Some of your admirers believe that with Before The Rains you have captured much of the reputation you built with The Terrorist about nine years ago. They feel Asoka, the film you made with Shah Rukh Khan, was a disappointment...
Whatever be the shortcomings in Asoka -- or the fact that it did not fantastic business -- it is because of Asoka that I have been able to do a film like Before The Rains and get some fine international talent in it.
The distinguished novelist Michael Ondaatje (whose book led to English Patient becoming a big hit and an Oscar-winner) has been asking me if I could make a film out of his book, Anil's Ghost. And that may come about.
I am doing a film for the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). Thematically, too, Asoka is in the minds of anyone who has seen it. At least for one reason.
Its theme?
Yes. But much more than non-violence there is this thought in the film -- that here is a man who is not interested in victory. We are always preoccupied with who won or lost, be it in sports or films. But what if we rise above the spirit of ugly competition?
So Asoka was very much a film for our times. I would say any film I want to make should have relevance to our times.
Photo Caption: Shah Rukh Khan in Asoka
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