Santosh Sivan's tri-lingual
(Malayalam-Hindi-English)
historical epic Urumi has just
got a new twist in its tale.
Having completed and released
the lengthy Malayalam version with songs, dances, drama and
action, Sivan is now doing an
English-language version,
which would not only be
discernibly shorter but also
contain extra characters and most, importantly, would give
a completely new perspective
on Vasco Da Gama's invasion of
India. Additionally, according to
information available with
Businessofcinema.com, the item
songs by Tabu and Vidya Balan
are being done away in the
English version of the tale. Sivan says, “Yes, we're working on an English version
of Urumi, which would be of
course much shorter — approximately 110 minutes, as
compared with the Malayalam
version, which is 2 hours 45
minutes long — and with different content. I wouldn't
like to speak much on the
English version at the moment
because it's still work in
progress.” Prod him further to ask if
Vidya Balan and Tabu's item
songs that were shot with so
much fanfare are being
abandoned in the English
version of Urumi, and Sivan informs, “We're retaining Vidya's song because it's an
integral part of the narrative
but Tabu's song may go. I've
ideologically opposed our
song-and-dance formula for
an international audience. But Urumi is a subject that is
inherently Indian in a
flamboyant and dramatic way.
It is formatted as fable. I want
to retain that flavour for the
English version. There are traditional devices in my film
from Indian folklore-like
characters singing in the
ballad style that I would like
to take to the Western
audience.” The cinematographer-
filmmaker is convinced the
Western audience is open to
songs and dances. “Provided they are integral to the plot,
why not? It's when our
protagonists in Indian films
start singing in their fancy
jeans and jackets that the
Western audience gets tickled.” Sivan says the main difference
between the Indian and the
international version of Urumi
is in the perspective. “So far Vasco da Gama has been seen
as a discoverer.The English
version of my film will show
him as an invader, and a
savage one at that. Do you
know that da Gama went to brutal lengths to keep the
Muslim traders out of the
pepper trade? At that time
pepper was as precious as
petrol in world trade. To
maintain a Portuguese monopoly on pepper trade
from Kerala, da Gama went to
brutal limits. When a Brahmin
priest was sent to him for
negotiation he cut off the
priest's ear. This is a side of Vasco da Gama that I'll show
to the West for the first
time.” The Malayalam version will be
much gentler on da Gama's
character. Interestingly, Sivan
is undecided on the version of
Urumi that he'll show to the
Hindi audiences. “It could be a blend of the Malayalam and
English version. That whole
perspective on Vasco Da Gama
as an invader and plunderer
that I'm doing in the English
version makes for some visually stunning drama which I
want the national audience to
see. The English version will
also have several added
Caucasian characters besides
da Gama.” Sivan is undecided on where
the international version of
Urumi would be premiered. “I have offers from several
international festivals. I'm yet
to take a call. Like I said, the
English version is not fully
complete yet.” The film's script was
sponsored and approved by
the Hongkong International
Film Festival, though Sivan is
not obligated to let Hong Kong
have the first dekko of his film.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Follow Me : http://twitter.com/PrithvirajWEB
Join Here : http://www.orkut.com/Main#Community?cmm=107533567 [Prithviraj Orkut Community]
Prithviraj On Twitter : http://twitter.com/lionheart_ps
Join The Prithviraj Facebook Fans Page : http://www.facebook.com/actorprithvirajonline
---------------------------------------------------------------
