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Indian Film Maker Considers Armenian Genocide A Part Of World Histor

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  • Indian Film Maker Considers Armenian Genocide A Part Of World Histor

    INDIAN FILM MAKER CONSIDERS ARMENIAN GENOCIDE A PART OF WORLD HISTORY THOUGH A VERY SHAMEFUL ONE


    YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 1, ARMENPRESS: The man who gave us the sensitive
    "Masoom", the hilariously thrilling Mr. India the gripping Bandit
    Queen and the grand period drama Elizabeth has not lost any of his
    creative zeal. The latest topic to catch Shekhar Kapur`s fancy is
    the Armenian genocide, and he knows it`s going to be challenging. As
    Armenpress reports, Indian NewstrackIndia and ZeenewsIndia had wrote
    the prefaces of articles on Indian film maker initiative to shot a
    film on Armenian Genocide by similar way.

    The film deals with the systematic extermination of minority Armenians
    in Anatolia (modern-day Turkey) by the Ottoman Empire during and after
    the Great War (1915-1923). The event, termed genocide by Armenians the
    world over, caused the deaths of 1 to 1.5 million ethnic Armenians in
    Anatolia. Kapur had recently tweeted that he was going to Yerevan,
    Armenia`s capital, to collect material on the event. The idea, he
    said, came to him from a script sent by the man who wrote "Motorcyle
    Diaries". "It is a part of world history though a very shameful one,"
    Kapur told reporters during a candid conversation here."The idea came
    to me based on a script sent to me by the screenwriter of `Motorcycle
    Diaries` (Puerto Rican Jose Rivera). I fell in love with the script.

    It is a challenging project though. It will require lots of money,
    lots of passion and organisation. But there are a lot of passionate
    people behind this project. So it will hopefully see the light of day,"
    he said. However, filming of the movie will not start before another
    year, says Kapur, who is yet to begin work on his long-pending movie
    on water wars, Paani. The Armenian genocide is a particularly touchy
    topic in the political state that succeeded the Ottoman Sultanate in
    1923, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk`s Republic of Turkey. So taboo is the
    topic for both - the Turkish government and ordinary Turks, that a
    Nobel laureate like Orhan Pamuk was prosecuted and found himself on
    the hit list of a far-right Turkish group for openly stating that
    Turkey had committed genocide against the Armenians. Does Kapur fear
    inviting similar censure? "I invited the wrath of upper castes, the
    government and the censor board with `Bandit Queen`. But I did not
    back down. I believe in fighting for what I believe in," he said with
    a wry smile."Moreover," he added, "there has been a shift in Turkish
    society. Nobody from that period is alive today. The new generation
    believes that their nation is great and has to move on.

    They say, `Why can`t we accept what happened`?" Controversy is not
    new to Kapur. He had drawn flak from British tabloids in 2002, when
    he directed his own version of AEW Mason`s novel 'The Four Feathers',
    starring the late Heath Ledger. The novel is centred on the Mahdist
    War in Sudan, sparked by the death of Charles Gordon (Gordon Pasha).

    Kapur was accused of being `anti-British` when the film released."I
    was not anti-British. I was anti-colonisation. That is why I made the
    film. I made my own version because the novel and the previous film
    versions were heavily pro-colonial. It was colonial arrogance that led
    the British to intervene in Sudan. It was this that I wanted to show,"
    clarified Kapur. The 66-year-old is the only Indian to have made a
    successful Hollywood film. "Elizabeth" (1998) won Cate Blanchett the
    Bafta and the Golden Globe for best actress though she lost out on
    the Oscar. The film, however, received an Oscar for best makeup. The
    sequel "Elizabeth: The Golden Age" (2007) was also well received.With
    the two period dramas behind him, is there anything special about
    history that attracts him? "A society that does not learn from its
    past is condemned to repeat its mistakes. As a filmmaker, history for
    me is like sci-fi. I can create an entire world of my own," said Kapur.

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