‘I must have done something right!’: dance master Jiří Kylián on his festival, fierce critics and the Ministry of Silly Walks

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At 78, the great choreographer is enjoying a career-spanning celebration in Oslo. He reflects on his leap from dance to visual art and why he feels snubbed by Britain A gang of young dancers, their black costumes offset by colourful hats, cascade down the sloping roof of Oslo’s opera house for a jubilant routine to a Prince song by the waterfront. The building’s huge glass facade has become an unlikely stage for sculptures, digitally scanned from dancers’ bodies, positioned as if they are plunging into the building like the nearby bathers in the fjord. Inside, there’s an eclectic bill of ballets including one inspired by a painting from the Edvard Munch museum next door. In the wings of the theatre is an installation drawing on the Buddhist Zen symbol ensō. The studio space is screening short films veering from slapstick to the profound. But this sprawling festival, spanning more than two weeks and then partially touring, has a singular focus. These are all works by Jiří Kylián, the...
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Imtiaz Ali reveals that John Abraham was the original choice for Rockstar; expresses surprise that Nargis Fakhri got flak but has been accepted without complaints during re-release

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Imtiaz Ali’s Rockstar (2011) had a decent run in cinemas but over the years, it achieved cult status. It re-released this year and drew housefull crowds, surprising the industry and trade. During an interaction with Mayank Shekhar of Mid-Day, Imtiaz spoke about it and also confessed that John Abraham was the original choice for the role of Jordan played by Ranbir Kapoor.

Imtiaz Ali said, “There are certain things that don’t happen in life. So, you don’t know how it would be if it had happened. If John had done that film, would it have affected in some way as an actor or would he have taken a different route, we don’t know.”

Imtiaz Ali was slammed for casting Nargis Fakhri in Rockstar. Imtiaz Ali revealed, “Nargis’ mother is from Prague but settled in America. She had gotten married to a man who was from a different nationality. Nargis, strangely, had never been to Prague or the Czech Republic. But through her mother, she had the passport of the Czech Republic.”

He added, “She, for some reason, was in Amsterdam. I had gone for recce for Rockstar in Prague. She was one hour away by flight from me. I asked her if she could meet me in Prague. She replied, ‘Yes, I can as I have the Czech passport. Also, it’s my mother’s land’. We met in an exotic location in Prague.”

Imtiaz Ali explained his rationale behind casting her, “The reason I cast her is because I wanted a ‘dil todne ki machine’ look. She had to be unattainable, you can only aspire to have her. She was out of anybody’s league, even Ranbir Kapoor’s!”

He then said, “She gave a wonderful performance but the fact of the matter is we could not take out her real identity from her, which is that of an American girl. We didn’t factor in that aspect.”

Imtiaz added, “Now, Rockstar has had a re-release and had a tremendous run. When you go to see the film now, nobody complains about Nargis! This generation has accepted her because somehow, they are also aware of people like Nargis who are a bit more Westernized. And she’s from Jackson Heights and you see that her. You don’t see St Stephen’s in her. She’s not a Kashmiri girl. In scenes where she’s not talking or not just feeling, she’s outstanding in the film.”

Also Read: Imtiaz Ali hints at Rockstar 2 with Ranbir Kapoor: “Musically, there has to be something to say”



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