Sunday, June 29, 2003		In The Spotlight

Now, Hollywood to tell Taj tale

AISHWARYA RAI to be the next Bond girl? Laagan to script Bollywood history at the Oscars? Bollywood bad boy Salman Khan to star in Willard Carroll’s romantic musical Marigold? The list goes on about tinsel town news that kept alive the Indian hopes of an indelible Bollywood mark on Hollywood. But each time they were just off the mark and proved to be "also ran".

After a series of so-near-yet-so-far Bollywood bungles, hopes are soaring once again. This time round it is not the Hindi filmdom’s feeble attempt to grab the attention of Hollywood royalty. For, Hollywood is finally recognising the power of love, to conquer on celluloid the epic Indian saga of Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal.

Warner Brothers (WB) has just announced that it is producing a movie about the epic love story behind the building of the Taj Mahal. This is the first time a major Hollywood studio has decided to make a movie on a topic that is much beloved in India and Bollywood. Interestingly, the news came at a time when Bollywood actor-cum-director Akbar Khan is lending final touches to his very own dream project Taj Mahal, an opulent movie on the same subject.

The WB movie, based on a screenplay by Pakistan-American journalist-turned-screenwriter Kamran Pasha, is also an example of the growing South Asian prominence in Hollywood. The WB executive in charge of the movie is Aditya Sood, an Indian American who is a rising star at the studio.

Says screenwriter Kamran, " It has been a lifelong dream to develop a Hollywood movie on the Taj Mahal story, and I finally decided to get around to writing it last year after extensively researching Mughal history and culture. The script is meant to be an English-language epic, much like Gladiator, The Last Emperor or Lawrence of Arabia that is intended to appeal to both western and eastern audiences. I think it will have a very different look and feel than many of the other movies on the subject."

"The story, set in 17th century India during the reign of Jahangir and Noorjehan, is presented as a Shakespearean tale of romance and intrigue in the imperial court, and I believe that it has the potential to become a worldwide blockbuster because of the richness of the characters. While this is a story that is the pride of the Indian subcontinent, it is so epic and global in its reach, like Titanic, I think it will draw moviegoers from Chile to China," the ebullient screenwriter feels.

The Warner Brothers storyline follows the growing romance of Shah Jahan and wife Arjumand Bano (Mumtaz Mahal), which is almost derailed by the machinations of stepmother Noorjehan. The resulting civil war between Noorjehan and her rebellious stepson serves as the spine of the story, culminating in the tragic death of Shah Jahan’s wife and his vow to build the Taj Mahal as her eternal memorial.

"Though Noorjehan is the antagonist of my movie, I present the Empress as a complex and tragic figure, a powerful woman trying to rule in a world dominated by men — she is not the typical villain she has sometimes been portrayed. In many ways, Noorjehan is the richest character in the story and the audience will have difficulty hating her despite her plots against the hero, because we realise she is trying to survive in the deadly court politics of Mughal India," elaborates Kamran, who wrote the popular American TV series The Twilight Zone earlier.

While the WB film is at the development stage and Kamran and the team is working on perfecting the script, Akbar Khan has already finished the shoot of his film. Says Khan of his version: "I’m setting out to make a film that would bring this glorious passage of history to life, to humanise it, not a docu-drama but an experience in living history. I want to put the audience on the lap of the Golden Era of the Peacock Throne, to experience the romance of Emperor Shah Jahan and his Empress Mumtaz Mahal. The romance that eventually turned into an eternal love story as together they become the Taj Mahal."

The opportunity to portray grandeur on screen is also the reason why Warner Brothers is drawn to making Taj Mahal. But the cast and director of the WB movie is yet to be finalised. "It’s too early in the game to make decisions about casting. Our goal is to make this movie appealing to global audiences so it makes sense to have a cast with stars who are familiar faces in the West as well as India," reveals Kamran. "Also, we will probably be approaching big name Hollywood directors who have proven their ability to handle large-scale epic movies," says Kamran.

While Warner Brothers plans to shoot in India, the decision is yet to be finalised. "We’d love to shoot in India, but no decisions have been made. Financial considerations as well as the willingness of India’s film industry to help facilitate this project are factors that will be taken into account," he says.

"Our goal is to make this as true to history as possible. While we intend it to be a lavish production worthy of the granduer of Mughal civilisation, the story is fundamentally focused on the dynamics of the royal family. At its heart, our script is very much a tale of love, intrigue, betrayal and redemption within the Mughal court," says Kamran. TWF