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Of films and art
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Shaji Karun on his latest film and more
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Photo: SHAJU JOHN
THINK IT OVER Shaji Karun feels a debate should start on why we don’t make it to international film festivals
Shaji Karun is a disappointed man these days. The former Chairman of Kerala State Chalachitra Academy says that this year there was no official entry of Indian films at Cannes. And that it has been happening for past six to seven years.
“They have taken films from small places such as Singapore, Turkey, Vietnam and Cambodia but not an Indian film. It is because despite making 1,000 films a year, we cannot produce even one film that matches international standards. They don’t say that openly to us. When I talked to them, they just said that ‘the gates are now closed.’
“I know what that means because all my films get an entry there. Among 4,000 entries they just take 20 films and we don’t come remotely close to the top list.
“What’s the contribution of stars like Shah Rukh Khan to world cinema? They made Aishwarya Rai represent India because a substantial part of the film festival was funded by L’oreal and she is its brand ambassador. Do we just need cosmetics to represent us there? Aren’t they laughing at us by doing that? We can’t send good films, so they take a beautiful face from here!”
Shaji, incidentally has been invited to show ‘Suryamukhi’ there. But he hasn’t started shooting for it. ‘Suryamukhi’ is his Hindi feature on Raja Ravi Varma’s last six years of his life. It stars Vidya Balan and Madhavan.
On Suryamukhi
“In his last years, Varma turned a printer – a businessman than an artist. It marked his failure. It is also about his association with women,” he says. Made with “extensive research”, and against the backwaters of Kerala, the film’s budget is Rs. 3.35 crores. The film will go on floors in November, he adds.
For now, the filmmaker whose debut film ‘Piravi’ won the Camera d’ O Mention d’ honour at the Cannes Film Festival, is busy finishing a feature film in Malayalam called ‘Kutty Shrank.’ He narrates: “It is about a passenger boatman in Kerala whose body is unidentified. Three men, his co-passengers, come and talk about him. This film is produced by Reliance.”
RANA SIDDIQUI
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