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* This is your eighteenth trip to
India?
Or the 19th or the 20th or the 25th. I have lost count. Ever
since 1982, when I came to India for the first time, it has
been India year-after-year. Sometimes once a year, sometimes
even twice in a year. My favourite destinations are Mumbai
and Goa, but I travel around too. I even shot my film `Nocturne
Indien’ here.
* `Nocturne Indien’ was a story about Indians?
Or was it merely based in India?
It was the story of a European man who comes wandering to
India, to seek solace, and expects to find it here. But in
the end, he finds peace within, not in any external source.
The story was written by a Frenchman who had settled in Italy.
* Any Indian actors in it?
Quite a few. Iftikhar, for one. The climax was shot at Fort
Aguada. That is where I stay, whenever I come to Goa. After
IFFI, my wife and I will head for Aurangabad, to see Ajanta
and Ellora.
* Nadine is a film-maker too, right?
That’s right! She is a writer-director. Sometimes we
bring our children along, but this time, it’s just she
and I. Just as the children are growing and changing, I find
India and Goa changing every time I visit.
* Has it changed enough to merit hopes of becoming
the Cannes of the East? You should be able to comment with
authority, being a Frenchman!
You need to build a culture around the festival. And a proper
festival centre! Cannes does host an international film festival
of great class, but it has a somewhat European perspective
on world cinema. Goa could project an Indian/Eastern perspective
at IFFI. That could be its uniqueness.
* Are you enjoying jury duty?
Well, passing judgment is an unenviable task. But I console
myself by remembering that the entrants have consciously sent
their films for judging, so they naturally expect judgment.
As a juror, instead of assessing faults and drawbacks, I believe
in appreciating the finer points and comparing only those.
* Any possibility of making another film here, in
India?
Very much so. If I find a script that has India in it, why
not? However, I will never dare to make film with an Indian
subject or Indian theme. Although I am a great India-lover,
I lay no claims to understanding the Indian psyche enough
to interpret Indian characters and make the film credibly
Indian. Therefore, if I do make a film her, it will be from
my point of view, a European’s look at India.
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