Hindustan Times ST (Jaipur) - Hindustan Times (Jaipur) - City
‘AWARDS HAVE VERY LITTLE MEANING IN THE INDUSTRY’
Continued from P1 How was the experience of shooting for the Harry Potter movies? It was a world unlike any other. It was a big movie made on a big scale and all the actors were well looked after. Harry Potter movies are fantasy films and they need strong special effects. So in the end, acting plays a tiny part in the entire film. It’s a different kind of filmmaking as compared to films like Spider (2002) or The Constant Gardener (2005). I’m instinctively drawn to films that are based our everyday human stories.
You were nominated for the Oscars and won many Golden Globe awards, too. What do awards mean to you today? It is always a good feeling when you are honoured with an award, but awards can’t be the only motivation. In the end, they have a very little meaning in the industry. Award ceremonies are a celebration and there is a place for it. The kind of madness that takes over people when they are thinking about awards is not healthy and not valid to me. But I am happy that one or two awards have been given to me.
Which of your films have been the closest to your heart? I have to say The Constant Gardener. I loved the experience of making the film and the way Fernando (Meirelles; director) shot it. I was close to the character. The producer, Simon Channing Williams, is a wonderful man. We shot most of the film in Kenya and I loved the way it was shot (Sony Pix will pay a tribute to Ralph Fiennes for completing 25 years as an actor).
You’ve shot at numerous locations around the world. Which place was the most fun and challenging to shoot in? I loved shooting in Tunisia for The English Patient. The desert location was challenging yet beautiful. I like shooting at remote places. I loved Northern Kenya, where we shot the last sequences of The Constant Gardener.
You have directed movies as well. What prompted that decision? I wanted to make a film adaptation of Shakespeare’s tragedy, Coriolanus. I wanted to play the part once again on film, as I felt that the role had the capability to speak to the modern audience, too. It talks about the crisis of leadership and the crisis of democracy, which is contemporary and is still as much of an issue as it was thousands of years ago in Rome.