Aamir Khan produces ‘Peepli Live’

August 12, 2010 njaiyo 0 Comments

Peepli Live is a satire, which revolves around a villager from Central India called Natha, his brother Budhia and their family. The family is about to lose their land because they are unable to repay a loan, when they hear of a government programme which offers the family of any farmer committing suicide a compensation of 100,000 rupees ($2000). The older brother convinces his sibling to agree to commit suicide. This sets in motion a chain of events which finds Natha in the eye of a storm.

The local bigwigs, the state government, high-ranking bureaucrats, federal ministers and the national media, all become stakeholders in the mad circus that erupts. This is the story of India today. Rural society, the bureaucracy, media, politics and life. . .

In a career spanning 20 years Aamir Khan has performed in over 40 films. As one of the biggest stars of Indian cinema, his films, from Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak to Lagaan, Dil Chahta Hai, Rang De Basanti, Taare Zameen Par to Ghajini and 3 Idiots, have garnered both critical acclaim and tremendous box office success.

Lagaan, a film that Khan both produced and starred in, was nominated in the Best Foreign Language Film category for the 2001 Academy Awards. While Rang De Basanti, another starrer, was nominated for the 2006 BAFTA Awards for Best Foreign Language Film.

Khan’s directorial debut, Taare Zameen Par (2007), which he also starred in and produced, was India’s official selection for the Academy Awards 2008 in the Best Foreign Language Film category.

3 Idiots (2009), a Khan starrer, has the distinction of being the highest grossing film in the history of Indian cinema. It grossed INR 420 crore ($100M approx) worldwide outdoing Ghajini (2008), which he also starred in and which was the previous record holder at INR 240CR ($50M approx).

Khan’s most recent production, Peepli Live, is the first Indian film to be shown in the World Cinema Competition at Sundance 2010. A multi-talented and versatile artist, Khan ranked No.1 at the top of Filmfare’s 2008 Most Powerful People in Bollywood. He is currently ranked No. 4 in India Today’s most powerful people in India.

In 2002 he was awarded the Padma Shree by the President of India, and in 2010 the Padma Bhushan, one of India’s highest ranking civilian awards.

Many people have told me about the two most famous men in India. One is Shah Rukh Khan, The King of Bollywood. He is comparable to a rockstar, movie star and superstar athlete rolled into one. Shah Rukh Khan is all about the glamour and Bollywood. The second is Aamir Khan. He is more Hollywood and considered the Tom Cruise of India and has tremendous power in entertainment. It’s glamour versus power. I had the fortunate opportunity or meeting Shah Rukh Khan when he was in New York City promoting his film ‘My Name is Khan’. Two weeks ago, Aamir Khan was in the States promoting his latest film, ‘Peepli Live’ which opens Friday, August 13th. This is his interview!

He’s a really talented person. He has a wonderful image. He has a really creative mind with great energy. If that works out, then I’d be really happy.

Aamir Khan on working with Danny Boyle

ASIANCE: What was the hardest part in making this film?

Aamir: I think the hardest part for any film is to achieve the potential of the script. In that sense, Anusha Rizvi, the writer and director, was on the right track from the start. She was very honest with the material and went for what she believed what was right for the film. The cast is predominantly new on film for the first time. She has an assortment of really talented musicians to collaborate with and work on this film, in terms of the music. The toughest part is to market the film with 2 people, because it doesn’t have stars.

We have 2 audiences that we are looking at, 1 is the traditional audience for Indian cinema. We are trying to reach out to them. Since there are no stars, it is an uphill task. It’s also a very unusual type of film for Indian cinema. It’s a first of its kind in many ways, so that is not easy. Then to try to reach out to an audience which may not have seen an Indian film, Americans. I believe this film has the potential to engage a world audience, audiences that like to see world cinema and foreign language films, etc. So that is a challenge because we are not a big studio that comes with a lot of money which comes with a lot of strengths, such as distribution. That’s the biggest challenge for us.

ASIANCE: How did you know that you wanted to do this script?

Aamir: When I read the script for the first time, I just loved it. I thought it was really funny. The script really popped. I thought the lines were great. While it was funny it was also very heartbreaking and though provoking it touched me and I just loved it.

ASIANCE: Did any of the characters strike a chord with you?

Aamir: (laughs) well I thought Amma (the mother) was quite an amusing character. So is Dhaniya, Natha’s wife. In fact, the three women characters are very strong. They’ve come out really well. It’s an ensemble piece with a lot of actors and characters. Each one of them is great actually but Amma is my pick!

Peepli LIVE – Official Trailer
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ASIANCE: How did you come to cast Malaika Shenoy? We don’t know much about her.

Aamir: Well the casting process was pretty similar for all the actors. In this case, the director Anusha, along with her husband Mahmood, who is also the casting director and the co director with her on this film, actually did an extensive search for the actors on this film. They were looking in very unusual places. They weren’t looking for actors who were part of the film industry. Instead, they were meeting many theaters actors from different parts of India. They picked a lot of actors from Naya Theatre Group, which is a theater group in Central India. Naya Theatre Group is a group started by Habib Tanvir. He worked with predominantly tribes and villagers from Central India. He’s worked with them all his life. Unfortunately he passed about a year ago. All the actors are very well trained and did a whole body of work in theater. Naya Theater really mixes rural and folk art forms with modern theater adapted into their own dialects. Malaika is someone they found in their search as they threw the net really wide.

Malaika Shenoy

ASIANCE: How would you describe her?

Aamir: I think she’s done a wonderful job. The character, Nadita, that she is playing, is someone that is very confident and someone who has a lot of drive. She’s brought that out really well. She’s confident.

ASIANCE: Is there an ultimate goal for you in filmmaking?

Aamir: No I don’t think there is an ultimate goal. I’m just happy that I’m able to do work that I enjoy doing and scripts that excite me. That’s a big goal in itself for me.

When I’m looking for scripts or reading a script, I don’t have any preconceived notions. For example, now I want to film on this or a film that is socially relevant or what issue can I pick up next. That is not how I think. For me, the primary responsibility is to entertain people. I believe that is the primary responsibility of cinema. So when a person buys a ticket and goes to the theater, he wants to have a good time. If he wants to learn something, he’ll go to college. If he’s coming to the theater, he wants to have a good time. That’s what I want to give me audience. I’ll go with my gut feeling, what excites me and what’s engaging to me as an audience when I’m reading the script. I don’t try to second guess what the audience will want or what they will like. I just go with my gut and I hope that they will like it. If and when I come across material which dramatically works for me on its own like Peepli does and also has issues which are political, I’m happy to do that as well.

ASIANCE: Danny Boyle has wanted to work with you on his anticipated thriller. Did you make a decision on that?

Aamir: (laughs) I’ve been so busy and single mindedly on ‘Peepli Live’ that until the 13th of August when the film releases, I won’t be looking at any scripts. Maybe a week after the 13th, I’ll start reading material that has been sent to me and has been waiting for me. Danny is a great guy. He’s a really talented person. He has a wonderful image. He has a really creative mind with great energy. If that works out, then I’d be really happy.

ASIANCE: Is there anyone that you would like to work with in Bollywood/Hollywood that you haven’t?

Aamir: There are a lot of really talented people in India and of course in the United States, so I’d be happy to work with a host of them. I don’t look at my work in that way. The material has to excite me at first. It has to happen organically. Of course, there are a lot of people which I think are incredibly talented. I just saw ‘Inception’, which I thought was great.