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on 2007/5/22 3:46:41
India is making waves at Cannes this year. A lot of Indian independent filmmakers are representing their films and widening the horizon for the Indian film business.
And undoubtedly Bipasha Basu is in her best form as she is in Cannes to promote her latest UTV film ‘Goal’. She said that in ‘Goal’, set in contemporary UK, she plays a Pakistani girl named Romana, who is Arshad Warsi’s sister in the film and becomes a medic on the soccer team. She says ‘Goal’ is a very serious film and she has the job of providing the humour and plays John’s love interest. When asked on her list of roles so far, she says after ‘Dhoom’, where she had a lot of difficulty playing a low-wit Monali who speaks to empty houses, she is now in a role as Romana who is a medical student and is extremely intelligent and sensitive.
She added that her children audiences are now coming back to her and things have been positive for her career since ‘No Entry’ was released. She is hopeful for the Indian film industry and feels that festivals like Cannes expose our cinema to the world market. It is still hard for a female lead Indian film to be a big-budget film but she feels the roles offered to her are on a better footing now, and the audiences are supportive of sensitive women portrayals.
She felt that there is a positive movement forward and a fantastic change is occurring on the Indian film scene. Her line-up of films this year includes ‘Goal’, ‘Race’, ‘Mr Fraud’ and a new film that she has signed only days ago with a Bengali director. There is also a film with White Feathers, which she is tight-lipped about and is really looking forward to. As a special message for her fans she said that “John and I are working together after three years in a film and in this film we have a very fresh chemistry – it is very real and not ‘filmy’ in the common parlance. I am very excited about ‘Goal’.”
Amongst other raves in Cannes this year were the CII and NFDC party. The NFDC party on the 19th had a red carpet for the Indian filmmakers. The CII party on the 18th was interesting but didn’t feel Indian enough in its décor, food and ambience. It was a decent networking platform but a very government ‘do’ sort. The French were hoping for a more lively and colourful event. But India is here and how. There is business to be done, and the stage is set.
