Hollywood’s epic fascination

It was his love for mythology that led Ashok Banker to dabble in Ramayana, the series which is now being adapted on celluloid by Hollywood. Says the normally reticent writer, “The talks actually started way back in 2006. Before that too, there had been some tentative enquiries. A studio wanted to make three films on the Ramayana both in English and Hindi, to be shot in India.” But, Ashok decided to sell an offer to Ben Kingsley. “Being of Indian origin, he had the most exciting vision. Ben had initially wanted to fly down with Nicole Kidman to speak to me about it, and that sure got me a bit flustered,” he laughs. Now, of course, with the film being planned to go on the floors by the middle of this year, the cast and crew are being decided. “Some major names — both from Hollywood and Bollywood — are expected to be part of it. I’ve no idea if Nicole would be in it, though personally, I think she’ll make a great Surpanakha. Even Daniel Craig’s agent has called up to say that he’d be interested. And, if I had my way, I’d like him to do Ravana, since he has a very brutish and a very powerful presence. Actually, I’d want the baddies to be played by Westerners and Indians to play the ‘human’ ones,” he says. However, the latest is that Ben Kingsley is no longer producing the films, “though a major Hollywood production studio is backing it. But, Sir Ben has evinced interest in playing either Vishwamitra or Ravana. Though I’d want him to play Vibhishana who’s like a Gandhi in the midst of war,” adds Ashok. News also has it that Michael Radford of Il Postino fame is directing the films. Clarifies Ashok, “Well, he did visit me twice recently. But, in the end, I believe another director is being engaged for the project.” As the writer of the series, one would expect Ashok to have done the screenplay for the film, but he preferred opting out. “I did do the first one. But soon realised, that I couldn’t devote the next two to three years parked out there, working on the rest. My other projects would suffer. And, with Ramayana already with them, I know they can’t go too far from it,” he adds. Ask him what sets his version of the famed epic apart, and he says, “Its tone and identifiability. My retelling is for the people who have a modern sensibility, who speak in the idiom of today and have a fascination for past history. I’ve avoided a dry, academic tone and thrown in words used in our normal language that people can relate to.” But, will a Western audience relate to the Ramayana? “I have my doubts about that. Despite my retelling in the modern idiom, it is entirely Indian, about dharma. My Ramayana will be more realistic and heavy on special effects, on the lines of LOTR. The filmmakers are keen to catch the fantasy of the film audiences,” says Ashok.