Midnight’s Children, written by Salman Rushdie Options

[Sharmila-Sweet]

Midnight’s Children hits floors in December
Roshmila Bhattacharya, Hindustan Times
Email Author
Mumbai, September 12, 2010First Published: 12:23 IST(11/9/2010)

Shabana Azmi refuses to divulge details about her role in Deepa Mehta’s screen adaptation of Midnight’s Children. But admits that she’s thrilled with the script. “When I read Salman Rushdie’s Booker Prize-winning novel, I thought it would be impossible to film. But Deepa and Salman have come up with a crackling screenplay and I’m impressed,” she exults.

Azmi is excited at the prospect of working with Mehta again after the aborted Water. Nandita Das and she had to step aside after Mehta was told that distributors wouldn’t touch her film if it featured the two actresses, following a shoot in Varanasi that was disrupted by angry fundamentalists, forcing the unit to move to Sri Lanka. Lisa Ray stepped in for Das and Seema Biswas for Azmi.

“We believed in the film and the issues it raised. And agreed that the fundamentalist forces had to be defeated. We were vindicated when the film was nominated for the Oscars,” asserts Azmi.

Midnight’s Children flags off in December. Before that, in October, Azmi will be touring the US with her one-woman play, Broken Images. “I’ve received another exciting movie offer but I don’t know if I’ll be able to do it since I’m committed to this tour,” she says. “I’m looking forward to it since the play works differently with different audiences.”

Written by Girish Karnad and directed by Alyque Padamsee, Broken Images is a psychological thriller revolving around a Hindi short story writer who becomes famous overnight after writing an English bestseller. She goes to a TV studio for an interview and on the way out, her on-screen image starts talking to her and has us wondering whether it is her, her paralised younger sister Malini who used to write in English or her conscience speaking.

“Technically, it’s a huge challenge because I’m not enacting two characters but two facets of the same character. The TV image lasts for 42 minutes and is a single-take effort. The lines have been pre-recorded and I have to react to them on stage, so timing is crucial,” explains Azmi.

She was in Rothak for a show recently and an hour before it was to start, she was asked by the organiser if she could speak more Hindi since only 20 per cent of the audience understood English.

“My image had to speak English but I reacted to what she was saying in Hindi, translating my lines live on stage, without any rehearsal,” she recalls. “I don’t know how I did it but when the show ended, the organiser was in tears and the audience were up on their feet applauding.”

[Sharmila-Sweet]

Midnight... is my largest film ever
Says Deepa Mehta, who just finished shooting Midnight’s Children across 64 locations and with a mamoth cast. In a candid chat she also talks about her equations with her actors and co-writer Salman Rushdie



Subhash K Jha

Posted On Tuesday, May 17, 2011 at 03:26:23 AM



Deepa Mehta is excited about her dream project. Her film, based on Salman Rushdie’s Midnight’s Children, is complete within a span of three months.

Unaffected by the speculations surrounding the cast of her film in India, the director is content with the way the film has turned out to be.

Working with her script writer Salman Rushdie was a smooth process, she says, but also admits that not once was she overwhelmed by his towering and controversial international image. Excerpts from a candid interview.

► How did you finish shooting all of Midnight’s Children in such a short span of time?

We have been shooting continuously since February 5. I wouldn’t call that a short span of time!

► The film has a vast cast. Could you tell us about the actors?

I feel incredibly privileged to have had the opportunity to work with such a talented group of actors. With Shabana Azmi, with whom I worked in Fire, it was like rediscovering her marvellous instinct. She made the perfect Naseem.

Seema Biswas continues to surprise me with her attention to detail and her ability to mould a new aspect of the character. Some actors I had never worked with before and yet others for whom Midnight’s Children was a first film.

Satya Bhabha was superb in the role of older Saleem. Siddharth who plays Shiva, his nemesis, was equally compelling.

► Midnight’s Children has been shot in Sri Lanka instead of Pakistan and India. Why?

Mainly for the locations. The India and Pakistan (Bombay and Karachi) of the 40’s and 70’s would have been near impossible to find or replicate, so I chose Sri Lanka.

► Did you anticipate some kind of a backlash because of Salman Rushdie’s controversial image as an iconoclastic litterateur?

No. None at all.

► What is the spoken language of the film? How do you intend to pitch it in the international market?

The film has been pre-sold in all the major markets of the world. The language of the film is English, Urdu and Hindi.

► Do you think it will have a smooth release in India?

I have no clue and neither do I have any expectations.

► How would you describe the experience of shooting Midnight’s Children when compared with your earlier works?

It’s the largest film I have done. Logistically it was a challenge. It spans three decades, has a huge cast and 64 locations.

► How much of the book have you retained in the film?

The heart and soul of the book is intact, as well its humour and I hope its emotional content too.

► Were you and Salman Rushdie able to work peacefully as co-writers?

Salman wrote the script. My contribution to it was as a director. We worked closely and I must say, easily. He has a great sense of humour and understands the cinematic language completely.



First look of Deepa Mehta’s adaptation of Midnight’s Children

► Did Rushdie have a say in the shooting? Was he physically present in Sri Lanka?

Salman is busy writing his memoir. He was supposed to come but then couldn’t make it. Though not physically present, but via encouraging emails and phone calls, he made his presence felt.

► When do you hope to release the film?

In the spring of 2012.

► What is your next project?

I am working on a film based on French artiste Henri Matisse, titled Masterpiece.