Talktime | Shekhar Kapur
After giving hits like Masoom, Mr India & Bandit Queen, Kapur is now working on his next big project which is a biopic on Bruce lee titled The little Dragon. He talks to Sangeeta Yadav about this venture and his daughter’s singing talent
What made you choose Bruce lee’s story for your a biopicIJ
Bruce lee is one big icon. When his daughter Shannon lee approached me with a script to make it into a feature film, it caught my attention. When I started studying his life, I realised that he was much more than a martial artist. He was foremost a philosopher and a spiritual person. I am making a spiritual movie. He was a man of many talents. Very few people know that he was a great dancer too and a Cha Cha Cha champion of Hong Kong.
What about his martial arts talentIJ
His martial arts philosophy is based on the Chinese Tao principle which is about thoughts of non-aggression. When you are fighting, fight like true lovers and surrender to the force of the authority. His teacher Yip Man mastered the art form of Wing Chun that was created few centuries ago by a woman Shaolin monk. Bruce lee was very good at it. Yip Man taught him that while fighting, just flow like water as it can take any shape and form. The idea is to give in to that moment and be humble inside. How you can be still inside and yet be quick on the outside. When people started doing films with him, they asked him to slow down because even in the slow motion camera, one couldn’t catch his movements.
Why The little DragonIJ
When Bruce lee was born, he was given a Chinese name the little Dragon. He was born in the year of dragon and there were many such coincidences that were leading to the dragon. What could be better than to title it The little DragonIJ
Have you chosen the actor who will be playing Bruce leeIJ
I still have not got the right actor to play Bruce lee’s role. I have five candidates and will be selecting one from them. The movie will be ready in a year-and-a-half.
Your daughter Kaveri is doing very well as a singer and has launched her third new single —Again...
She has always been very passionate about singing. Nobody actually told her to choose this field. She just started to write songs when she was young. The talent and passion is deeply imbedded in her and is very individualistic. She does not take suggestions from anybody. Music is something very personal to her. She has been writing songs about heartbreak and being in love with very soulful lyrics. In fact, we recently went to Chennai to do a single with AR Rahman who is also doing the music for Bruce lee movie.
How have you supported her as a fatherIJ
Just by staying with her in whatever she wants to do and believing in her. When I was a child, I never gave up on my dream of being a filmmaker. I made my passion my profession. The same way, my wife and I allow her to do what she aspires for and encourage her. Parenting is all about nurturing what our children have and be happy with their success.
When do we see you working with herIJ
That’s up to her. The day she will tell me that ‘dad I would like to work with you’, we will figure out something.