Resul
Pookutty, who beat Hollywood's master technicians to land an Oscar
for sound-mixing six years ago -- for Slumdog Millionaire --
is ready to join an illustrious global club for faith-themed films
this year.
Pookutty arrived at the Cannes Film Festival
on the first day to promote a new feature film on the life and
teachings of Guru Nanak.
Co-produced by the Oscar
winner, Nanak Shah Fakir has been mentored by Pookutty's
fellow Oscar awardee A.R. Rahman.
"This year, there are
three films made internationally on spiritual figures and one of them
is from our country," Pookutty says.
Russell
Crowe-starring Noah and Son of God by Christopher
Spencer have already set the box office on fire with their releases
in March.
Nanak
Shah Fakir is
expected to hit the screens later this year.
"I joined
the film project after seeing 40 minutes of the footage,"
explains Pookutty about his involvement in the film.
"I
was overwhelmed by the fact that the film's producer-director,
Harinder Singh Sikka, had never even seen a film set before he
ventured to make Nanak
Shah Fakir,"
he adds.
After Pookutty decided to support the film, music
composer Rahman followed suit.
The film's original music is by
Finnish musician Tuomas Kantelinen, who composed music for The
Legend of Hercules.
Uttam Singh and Pandit Jasraj have sung for the film, which is in
Hindi.
"The film tells the extraordinary story of Guru
Nanak," says Pookutty, adding that he and the director came to
Cannes so that the film gets a wider audience around the world.
Both
Pookutty and the director are confident that the Cannes presence
would help the film being selected for international festivals such
as the Toronto
International Film Festival in
September.
For Delhi-based Harinder Singh, Toronto will be the
ideal place for a world premiere because of the huge presence of
Sikh-Canadians.
Pookutty, who has also done sound design for
the film, insists that the film has a wider appeal "because it
deals with a social subject rather than a spiritual one".
Computer
graphics have been used to portray the character of Guru Nanak, whose
face is never shown in the film.
Pookutty joined the film
project after Harinder Singh came to him on a recommendation from
former head of National
Film Archives of India,
P.K. Nair.
"I immediately understood the significance of
a feature film on Guru Nanak today's time," Pookutty
says.
"Especially when it is told through a Muslim fakir
from Pakistan."
THE
MAKING OF THE FILM
It’s
a biopic on the teachings of the first Sikh Guru, Guru Nanak Dev,
tentatively titled, "Nanak Shah Fakir".
Since
Guru Nanak cannot be represented figuratively, his philosophy has
been drawn out through the life of Bhai Mardana, the first disciple
and lifelong companion of the First Sikh master.
Playing
Mardana is the critically acclaimed actor, Arif Zakaria, who first
gained popularity with his award-winning role of a hermaphrodite in
"Darmiyaan".
The film will be shot extensively in
Chandigarh, Amritsar, Rajasthan, Leh, Ladakh and Mumbai.
Guru
Nanak's birth place, Talwandi, now known as Nanakana Sahib (in
Punjab, Pakistan), has been recreated at Mullanpur, near Chandigarh,
for the shoot.
Busy on the set, Zakaria noted, "It
is exciting to learn that the Guru was a visionary and a humanist
whose universal message is relevant even today, as it was free of all
bigotry."
He did not discount the fact that while
preparing for the role the uncanny similarity between Sikhism and
Islam unravelled for him.
Calling it as one of the most
"challenging" roles of his career, Zakaria said the
portrayal of Mardana called for great genius in acting.
"Bhai
Mardana had begun sounding like Guru Nanak after some years since he
was his constant escort. Hence, the character must have a high degree
of serenity and poise," pointed out Zakaria, who is practising
meditation to align his inner chaos into oneness with Mardana's
persona. "The role requires stillness and radiance of demeanour,
so I learnt meditation at a spiritual camp before shooting
started."
Though this is a period film tracing the
history of Guru Nanak in the 16th century, it exploits modern
machinery to highlight its message.
Latest computer
graphics, computer generated imagery (CGI) for special effects which
Zakaria describes as an attempt to "use more than technology to
tell the story".
An integral part of Mardana, the musical
instrument, Rabab, features eminently in the film. "I am
learning to play the instrument. Since Guru Nanak's philosophy was so
lyrical, music is pivotal to the script," the actor
said.
[Courtesy: Daily
Mail & The
Times of India.
Edited for sikhchic.com]
May
30, 2014