MUMBAI: Canadian writer-director Ken Scott’s latest directorial venture “The Extraordinary Journey of The Fakir” features Indian, French and American artistes, and the filmmaker says it was an enriching experience to have a blend of different cultures in one movie.
The film was shot across India, France, Belgium and Italy with a diverse star cast and Scott says his attempt was to make the movie look authentic.
“It was great to discover India, Mumbai and to discover Indian culture and how Indians tell stories, how they work with actors, etc. The film brought a lot of cultures together in one place. So for me it was a great learning experience. It was an enriching experience,” Scott told PTI.
On set, Scott was influenced by different cultures as he had Indian actor Dhanush, Argentinean-French actor Berenice Bejo, American actor Erin Moriarty, Somali-American actor Barkhad Abdi and French actor-director Gerard Jugnot all in the movie.
For the director, it was a pleasure to be working with actors from several countries and what amazed him was their different approach to the craft.
“I had to make sure everything was blended in the right way. I needed strong actors. We have worked hard to get this great cast like Berenice Bejo, with whom I have been wanting to work for a long time. Then to be working with Ben Miller, Gerard Jugnot and others was a very nice experience.”
The film marks the international acting debut of Tamil-Hindi actor Dhanush. It was through the production company that the director was introduced to the actor.
The film follows a man played by Dhanush who sets off on a journey to find his estranged father and the team needed an actor who could be good at comedy and be warm at the same time.
“Dhanush is a great actor and he is very good with comedy. He has all the qualities that we needed for this part,” Scott adds.
It was during the filming of the movie that Scott learnt about Dhanush’s father-in-law, the hugely popular Indian star Rajinikanth.
“I discovered about him (Rajinikanth) after working with Dhanush on the film. And we did talk about him, we had some conversation. It is an absolute pleasure to work with him, he is a very professional actor. It was great to know where Dhanush came from. I was surprised to see how much people love him.”
The film is based on Romain Puertolas’s 2013 French bestseller “The Extraordinary Journey of The Fakir Who Got Trapped in an Ikea Wardrobe”.
What attracted Scott to the story was the journey of the protagonist and how it blended well with light as well as some deep moments. The novel is about a confidence trickster from Rajasthan who aims to go to Paris but instead ends up touring the farthest corners of Europe and Africa.
Though “small changes” have been made to the story, Scott insists the book’s soul is not lost in the process of adapting it for the big screen.
“For me what is important is that we have to be true to the spirit of the book and we have accomplished that. Even if the film is somewhat different from the book, it is close to the spirit,” Scott, who has previously made French films “Sticky Fingers” and “Starbuck”, adds.
The film premiered at the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne and its first poster was unveiled at the Cannes Film Festival.
“We have made the best film possible. While we were working on this film, I felt we were making something special. When we saw the audience reaction at the festival it was very touching to see that kind of response. We had put in efforts to make a film that would connect with the audience and I am glad that it has connected with the people.” PTI
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