A quickie video interview

A reader let me know about this video, in which Shabana Azmi talks a little about her film Loins of Punjab Presents, which I still haven't seen after canceling my planned trip to New York last month.



The video was taken at a premiere of the film; there is loads of background noise, as you will hear, and so I wasn't quite able to decipher the whole thing. What follows is my best effort at translation:

I am playing the role of a socialite, who enters a singing contest in New Jersey - Desi Idol - she wants to win the $25,000 prize for her charity in any way she can.

She's quite a wicked character.

For that reason I put work into my appearance, my hair was different, my costume was different. I really enjoyed it, and I hope that people like the film too.

Since it takes place in New Jersey, everyone in the singing contest is different - someone from Punjab, someone from Gujarat, I am from Delhi, various types. There's an American boy too who performs in it. Actually there's an actor, a female actor whose career is going nowhere and she decides that she too will be in the contest.

(Something about the film's script) and my character, I tried not to make her like a caricature, but it was very delicious, lovely

Manish Acharya is a very promising director, he worked hard on the script and making the film. He's an NYU graduate, who has already won an award at the New York Film Festival. I am particularly struck by the fact that he loves Hindi cinema, he loves international cinema, and he's very good at comedy. I have great expectations for him.

It seems to me that if this film is given a chance people will really like it, and I hope that the audience is pleased by the film.

That's the best I could do, after listening to the clip over and over at a deafening volume in my headphones. I fear I am going to have nightmares tonight in which Shabana ji yells at me in Hinglish!