Holy Smoke promotes Pushkar
By Rakhee Gupta

AFTER the James Bond thriller Octopussy, which showcased Udaipur, it is the turn of Oscar-winner Jane Campion’s multi-million dollar movie. Holy Smoke to promote another city of Rajasthan, Pushkar, as a tourist destination.

Better known as the city to host the largest cattle fair in the world, Pushkar provides the backdrop to the intriguing story of an Australian girl (played by Kate Winslet) who joins a cult group and falls in love with its Indian guru. He leads the group to Pushkar.

According to Shiva Vyas, an assistant professor in the Rajasthan Sangeet Sansthan who has composed the background score in the film, Holy Smoke is all set for an international premiere this month (September) and will feature in the Venice and Cannes film festival.

The film was shot over six days at Pushkar and its adjoining areas last year. Part of the film was also shot in Delhi, but according to Vyas, most of those shots have been deleted to maintain the length of the film. Harvey Keitel, whose movie The Piano won an Oscar, plays the male lead.

Vyas, who learnt sitar from Grammy award winner Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, has played ragas Mian Malhar and Rageshwari in Holy Smoke. She also appears in a scene playing the sitar in a smoke-filled room.

Upon returning from Sydney where she assisted Campion in the editing the film, Vyas was surprised to receive a letter from Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee complimenting her for "taking India closer to the West through a shared understanding of each other’s cultures".— MF