'I am here to say how much I love you', Biz Luhrmann Soumyadipta Banerjee / DNA Wednesday, January 27, 2010 23:32 IST
* Mumbai: *You need to see it to believe it — the kind of camaraderie that AR Rahman shares with Aussie film-maker Baz Luhrmann. The Mozart of Madras quietly slipped into Mumbai late on Republic Day and rushed back to Chennai yesterday afternoon after spending a few hours with the critically acclaimed director and his artist friend Vincent Fantauzzo. - * * “I got in touch with Rahman while making Moulin Rouge. Since then, we’ve been constantly in touch. I don’t call him by his name; I call him maestro. I am so glad that he has come all the way just to meet me,” says Luhrmann as he affectionately puts his arm around Rahman. Rahman and Luhrmann are looking to work together. Rahman says, “We had a meeting and I would love to work with a director like him. We have been exchanging ideas for a long time now. I hope they fructify soon.” Luhrmann adds, “We are just looking for the right story to tell. We hope to find it soon.” Speaking about the attacks on Indians in Australia, Luhrmann says, “It disturbs me everytime I hear about an attack on an Indian. These bunches of hoodlums are a very small part of the population of Australians who genuinely love India. I am here to say how much I love you. I am travelling to Rajasthan on a motorcycle with Vincent just after this. I am told that it’s very physically taxing but I am doing that to paint the country. I will be stopping mid-way andspray painting whenever I see something inspiring. I have been looking for a reason to come here and a charitable cause (the proceeds from his and Vincent’s paintings will be donated to Deeds, a charity working for the hearing impaired in India) seemed a good reason. It’s time again to explore the country and draw some inspiration for my next project.” Luhrmann is in Mumbai to inaugurate Le Sutra, India’s first art hotel. So, does he want to make a film on India? “I would love to make a film on India. These trips are just to stir that urge in me. But Mumbai has changed a lot. I couldn’t recognise the Mumbai that I had left behind. I am glad I have come back to a new Mumbai,” he ends. http://www.dnaindia.com/entertainment/report_i-am-here-to-say-how-much-i-love-you-biz-luhrmann_1339786 - Regards ~ ~ A.R.Rajib ~ ~
