'US junk culture is polluting the world'

Author: Meenakshi Shedde
Publication: The Times of India
Date: November 16, 2003
URL: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/cms.dll/articleshow?msid=285844

"I was scared of coming to India because I was afraid I'd never leave,'' says Roger Christian. He's the British director of the new Indo- British film 'American Daylight', starring Koel Purie, Nick Moran and Vijay Raaz.
 
He's been here since September last, and certainly seems in no hurry to leave. he sounds like an Osho commune-ist, it unintentional, although he is certainly drawn to spiritual realms.
 
As far as we're concerned, anyone who was part of the Monty Python team-he was art director on 'Monty Python's Life of Brian', a hysterically funny take-off on the life of Jesus Christ- a good egg.
 
But Christian is a tad better -he's an Oscarwinning egg.With an Oscar for art direction for George Lucas' 'Star Wars', and another for his short film 'The Dollar Bottom', Lucas handpicked him to be assistant director on 'Star Wars: The Phantom Menace' about two decades after their first collaboration. "Lucasfilm is a second family to me,'' Christian says simply, without the slightest intention of name-dropping.
 
Christian's got a significant body of work, including directing 'Bandido', Battlefield Earth', 'Nostradamus', The Final Cut' and 'Black Angel', among others. He was also art director on 'Alien'. His current preoccupation, 'American Daylight', is a love story that is precipitated via a call centre in India. American junk culture is polluting the world,'' Christian observes. "There are 1.6 million call centres in India, and the influence of the West is bound to change one of the oldest civilisations in the world.
 
"The story is about a family that's falling off the edge,'' he continues. "Koel Purie (who was in 'Everybody Says I'm Fine') plays a young woman living in a chawl who works at a call centre. Vijay Raaz plays a manipulative supervisor, while Nick Moran (of 'Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels') plays a rich record label owner who comes to India and falls in love with Koel. It examines the chawl, where at least there's love, versus the nightmare of Manhattan. There's also a thriller element, with Gulshan Grover playing an assassin.''
 
He explains how the film, produced by Bobby Bedi's Kaleidoscope, is an Indo-British collaboration.
 
"It's got Nick Moran, we're shooting in the UK, and I'm using a remix of Elton John's Sacrifice, Nitin Sawhney, Massive Attack and other British bands.'' It will also be one of India's first feature films to be shot on high- definition Panasonic.
 
How are India and the US fundamentally different in the way they make films? "The American film industry is a well-oiled machine that churns out soulless products. In India, you work in chaos, but at least you are creating what cinema really is,'' he says.
 
Even so, his big break came with a phone call from George Lucas' office "with an offer to work on 'Star Wars', that began, 'We have a vision of the future-and it's oily and gritty.' Oh, lovely, I thought. So, we used recycled scrap and stuff. Frankly, I think Lucas is the only modern myth-maker. It's fairy tales that keep us human beings going.''
 
Christian's philosophy is about "living in the moment''. "It has fuelled me as an artist,'' he reflects.
 
"We directors live like Zen monks anyway. We have a zero social life, and we never sleep. As directors, all we have at the end of the day is instinct. If you take the spiritual path, you can take that instinct to a higher level.''
 
Considering this, it's not surprising how September 11 seems to have nudged Christian's destiny Indiawards.
 
"The day after September 11, I was driving in the US. Every car had the US flag-it was too much. So, I put on my stereo, blasting Hare Krishna chants as an antidote. September 11 has been changing my life,'' he reflects.
 
"Now I feel there might be unique opportunities in India. In fact, I think I belong here.'' Roger.
 

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