, Jaaved Jaaferi hits the reset button again as the star of Monsoon Wedding’s recent musical
Shaikh Ayaz (MUMBAI MIRROR; August 13, 2017)

"The point is, I was the last one on.” Jaaved Jaaferi’s booming voice, instantly recognisable thanks to his various avatars over the years as a film actor, funnyman, dancer and TV host, ricochets in his 17th floor apartment in Lokhandwala complex. “They had three workshops over the past year and a half. Everybody knew what they had to do. I didn’t. So, when I landed in New York I was totally raw, and, kind of, nervous. This is the first time I was doing a full-fledged musical. Eight shows a week.” He feigns exhaustion.

Jaaferi has recently returned from the US, having acted in the musical version of Mira Nair’s 2001 cult film Monsoon Wedding. The musical premiered at the Berkeley Repertory Theatre in California and will travel to Broadway next year. Last seen on Hindi screens as a flamboyant baddie opposite Hrithik Roshan in Bang Bang! three years ago, Jaaferi plays Lalit in the musical, the role of the bride’s father, made memorable by Naseeruddin Shah in the original.

To conjure Lalit, Jaaferi didn’t revisit Monsoon Wedding. He wanted to avoid “the whole Naseer bhai influence.” Instead, he says he channelled his inner Tevye, the Yiddish daddy from his favourite Hollywood musical, Fiddler On The Roof. As an actor, he usually starts with a point of reference — “to refer your character to something in real life.” For instance, in the 2007 comedy Dhamaal — his most prominent mainstream success yet, alongside 2005’s Salaam Namaste — he dropped his baritone completely to assume the voice of a 10-yearold.

His character Manav was a dungaree-clad, beret-sporting man-child with a penchant for getting his friends and himself into trouble. “When you play a character you try to make a new person, which obviously incorporates the way he walks, thinks, and the voice. For Manav, I took on the demeanour of Laurel & Hardy and the slouch. I gave him a lisp because we had to make him a weak character,” he says, forgetting to mention that so much of his performance in that film is more an ode to Mr Bean. Similarly, the cowboy of Salaam Namaste had shades of Crocodile Dundee and Feroz Khan.

Explaining his approach, especially with impersonation (he balks at the term “mimicry”) he says, “You have to caricature it a bit. If RK Laxman draws Mr Bachchan, he will probably extend his nose or make his eyes droop. A cartoonist takes a prominent feature of a personality and pushes it a little to make it funny.” A man of many talents, Jaaferi calls himself a keen observer of life and people. “It’s all about your power of observation. It’s like having a database. You can take from whoever you want, but make it your own. When A R Rahman takes a riff from Michael Jackson, he makes a new song.” Jaaferi has a madcap mimetic gift. He is devastatingly funny. But that’s reserved only for the camera.

In person, Jaaferi is very, very serious — even mournful. “It’s assumed that a comedian has to be funny all the time. From Chaplin to Johnny Walker saab to Mehmood saab, they were all serious people.” Spend some time with the Janus-faced star and a portrait emerges of a man who has the supple flexibility to draw from his bag of tricks and become anyone he wants. His Twitter bio reads: “Biodegradable Entertainer. Actor, producer, director, stand up comedian, choreographer, voice artist, occasional pessimist, frequent optimist. Aam Aadmi.”

The son of Jagdeep, a much-loved Bollywood comedian, humour has always been his sweet spot. But how on earth did he inherit a talent for dance? Jaaferi was the face of Boogie Woogie, the dance TV show that ran for so long, one female participant who was then 15 and is now a 33-year-old soccer mom “calls me uncle.” In fact, Jaaferi got his Bollywood break in 1985 when he landed the role of a rock-n-roll villain in Subhash Ghai’s Meri Jung. A friend dropped his “video tape” off at Ghai’s office and the next thing he knew, he was cast as the “dancing villain, a first in Hindi cinema.”

Today, looking back, Jaaferi says with a touch of regret, “It was a mistake.” His life would have turned out differently if he had been launched as a hero instead. “It was a wrong decision because at that point, villains were well-defined. Villains were bad people. Dancing was done by good people. If ever a villain danced, he was bad at it, but I could kill with dance, I was so good.” “It’s like Govinda. Govinda came in a year and half after I did. And he was also a dance guy. If I had come as a hero, I would have been somewhere in that zone.”

Post Meri Jung, he quickly got typecast. Bollywood soon put him on a musical chair and before long, he was relegated to middling multi-hero films. Over the years, Jaaferi has tried to repackage himself but all efforts to hit the reset button on a promising career have been met with mixed results. And yet, he has stuck around. Whether it was his VJ-ing days during which he did side-splitting skits on Bollywood, the zany voiceover for the dubbed version of the Japanese game show Takeshi’s Castle (he reimagined General Lee as Dilip Kumar), or the “It’s different” refrain from the Maggi ad, our pop culture is somewhat incomplete without Jaaved Jaaferi’s minor presence. Now, having been around for 30 odd years — “there were some even, also,” he deadpans — what excites him most is the chance to be a “principal” actor in a film.

“I would have loved to play Boman’s (Irani) role in 3 Idiots,” instead of the real Ranchoddas Shamaldas Chanchad (his appearance in the Raju Hirani blockbuster, was brief but important, plot-wise). By his own admission, Jaaferi is a victim of “image.” Assume, he entreats, “The director would never have cast me for Boman’s role, because I am not old enough to be Kareena’s (Kapoor) father and not too young, either.” He believes he belongs in the same space as Irrfan Khan and Nawazuddin Siddiqui but nobody will cast him in their roles. Again, that damn “image”.

At 53, Jaaferi looks young enough to match his graduation photograph. And yet, he’s a father of three teenagers. One of them, Meezaan, is following in his father and grandfather’s footsteps. Tipped to be launched by Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Jaaferi observes nostalgically, “He’s coming in approximately at the same age I did — 22. The way he’s coming in is also the same. Out of the blue, you get an offer and you’re in.”

The same could be said about Jaaferi’s blink-and-you- miss-it political career. A political rookie, he contested for 2014 Lok Sabha elections from Lucknow on an Aam Aadmi Party ticket, but lost to BJP heavyweight Rajnath Singh. Joining politics was a kneejerk reaction. Even his family was surprised. “I didn’t want to be a politician. I just wanted to say I believe in this, ‘put your money where your mouth is’ kind of a thing.” He still believes in AAP’s promise of “political change”, but washes his hands of active politics. “Bachchan saab burnt his fingers in politics. I should have, perhaps, learnt my lessons.”

Avinash Lohana (MUMBAI MIRROR; July 27, 2017)

Sukhwinder Singh’s “Kaawan Kaawan” from Mira Nair’s 2001 film Monsoon Wedding now finds its way to Nikkhil Advani’s Lucknow Central, which has Farhan Akhtar in the role of a prisoner and is directed by Ranjit Tiwari. “We were looking for a blockbuster song which can evoke that kind of nostalgia and can be converted into an anthem. After much deliberation, we zeroed down on 'Kaawan Kaawan”', which is popular even today at social gatherings. People dance to it when it’s played,” says Nikkhil.

The recreated version has been sung by Divya Kumar and composed by Arjunna Harjaie. “Farhan and his jail mates don’t have musical instruments in the prison, which is why they use mouth and body percussions. Taufiq Qureshi and Omkar Sulankhe have created two songs, including this one with the same technique and no musical instruments, which have panned out really well,” Nikkhil reveals, adding that it’s a dance number choreographed by Bosco.

Prod him on why he chose to recreate an old song and he says, “If somebody recreates 'Kal Ho Naa Ho', 'It’s The Time To Disco' or 'Maahi Ve' it will be for an audience who may be 14 but were four then. I think it’s wonderful for the younger generation to experience great music from that time. I hope we make Mira Nair, Mychael Danna (Monsoon Wedding composer) and Sukhwinder Singh proud,” Nikkhil says.

Usman Ghafoor in Lahore (MID-DAY; July 23, 2017)

A few years ago, when Adnan Siddiqui opted out of Yash Raj Films’s Mardani because the part that was originally offered to him was changed at the last minute, he thought Bollywood would never have any meaty parts for him. Then, Boney Kapoor’s Mom came along. Today, post the film’s successful release, this well-known Pakistani actor of hit serials such as Maat, Mere Qatil Mere Dildar and Doraha, some of which were also aired on Zindagi, has been lapping up accolades after acting with Sridevi, Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Akshaye Khanna.

A Sridevi fan, Siddiqui says Mom meant acting alongside the veteran actress, especially playing Sridevi’s husband. “Real life mein nah sahi, screen pe hi sahi,” he chuckles.

Mom isn’t his first international acting assignment. Earlier, Siddiqui did a cameo in a Hollywood film, A Mighty Heart (2007), alongside Angelina Jolie. Back home, he has just released his first feature, Yalghaar. It is touted to be the most expensive film in Pakistan’s history.

Clearly, Siddiqui is on a roll. Yalghaar and Mom have scored big at the box office. My first question to him is obviously about his experience with the Bollywood crew and, particularly, Sridevi. “I’d be insane if I said I didn’t love the experience. And, honestly, I would’ve said so if I hadn’t loved it, I am that crazy!” Our conversation is briefly interrupted by a phone call. “It’s Boney sahib,” Siddiqui murmers, before he rushes to answer the call. He returns shortly, and begins to relate how he enjoys a “great rapport” with the producer. “We’re on the same page; we’re always exchanging notes on the film.”

Interestingly, Mom’s director (Ravi Udyawar) is a debutant, and so is Sajal Ali, another Pak import. Siddiqui attributes it to his producer. “You’ve to hand it to Boney sahib for trusting so many newcomers with his film.” Excerpts from an interview.

How did Mom come your way?
India se mujhe pehle bhi offers aa chukhein hain, but nothing excited me. I was approached for Mardaani (2014), for the villain’s part. Later, I was asked to play the cop instead. So, I refused. Last year, when the makers of Mom approached me, my instinctive response was, “I hope I am not wasted in the role.” I was concerned because I have worked hard, over the past 27 years, to get where I am. I didn’t want it to go down the drain.

You finally accepted the role, despite its length?
Roles aren’t big or small, but the actors are. I was convinced that I wasn’t looking at the length of the character as much as its significance to the plot. When I was told that it was Boney Kapoor’s film, and that I’d be playing Sri ma’m’s husband, I jumped with joy. I have always admired her work, her range as an actor, and her beauty. If you take her film Mr India (1987), for instance. She is a seductress in one song, a comedienne in another. She also makes you cry in that particular scene when she learns that the children are starving. Similarly, she had amazed me in Sadma (1983). I am proud of my Pakistani co-star Sajal’s performance also. I think it’s a great achievement for her that she got the chance to debut in a film that stars Sridevi, and yet she could hold her own.

Were you concerned that your role might be slashed at the editing table, especially after relations between India and Pakistan got worse in September last year?
Never. I had full faith in Boney sahib.

It was reported that you and Sajal weren’t going to return to India for the remaining shoot, because you were concerned about your safety?
That was pure assumption. In fact, we got our visas despite tension at the borders. Boney sahib is a well connected person. He didn’t want us or his team to get into any awkward situation, and so decided to shift the shooting location to Bangkok. It must’ve been a tough choice, financially also, since he had to fly the cast and crew from India and us, from Pakistan. Earlier, the part in the film which is supposed to be Kashmir was shot in Georgia because being Pakistanis, we would not be allowed there. I often told Boney sahib that it was because of us that the film’s budget had gone up, and he’d comfort me by saying, “Arrey yaar, we are professionals, we don’t think that way!” It was a big thing for me.

You weren’t required for dubbing?
No, because Mom was shot in sync sound.

Where did the shooting locations take you in India? In an April 16, 2016 tweet, you said, “My stay at one of the most beautiful palaces in Jaipur, ‘Jai Mahal Palace’ was nothing less than royal.”
We shot in Delhi and Mumbai. But, you know, Boney sahib pampers his actors a lot. There was a gap of 10 days between our two shooting spells, so he planned trips for us in India. He told us visit Agra and Jaipur at his expense. He could’ve told us to hang in in our hotel rooms, but he wanted us to enjoy our time. He took care of everything for us, from our travels to our food. He had arranged a special cook for me, named Afzal, who would make sure I get halal meat.

Did you get any other offers during your stay in India?
I was called to audition for Mira Nair’s Broadway musical, which is loosely based on her own film, Monsoon Wedding (2001). It was for the role of Lalit, played by Naseeruddin Shah. As I was shooting for Mom in India, I had to give it a miss.

Divya Kaushik (BOMBAY TIMES; May 30, 2017)

Namit Das (second from left) and Mira Nair (in white) during rehearsals

Namit Das on gearing up to reprise the iconic role of PK Dubey in the Monsoon Wedding Broadway musical
Mohar Basu (MID-DAY; October 17, 2016)

The first thing that Namit Das tells us about Mira Nair’s Monsoon Wedding is that it was the first film he watched with his first girlfriend at a Bandra theatre. Now prepping for the musical adaptation of the 2001 award-winning film to open on Broadway next year, the actor says it will be a three-way attack.

“Broadway has always been challenging. Singing and acting while the world is sitting out there and judging you is no mean feat. I have no idea how I will manage that,” says Namit.

Even if he’s nervous, he does well not show it. Last seen in television show Sumit Sambhal Lega, a remake of Everybody Loves Raymond, the actor will reprise the role of PK Dubey (played by Vijay Raaz) for the musical. “I was selected on the basis of my skill set — singing and dancing, specifically. I am not considering a career in Broadway, but I want to do a good job at it. I don’t want anything to hamper my growth as an actor,” he says, insisting that he has decided not to meet Raaz for insight into the character. “That would have been a convenient option, but I want to bring my own to it.”

Interestingly, the musical will be a heady mix of English writing and Indian classical notes composed by Vishal Bhardwaj. “The tunes are intrinsically Indian and mostly raag- based, but the words are in English. I am doing my riyaaz every morning. I also have a band, so my vocal skills never lack rehearsal. Vishal sir is quite busy with Rangoon, but soon enough, I must visit his house and understand a few nuances he had mentioned to me in the last workshop,” says Namit.

Namit believes Broadway culture in America is on the brink of a massive change. “People tend to play safe at times. But, that’s not Mira’s style. Broadway is opening up to new ideas. Their current favourite play is Hamilton and it traces the history of rap music. That’s unusual too,” he says.

Director Mira Nair, from New York, on Broadway adaptation of Monsoon Wedding, and her next, Queen of Katwe
Mayank Shekhar (MID-DAY; September 19, 2016)

'Queen of Katwe' is a Disney film. You've been working in the Hollywood studio system for years now, the exact variants of which, and the same suits, operate out of Bollywood as well. Surprising that you haven't made a film from Bombay's Hollywood studio network yet...
'Queen of Katwe' is actually an 'independent' film. And very much 'my' film at its core, set in my front-yard in Kampala, Uganda, where I've been living for 27 years now. When Tendo Nagenda, the Ugandan born vice-president at Disney, came to me with a remarkable story (of chess prodigy Phiona Mutesi) that he'd read in a newspaper article (by Tim Cothers), I didn't know about it, although it took place 16 minutes away from my house. I am inspired by people who make it from nothing. It's the same values that embody Disney, but the style is radically different. Disney has never made a film set in modern-day Africa without animals in them! But they never asked me to sanitise it either. It's truthful, stylish, and about the place.

Also interesting that the crew mainly comprises alumni from Maisha, the film school you've been running from Uganda for 11 years.
Yes, 30 per cent of the Hollywood crew are former students of Maisha. But the most famous alumnus is (the Oscar-winning lead actor) Lupita (Nyong'o), who graduated from our school in 2006.

And you've called it a "100 per cent African film". I'm sorry for harping on this, but we are talking to you from Mumbai. When do we see a "100 per cent Indian film"? We've been missing you since Salaam Bombay, Monsoon Wedding, Mira.
Aa rahee hoon meri jaan! Lo, ab aayi! (I'm coming over soon, my love). The style invented in Monsoon Wedding, we are trying to adapt to Broadway.


Yes, there is much excitement over that!
We've been developing it for nine years, and it opens finally on May 19, 2017, at Berkeley Theatre in California, and then Broadway at the end of next year. Vishal (Bhardwaj) has written the most amazing score, with 21 new songs. Namit Das is the new PK Dubey, and we have a fantastic new actor, Sharvari Deshpande. Others you'll discover soon as the time's right to reveal. We've been through several rounds of rehearsals and workshops over the years, with the fantastic Sabrina Dhawan (original writer of Monsoon Wedding), and the veteran Susan Birkenhead as lyricist.

And you just mentioned this — right from Salaam Bombay to The Reluctant Fundamentalist set in New York, and now 'Queen of Katwe' in Kampala, there appears to be a recurring theme of chronicling the marginalised in places you know. Is that conscious?
I just get inspired by people who focus on what they have, rather than what they don't. That story is eternally inspiring. Also, there is the question of who considers whom the margialised, or the 'other'. What I'm trying to do (with 'Queen of Katwe') is in a sassy, vibrant way, show the dignity of Kampala, with the confidence of an insider's view. Uganda is the most courteous country in the world. Even with half an inch of water to bathe, you'll find people who look the most stylish. That is inspiring. My film is not a picture of utter despair with the white man as the saviour. It is also not a sports genre movie. It is more complex. You can find genius everywhere. But you need a family and society to see it and nourish it. You need a village to help you make it.

The other common theme that one notices, especially while watching your super-serious last film, The Reluctant Fundamentalist, is an over-arching sense of music — soundtrack, background score — which is true for almost all your films. Does that come from the fact that you happen to be fundamentally an Indian filmmaker?
Happen to be how? I am fundamentally Indian! Music is such a gift, and I have always breathed it as oxygen. Being Indian allows me to be liberal, with the use of music. With Salaam Bombay that I re-watched recently, I discovered that you have to use silence in equal measure. Music is often the seed of the movies I want to make. In Reluctant Fundamentalist, the 'qawaal' world of north India hit the nerve, given what Mohsin (Hamid) had written.

The Oscar season has just begun, and I've been reading blogs about how 'Queen of Katwe' could be the perfect Oscar bait. It checks all the right boxes: it's a biopic, has a stellar cast, and pardon the expression — not mine — it's a tear-jerker! Would you agree?
Arre yar, apan ka kaam hai banana! (My job is to make). Hope the film rides a wave, not for any (Oscar) bait at all. But to capture people's hearts. And the (Academy) votes? Well, that won't be a bad thing. I want bums on seats. The film received an enthusiastic reception at Toronto (film festival). I'm now trying to be calm amid the hoopla!