It is for others to see that and make it happen - Mira Nair on Queen of Katwe being the best bait for Oscars

By Urvi Parikh

Updated on Oct 05, 2016 | 08:54 PM IST | 286.6K

Mira Nair's Queen of Katwe has won hearts at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) and received immense applause at the Academy screening too. The movie, before its release, is already being touted as a safe bait for the Oscars. But the powerhouse filmmaker thinks it is too early to 'think' about it. In a telephonic chat with Pinkvilla, Mira Nair gets candid about shooting the movie, its challenges and her take on the ban of Pakistani artists. Read on...

The film has received critical acclaim at the TIFF and was shown at the Academy screening too. Are you proud and happy to see the film's response?

I am really ecstatic because it is extraordinary. People are seeing the film and then are going back the next day to see it. What is extraordinary is that it is an unfettered African film and it is the truth of Kampala, Uganda, without any sugarcoating and sanitizing by Hollywood. And it is inspiring and reaches everyone. It is about time we have a positive view about this great continent which I have called my home for 27 years. It is amazing to see that in an all white universe, people matter. It is a 100% black film with two major bonafide stars. It's a beautiful confluence.

Do you think Queen of Katwe is the best bait for Oscars?

I don't know. I make the film and it is for others to see that and make it happen. It is still early days. You know what the Bhagavad Gita says - Bear the fruits of your actions. Apan toh nahi sochte yeh sab, but the response is so deep. People are telling me that it is an eternal film and I have not heard this before.

Queen of Katwe is inspired by a true story. What were the challenges you faced while shooting it?

The biggest enough challenge was how to shoot chess dramatically. There are 15 games of chess and shooting those moves was difficult. And that is one of the beautiful things for which the film is being loved. We shot it in a unique game and never repeated ourselves. We cut it and edit the music in a dramatic and a propelling way. The other beautiful challenge is to instill the love, knowledge, familiarity, sassiness, style and dignity of Kampala. To show that to the world was a challenge. Other sweet challenges were to cast 90% non-actors opposite to the legends. Not an unknown thing for me, but was a little difficult. What coach did for Fiona, I was doing it everyday.

When do we see you directing a full-fledged Bollywood film?

Darling, I don't do anything that anyone does better (laughs). There are so many great Bollywood directors. Yeh toh unka pesha hai, it's their style and I have my own vocabulary, but of course I am influenced and loving the Bollywood feel and you can see that in my work - the use of music or emotions. But full-fledged dhamaka Bollywood film logon ko karne do, main peeche hun. The next thing that I am working on is the Monsoon Wedding musical which opens on Broadway next year. Movie wise, next one will be definitely in India.