Don’t want bookish portrayal of freedom fighters: Shoojit
West Indies cricketer Dwayne Bravo adds that India has become his second home
PPYDespite having a packed schedule at the ongoing IPL 2021 in Dubai, West Indies all-rounder Dwayne Bravo took out time to shoot for his next music video. And he credits his fans in India for helping him stay passionate about creating music.
“Most of my songs hit a million views in this part of the world first, be it Champion or Jaeger Bomb or my MS Dhoni song,” Bravo admits happily, and adds that he gets “most of the love and support” for his music “from India and that’s one of the main reasons” he continues to be “motivated and passionate about wanting to do it”.
In an exclusive interview with us, the cricketer, who is known for his Caribbean swag, tells us that over the years, India has become his second home. He says he is honoured that the sentiment is reciprocated by the people of the country. But he rues that he hasn’t been able to visit the country due to the pandemic.
“Sadly, I haven’t been able to come to India for two years now, especially with the cancellation of the first leg of IPL, and the slowdown in the entertainment industry,” the cricketer ears ago, filmmaker Shoojit Sircar came to Mumbai, brimming with ideas, to make a name for himself in films. Now, with his latest venture, Sardar Udham, Sircar is bringing to screen one of the ideas that had stayed with him for years, “The subject lived with me [for long], but back then I didn’t have the guts or the resources to do justice to it,” says the director, adding, “It kept burning in me, I kept it alive.”
Ask him about collaborating with actor Vicky Kaushal, who stars in the lead role, and Sircar is glad as Kaushal was able to grasp his vision for the project. “I like to partner with like-minded, warm and humble people. Vicky is all that and more... He understood that the film has to be more internal, about Udham’s tells us on a video call from Dubai.
The 37-year-old, who recently infused his musical touch to the song, Dum Laga Ke Bum Hila, shares that he is getting a bit more serious about exploring the world of sounds. Bravo reveals, “I’m about to release another song just before the World Cup [which will be] just like Champion. It’ll be the official team anthem for the West Indies team for the World Cup. There’s another song coming up with Jassie Gill (singer) and I’m shooting its music video here in Dubai.”
He shares that the track with Gill will come with a Punjabi twist, but he admits that desi words don’t come to his mind until he hears the “song or its tune”.
For him, balancing matches and creating music isn’t much of a challenge. Instead the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) player says it all boils down to pursuing one’s passion: “I’m passionate about cricket and music. It’s nice to find the time for both. But cricket will always be the number one priority and I’ll keep making music that everyone can listen to and enjoy.”
Before ending the call, Bravo reveals that he’s still waiting for a call from Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan. “SRK is my all-time favourite. He promised me that one day he will put me in one of his films. I’m waiting for that moment,” he concludes. mind,” he says, adding, “The film has a different perspective towards freedom fighters [than we usually see]. They are not ‘put on a pedestal’, not a bookish portrayal... That was my effort.”
The Madras Cafe (2013) and Piku (2015) director points out that he felt “justice was not done” to some earlier films about revolutionaries.
“When you make a film, you should have some perspective... And the challenge for me was to make Udham more impactful,” shares Sircar, whose aim is to be truthful to stories and he doesn’t think about catering to certain audiences. He adds, “I make films with integrity. What I think about is that I shouldn’t go wrong and do justice to the subject, in this case to Udham, what he was and what he was meant to be.”