TO HUMANISE MARADONA, HAD TO UNDERSTAND HIM: KAPADIA
The Academy Award-winning filmmaker Asif Kapadia is most interested in a rebel personality
It’s 1986, and the clear, calm blue skies of the scorching Mexican summer don’t do justice to what’s happening in Aztec Stadium, Mexico City. It’s England vs Argentina. Tempers are flaring as the English football fans have just witnessed the goal of the century by Argentinian legend Diego Maradona. And just as they are getting ready for a draw, Maradona cements his position in the books of history with his infamous ‘Hand of God’ goal, to get his team through to the semi-finals of the FIFA World Cup.
But for the Academy Award-winning filmmaker Asif Kapadia, it’s not these iconic moments that interest him. The director, who won the Oscar for best documentary feature for Amy (2015), tries to “differentiate Diego from Maradona” in his new documentary, Diego Maradona.
Diego, a calm, composed and sweet-spoken personality, is in stark contrast to Maradona, a badly-behaved superstar hounded by the media, everywhere he went.
“I’m interested in edgy characters who don’t conform to things. They’re rebels in a way. They aren’t particularly loved by everyone. Amy (Winehouse, singer) wasn’t loved by everyone. Maradona doesn’t have a good reputation. It was the same with (Ayrton) Senna (racing driver). I’m not interested in who won the most races, who sold the most records, who won the most Ballon d’Ors,” he says.
So, nise a God? “By getting very close to him,” says Kapadia, adding, “I had to try and understand him .... where he came from and what he went through. Only then can you understand what he became. A lot of these films are really just a close-up study using intimate footage. These are the footage where he’s ignoring the camera. That’s where you get something true,” adds the
ho is considered to be one of the finest filmmakers in the world. Born to Indian parents in the UK, he has won an Emmy, Bafta, and an Oscar, and has also helmed episodes of the acclaimed web series, Mindhunter, along with David Fincher.
Now retired, Maradona would frequently find himself in the news thanks to reports of misbehaviour, drugs, getting photographed with the notorious Italian mafia — Camorra, and in one instance, shooting at journalists waiting outside his home in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Kapadia got to spend time with the footballer at his home, and those were the moments that he treasures the most. “When you see him (Maradona) come down the stairs, you don’t know what he’s going to be like. But it was just us talking. There was no one at home except the translator. He was very sweet. However, he has his good and bad days. But luckily, I spent so much time with him that I ignored the bad days. A lot of people only have the bad day interview,” says Kapadia.
He (Maradona) was very sweet. However, he has his good and bad days. But luckily, I spent so much time with him that I ignored the bad days. A lot of people only have the bad day interview. ASIF KAPADIA
FILMMAKER