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`I always preferred spontaneity'
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Working with Bergman was the best artistic experience of her life, Liv Ullmann tells LAKSHMI BALAKRISHNAN
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`I am a homely person'
DRESSED IN a bright blue suit and flashing a warm smile, Liv Ullmann is busy posing for Indian shutterbugs at the Norwegian Embassy in New Delhi. Her never-ending romance with the camera is more than evident, with her eyes quietly following the command of the lens, and her face adjusting to the moods and expressions rather effortlessly.
It continues to be the photographer's show till someone makes the mistake of asking her to give a `dancing' pose. "I can't do that at 64 years of age! You ask people who are around 30 to pose like that, not me,'' she says in a strict tone. The request is not repeated, and after giving them the promised time, the seasoned actress-turned-director is finally ready a short interview.
It happens to be her second trip to India. The first one was way back in the 1980s in her capacity as an ambassador for the United Nations. The memory of her visit to a village, and the sight of a joint Indian family is still etched in her mind, and she points out how this woman remained a major inspiration for her for years to come.
Her second visit is, perhaps, made more special by the Lifetime Achievement Award that was conferred on her at the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) now under way in New Delhi.
"I am tremendously happy to be here because this is so much more than a festival. I am very inspired and hope the Norwegian and Indian film industries get to know each other better through their movies and that we become friends across the border,'' hopes the actress.
She may have been born in Tokyo and spent her early years in Canada before coming back to her roots in Norway, but Ullmann says it would be difficult for her to say what she has taken from the three different cultures and people. "You never know that. I lived with my family in a quite neighbourhood. I am woman who had great experiences. I don't like going out for parties or socialising too much. I am a homely person who likes to be surrounded by her friends and family members,'' says the actress.
For someone who has always preferred spontaneity to method acting, Ullmann as an actress always found it important to connect with the character she was playing. "I am that kind of actress, I would have to recognise with the character I am playing. Even as a director it is important that you understand the roles well to get that kind of performance from your actors,'' quips the actress.
It was her working with acclaimed Swedish director Ingmar Bergman that eventually accelerated her career, with some of her best performances like "En Passion'' and "Ansikte mot Ansikte''.
"Working with Bergman was probably the best artistic experience of my life as well as that with another fellow-being. We did 11 films together, and also worked in theatre. He taught me to respect the medium and with him I realised how privileged we were to be a part of cinema. It was through him that I learnt of professionalism,'' she points out.
Known to be a director who settled for nothing but the best, Ullmann accepts that she learnt a lot from him.
"He was clearly the master. And I saw how he always chose the people he wanted to work with. He wanted the best of everything. And what separated him from others was the fact that he was not scared of sharing credit,'' she says.
Her latest film with Bergman has been a learning experience for both, what with the director using digital camera for the first time. "We were shooting this particular scene where Bergman was sitting in another side of the room looking into the TV screen, and I had to enact a monologue. He is my perfect audience and I am so used to acting for him. At that moment it felt strange not to have him close. But just before I was to start, Bergman and I caught each others' eye, and we had established our contact,'' a smiling Ullmann reveals.
Photo: S. Arneja
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Life
Bangalore
Chennai
Coimbatore
Delhi
Hyderabad
Kochi
Madurai
Thiruvananthapuram
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