Danny Boyle says coming to Mumbai feels like coming home. Being one of the minuscule minority who didn’t enjoy Slumdog Millionaire I thought Danny for me was a long shot. But surprise surprise! Danny Boyle could be a huge lesson in accessibility to those Bollywood entertainers who react adversely to criticism and open their doors only to those mediapersons who praise their work.
Getting the Slumdog director on the line proved easier than I thought. I was immediately connected to him …no call-wait as a long battery of deputies inform the firang celebrity- director of the caller, no pretensions as he mumbled he was “still asleep” and could I call him back in an hour?
An hour later just before he got busy with a snarl of meetings before flying out of Mumbai, the softspoken auteur director took time off to answer some questions.
How do you feel to be back in Mumbai?
I miss Mumbai when I’m away.
Would you make another film in Mumbai?
Yes! In fact that’s another reason apart from the Trust why we’re in Mumbai. We’ve had couple of meeting about another project in Mumbai. It won’t happen this year. But it will certainly happen next year. I will certainly enjoy coming back to Mumbai to make another film.
Slumdog Millionaure has been an exhilarating experience for everyone?
Quite extraordinary.
Another film apart, what brings you to Mumbai, Danny?
What we’ve come here for is to hand over …things…to the Trust (created for the Slumdog Millionaire kids). I know the newspapers want to write stuff like, ‘Danny Rides To Their Rescue’. The truth about what we’re doing is far less glamorous and far more professional.
What exactly do you hopet to achieve?
To put the resources in the appropriate hands of trustees and a social worker who will make sure that all the right steps are taken to ensure long-term financial security for the kids. We really need to get out of this cycle of unsavoury allegations and reports (about how the Slumdog funds are being used for the kids).
You seem to be pulled back to Mumbai by forces that aren’t exactly in your hands?
Not at all.It’s always a pleasure to come to Mumbai. We came here for many reasons, one of them was to meet the trustees and take the matter of the kids forward, to press the families to accept the accommodation that has been offered to them many many times and try to to reassure them. We don’t know why they didn’t want to accept the accommodation that was offered.
And have you succeeded?
I’m glad to say we’ve slowly made our way forward. What matters is not what is written about the issue in the press but the long-term welfare of the kids. We want to make sure that the kids (from Slumdog Millionaire) benefit from the success of the film and from their presence in the film. And I’m confident they will benefit.
The growing expectations of a section of your film’s cast seems hard to deal with. How are you coping?
We’re trying our best. To be honest the most appropriate way we thought, was to make a big donation. And we did. Now we’re here to see the outline of the project that’s being carried out in Bandra East. This project will help approximately 5, 000 children and 2, 000 families. Most of them have nothing to do with the film and they may never know about Slumdog Millionaire.But the project will give back to the slum kids some of the benefit we got by working in it. I’d love to give back to the people of Mumbai some of the joy they’ve given me. These are people I probably wouldn’t see. But I feel their presence.
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