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The Mira Nair Chat

Mira/Mamdhani >> Can we get director's uncut versioon of KS in the USA ? If Yes when or what time frame.

Preacher ( i feel wierd addressing u like that), I felt Salaam Bombay was a better movie, very real in its approach. But that doesn't make M.Masala a bad movie either. But the character of chai-pav in S.Bombay was too good.

Mira :
I liked u'r Salaam Bombay , but dont u think KS is a movie that will be viewed by Indian Audiences as a porn movie , the way they saw Bandit Queen ?

Tell me, do you think SEX amonst the Indian women has become so inhibitive that it is more of a task then an act of love and pleasure. Actually I think it will do the Indian women a bit of good to EXPLORE the meaning of sex as it existed in the past. What say you Mamdhani?

Preacher ( i feel wierd addressing u like that), I felt Salaam Bombay was a better movie, very real in its approach. But that doesn't make M.Masala a bad movie either. But the character of chai-pav in S.Bombay was too good.

Mira >> Has Sarita chowdhury or MMasala and KS acted in any other fim ? Is she a resident of US

Hi surfers,Bongie again.. Mira what reason do you attribute to the 'pernicious vision' of sexuality in India today ?Over the last few years,is there any change ?Do you hope that your work will bring about any change ?

Mira>> Tell us more about how you got interested in M.Masala.

I'd love to work with Nana Patekar again - but he's best in certain kind of roles, and I guess we haven't created that kind of role again since his Baba in Salaam. His best asset is his physicality and his voice - I did think of him at one time for the king in Kama Sutra, but he was too old for the other actors in the ensemble. So much of casting is the combination of certain people with others. To answer somebody's question oabout why Imade MMASALA, it was because I wanted to explore the idea of the hierarchy of colour - of being brown within the context of black and white. The idea emerged from being an Indian student at an American university, of being considered a "third world sister" by my black friends, and also accessible to my white friends. And yet, pf there being invisible lines drwan between the 3 communities. I thought it would be interesting to explore this idea, and wanted to integrate it with the notion of home and exile. The Asian expulsion from Uganda - of African-Indians who lived in Uganda and yet thought of India as their mythical home, being expelled from Uganda by Amin, ostensibly becauseof the color of their skin, coming to Mississippi - the cradle of the civil rights movement in the US - where they lived amidst Afican-Americans who had never known Africa and yet thought of it as their mythical home; what would happen with this collisionof these 2 cultures? Anyway tat was the cerebral premise the film began with - but then fleshed out by my screenwriter, Sooni Taraporevala, who created the tapestry of our myriad characters. It's an oddly beloved film, I find - a big fave with racially-mixed couples, and people dealing with the layered realities that is part and parcel of diaspora.

Hello BONGI AGAIN. Since Mira is taking so long to answer ...thought I'd say something to someone else .

MIRA What is your opinion about the inhibitive nature of sex and sexuality in India?

Mira: Thanks for the answer about the genesis of M.Masala. The reason I asked is the peculiar bondage of colour that we all seem to be trapped in. For example, a Tunisian friend of mine refers to himself as a "white" guy. Why do you think colour so inextricably linked to our psyche and our sense of self-esteem?

Bongi: I'd hoped, but never knew for certain, whether Salaam would make a difference in our society, But I know that it really has, in a small way, perhaps. The Salaam Baalak Trust we begain from the film's profits is thriving 7 years later, and we've created 15 more centres for streetkids all over India. So one never knows what KS will do. My feelin is though, the more a dimension of life is forbidden or restricted, the more retsricted it becomes. The minute it ceases to become a novelty, the bottom drops out, a whole lot of stuff emerges about it, and then a plateau is arrived at where the subject - be it sexuality, drugs, whatever - is dealt with in a more mature, nuanced fashion. I'm sure my film will rock boats at first, get soundly and roundly criticised, maybe appreciate by some, and thend the dust will die down and people might see it in a more balanced view. But if it provokes discussion about men and women, about this closed arena of sexuality that we all deal with but pretend we don't - then it would have made some difference.

Mira: your latest film deals with life in contemporary Bombay, with globalisation as the backdrop, so have you returned to India aftreall your wanderings?;_).......could you tell me more about this project...

but as i feel indian audiences will rush to the theaters just to see an indian porn movie and the women will stay away from the theaters

Why Kamasutra? What was the motive for filming the ancient classic? Was it because you felt you had to handle an ancient theme because Betrolucci beat you at Sidhartha?

Aguha: Sarita Choudhury is a resident of New York, and she's done smaller roles in many other films: House of the Spirits, The Burning Bed with Vanessa Redgrave, resently a theatre workshop with Andre Gregory, and is studying modern dance quite seriously. Her performance is amazing inKS, and I hope she gets recognized for it,

Mira/Mamdhani: Some of the questions posted have vanished. Hence, I am cutting and pasting what you have missed... Vatsayan asked: MIra/Mamdhani: I feel you are a shallow film-maker. You lack the intellect of Adoor Gopalakrishnan, and the sensibility of Nihalani. Defend yourself! Preacher (Thu Jan 2 14:29:43 1997 IST): Mira: One of the rumoured reasons for dropping the film from the festival is the voyeristic response it will evoke especially among male viewers. Are you aware that this is very much an Indian reality and to what extent women have to with it? BONGI (Thu Jan 2 14:27:09 1997 IST): Mamdani, Do you think common man would be able to stand Kamasutra. That too in dark lit theatres

Mamdani,You said you will never screen your movies in Indian festivals again...Does it seem like you are giving up hope about having any impact in India ?Don't you feel that the people who didn't allow your film to get screened are like angry kids..who don't even know whats good for them..How does it feel to be an expatriate Indian ,have you given up on this country ? When I shuttle between Boston and Delhi I feel appalled by the differences at times ..we are so constricted in our own worlds...

Mira/Mamdhani: Could you illustrate how you go about making a film? Do you think of themes in advance? Or do you decide on projects that are handed over to you by the studios? I believe that Good Knight chap is sponsoring your next film. Does it mean you have had it up to here with Hollywood?

It must be very tough for you to be taken seriously in Hollywood, especially when The Perez Family didn't do well. What is it like working with a Western crew?

Do you see yourself as an Indian film-maker or as a global film-maker?

Alcoholic: The film actually works much better with women than with men; they leave the theatre (in test market screenings) feeling empowered, and the men well, can be quite threatened and not as emotionally involved. Perhaps because women are the centre of this film. Anyway, I've made it a contractual condition in my Indian sale to have only women shows at the matinee times, all across India. Also, to have 2 shows a week for couples only. My gay friends tease me about this...but I do think couples should see this film together too. Let's see how this works as a strategy. It would upset me no end if women didn't get to see this film. It's made for us.

MIRA WHere was Kamasutra filmed? Was it filmed with an Indian audience in mind?

So your primary impulses for making a film are feminist?

mira : thats cool ...

MIra: What is your view of the cenosrhip laws in India? What was your personal opinion about BANDIT QUEEN?

What is your next movie all about ? Future Plans .. Did you maintain the spirit of Vatsyayan KS, or is it your version of KS.

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What do u think about the new breed of women directors?

Where was the Kamasutra filmed? Was it made keeping the Indian audience in mind?

What was it like working with Rekha? Was she troublesome? Did she heed your directions?

It's MIra back again, as myself...My primary impulses for making a film are not always the same, it varies from film to film - but I am a feminist in my bones, so I don't think that part is going to change. My future plans - I don't know if I my last message got thru before I got cut off; I'm inpried tomake a film about a mother and daughter in today's Bombay - the mother's a dubbing artiste, the daughter has the face - set against the madness of gloablisation. But I've also been offered BELOVED, a great novel by Toni MOrrison, starring Oprah Winfrey, so let's see what happens.

KS was filmed in Khajuraho and in Amber, a medieval town of fortresses outside Jaipur. It was made for me first, with the hope that the world would see it. Yes, I very much hope for a large Indian audience but didn't sit there and design it for any one audience in particular.

Mira: You're doing BELOVED? I would have thought that it was a difficult book to make a movie out of.

Mira: What about Beloved, tell us more about it

Raju: Rekha was interesting to work with, a great student and eager to submit totally to my work process. I didn't have any of the problems my other director-friends had warned me about - she worked me totally on her look and style for the film. But the Hindi movie acting tradition is quite different from what I wanted, and that's what we spent time working on together. Removing the artificiality, the arch quality of performance; making it more natural, ancient yet modern atthe same time.

Hi, How about considering Hyderabad as a basis for your next theme. Diverse culture here is full of creative oppurtunities. 400 year old history goes a long way in embedding/bedding culture.

What do u feel about being excluded from the Panorama?

What do u feel about being excluded from the Panorama?

Hiya, Mira. You are terrific!WSe love you! How's your ma now? Hope she is well. What do you plan to do between now and your next project? Look after Ebrahim (isn't aht his name?) and your kiddo in Kampala?

I don't know whether I'm doing BELOVED or not - it's much too early to tell. It's a great screenplay by Richard LaGravenese, non-linear like the book, filled with layers of memory. Tough yet lyrical - exactly my kind of thing in some ways. Yet I know it'll be like working with a mega-empire of Famous People, and that you know, has its own headaches. In some ways, I'm happier my own kind of independent film. Anyway about BELOVED, it's only an offer as yet, I don't have the job in hand as yet. But its interesting, given the fact that usually I get a whole lot of generic crap from the west coast. Folks, I only have time for 2 more questions, so shoot.

How about

WHy do you think The Perez Family was a flop? Even a casting with MARISSA TOMEI didn't work for it. Was it handled badly?

Mira: Re BELOVED - I hope you won't do to the book what they did to The English Patient.

I'm not excluded from the Panorama - I'm excluded, after being invited quite ceremonially - from The Cinema of the World section of the festival. I feel victimised and sickened by the lameness of their reasoning (their non-reasoning actually), and I'm tired of the babu-mentality that runs most of our nation. As I said earlier, we are a reluctant culture. Reluctant to embrace, to accept. to encourage, anything new, any efforts. Who needs it? I don't. I need audiences, not festivals. To answer Miss Bhubaneswar, my ma is great, my son Zohran is fabulous, and my husband is Mahmood not Ebrahim. He'ss of to Rwanda to research the current political situation.

Perez was terrible victim of BAD marketing. It's continues to work in Europe as we speak. Marisa was great for me - and for the Cubans, who loved the film. And the Cubanos, like us desis, are very opinionated people about their own heritage. You win some, you lose some. It's all part of the journey.

Mira tell us about your dream project!!!!!

OKAY FOLKS - I'M DONE. i'M GOING BACK TO OTHER WORK. GREAT TALKING TO YOU. SPREAD THE WORD ON THE KAMA SUTRA - GO WITH AN OPEN MIND AND YOU MIGHT GET SOMETHING OUT OF IT. LOTS OF LOVE, BYE- MIRA NAIR

BYE MIRA LOOKING FORWARD TO SEEING KS IN INDIA SOON. I HOPE THE INDIANS GAIN WHAT IT WAS MADE TO CONVEY TO THEM. SEE YA!

BYE MIRA THANKS A LOT AND HAPY NEW YEAR

Mira, thank you for your time, your patience, and, as always, your erudition. It's been wonderful having you with us this afternoon. Just one request: Could we get another member of the Nair-Mamdani clan on the Rediff Chat sometime soon? I am talking about Mahmood. On the Central African crisis. Anyway, Ciao!

BYE MIRA THANKS A LOT AND HAPY NEW YEAR

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