Writer Tanzila Ahmed is at Sundance, America’s premiere festival of indie flicks, held yearly on the snowbound streets of Park City, Utah. From her home base at the Taqwacore house (peopled with those who produced the film of the novel being shown there and the bands that soundtrack it), Ahmed will bring us a daily dose of indie celeb news. Learn more about her and her work here. And read her past blogs here.
Me and The Kominas with Aamir Khan!
Heralded as the first Bollywood movie to enter into a Sundance competition, Peepli Live brought Bollywood to the snowy hills of Park City.
But I wouldn’t call it Bollywood, really. The movie takes place in India around the life of farmer Natha (Omkar Das Manikpuri) who debates suicide to take advantage of a government aid program that pays out on indebted suicide farmers. The news catches wind, and it turns into a comedic media spectacle to see if Natha goes through with it. At the core of this movie is a very important issue, one that deals with the plight of farmers dealing with the repercussions of Westernization of farming in India. But it is done tactfully and entertainingly navigating Bollywood kitsch factors and Indie serious sensibility.
With The Kominas in tow as my camera crew, I met up with producer and Bollywood star Aamir Khan and director Anusha Rizvi on a rooftop in Park City, UT at Sundance for a very surreal interview. Aamir and Anusha talk about the movie Peepli Live and working with first time actors. Anusha Rizvi chose Aamir Khan’s production studio to produce Peepli Live because she says, he is one of the only people that would have in Bollywood. Aamir Khan is known for being slightly more progressive than the usual Bollywood fare.
Filmstill from Peepli Live
Aamir liked Anusha’s script, and asked for her to shoot five scenes for the movie to see how she would be as a director. And he loved it. Aamir Khan is happy with the final product and the performances of his actors facing the camera for the first time. We are introduced to Omkar Das Manikpuri who plays Natha, the lead character in the film. Many of the cast members came out of Habib Tanvirs Naya Theatre repertory, which comprises mainly of rural folk actors.
Omkar Das Manikpuri tells us about his experience on the film, and at Sundance. The film was well received at Sundance, and I’m not surprised. It was a really well done film, and I’m sure audiences will be drawn to it. It was a wonderful experience to get to interview these three at Sundance, Aamir Khan especially since he’s such a Bollywood star. He was really down to earth and having The Kominas there just added to the humor of the entire situation. There was one point where the lead singer of the band, Basim Usmani, was actually talking to Aamir Khan about the use of marijuana in India. Youll have to catch that video in the outtakes.
Another filmstill from Peepli Live
As for the movie, I saw it a few days later and it was absolutely fantastic. Well done, well scripted and well directed. I was surprised it came out of a first time director, and I hope that Anusha keeps making movies like this to revolutionize how Bollywood movies are created. I can’t wait to see the other three movies come out of Aamir Khans production company this year.
I give Peepli Live 4/5 stars.
Below, watch the five-part interview with Aamir Khan and director Anusha Rizvi that the Kominas helped me out with!
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
