 | | PICTURE SPEAK | |  | | A MIGHTY CAST: (From left) Winterbottom, Khan, Jolie, Futterman and Punjabi at Cannes | | At the World Premiere in Cannes for A Mighty Heart, I huddled closely with Kailash and Arti Surendranath, the Indian Line producers of the movie, and we were jubilant. Michael Winterbottom, the idiosyncratic director, has created a modern masterpiece that at its core is the harrowing saga of a very pregnant woman on the verge of both motherhood and widowhood, played by Angelina Jolie to a perfect pitch. But the movie is also a sign of our times, as it strings together the calamitous events that lead to the gruesome beheading of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl (Dan Futterman), as he, armed with a foolish bravado, chases a story about foiled shoe bomber Richard Reid. Set in Karachi, the film recounts the agonising and restless search for Pearl’s whereabouts and the identities of his kidnappers, all of it spearheaded by Mariane Pearl (Jolie), and ably supported by a Wall Street Journal colleague Asra Nomani (Archie Punjabi); Captain, a local cop; (Irrfan Khan, in his third effortlessly sublime performance this year; American diplomatic agent Randall Bennett (Will Patton) and Wall Street Journal boss (Denis O’ Hare), amongst others. | | PICTURE SPEAK | |  | | TRUE HERO: Mariane after the screening of the movie | | | Director Winterbottom has created a modern masterpiece that, at its core, is the harrowing saga of a very pregnant woman perched precariously on the verge of motherhood and widowhood. | | Winterbottom, who has previously shunned big Hollywood studios, marries his independent docudrama-filming style (In this World and Road to Guantanamo) to Jolie’s exalted Hollywood status, and the result is electric. Though the film is about the stomach-churning frustration brought on by false leads and unrewarding investigations that were often submerged under a deluge of media attention, because Pearl was Jewish and his kidnappers Islamic fundamentalists, it is also an intimate portrait of a young couple in love with each other, and, their jobs. Jolie, who eerily resembles the real Mariane, makes the Afro-Cuban- Dutch accent the most palpable thing about her performance. She diffuses the commanding star turn she is known for by turning in a supremely nuanced performance cloaked under a refreshing subtlety, and one that should bring her a slew of awards. Winterbottom saves her guttural cries for help in the crucial scenes, but he shoots them in near darkness. The standing ovation that the film received after its screening will, I hope, translate art into commerce. At the elegant sit-down that followed the screening in Cannes, I made my way to Mariane, because it is her strength, her hope, her positivity that are the true heroes of this tale. And at that moment, it struck me about how much in-character Jolie was during the making of the movie. After watching the film, the grand design unravelled. Angelina Jolie was Mariane Pearl even when the camera wasn’t on. And that is the kind of stuff that memorable cinema is made of. The author is the Indian executive producer of the film A Mighty Heart. | | INDIA AT CANNES | | | A higher profile | | PICTURE SPEAK | |  | | COUPLED: Abhishek and Aishwarya on the red carpet at Cannes; Zinta (right) | | Indian cinema lovers can celebrate. Not only have the Indian films shown at the 60th Cannes film festival left a much-needed impact but the presence of Bollywood celebrities added to the vibrant Indian glamour quotient. Newly-wedded couple Abhishek and Aishwarya Bachchan, who were on their honeymoon, made a quick stopover at Cannes. Aishwarya has been a regular at Cannes due to her ties with L’Oreal and holds this particular visit close to her heart: “I have to say this is my most special visit to Cannes yet. After all, it is the first time Abhishek will walk down the red carpet with me.” Also present was actor Preity Zinta who was at Cannes to promote Chopard, the luxury brand she endorses. However, Ms Zinta appeared more interested in shopping and partying rather than watching films or promoting Indian cinema at the festival. Bipasha Basu and John Abraham arrived to promote their film, Goal. Said Basu, “I love shopping here. But I have to rush back to Mumbai.” Perhaps the Indian artist to walk the red carpet for the most legitimate reason was actor Irrfan Khan, here for the premiere of A Mighty Heart. Amitabh Bachchan made an appearance to promote his upcoming film Cheeni Kum being screened in the market section. He plays a 64-year-old chef in love with a 34-year-old woman. So we asked his recipe for love. “A lot of honesty, and trust me, age doesn’t matter.” Perhaps the biggest boost for Indian cinema was the screening of seven Indian films—Guru, Lage Raho Munnabhai, Dharm (Hindi), Veyil (Tamil), Saira (Malayalam), Dosar (Bengali) and Missed Call (English). The films were screened in the Cinema of the World category. Since the 60th year of India’s Independence coincided with 60 years of Cannes, the focus this year was on Indian films, which ran to packed houses. Special mention must be made for Rajkumar Hirani’s Lage Raho Munnabhai, which received a three-minute standing ovation. The only sour point for Indian cinema was that only one film from the country—student Raka Dutta’s Chinese Whispers—was selected for a competition section in the short films section. The last time before this that an Indian film was chosen for any competitive segment at Cannes was in 1994. Hopefully, all the exposure and cinematic coverage that Indian films received this year at Cannes may change that dismal record. -Garima Kumar in Cannes
| | Index |
