| TAJ
MAHAL.AN ETERNAL LOVE STORY -
2005 - KABIR BEDI - TAJ MAHAL, THE BOOK |
| FULL
VERSION? - CLICK ON THE PICTURE! |
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EXTRACT FROM
THE BOOK
TAJ MAHAL.THE MAKING OF THE MOTION PICTURE -
THE PERFORMERS:
Kabir Bedi as Shahjehan |
| India's first truly international
star, Kabir Bedi has tasted unprecedented success with Sandokan,
the Italian-German-French
mini-series. He followed it up with a role in
The Bold and the Beautiful, and the bad guy in the James Bond
film, Octopussy,
apart from several other international projects for stage, television
and cinema. Back home Kabir Bedi has starred in
more than 50 films in a career spanning more than three decades,
beginning with Girish Karnad's
Tughlaq. The Shakespearean tragedy, Othello is
his most memorable play. He has also starred in the London production
of The Far Pavilion[s]. |
Kabir Bedi:
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"It is the kind of
role I had always hoped I would play one day. And when Akbar
offered me the role of the older Shahjehan, I just leapt at
the opportunity. It was a challenge not just in terms of falling
back on all that I had learnt in theatre and in international
film, but also being able to get under the skin of the elegant
Urdu language, as opposed to merely memorising dialogue.
In terms of preparation, being a student of history, I knew
a fair amount about Shahjehan anyway. But I actually went back
to the Taj Mahal two months before we started shooting, just
to see it and get a sense of the man from what he had created.
It was quite an awesome experience. Just the size of the monument
is awesome, apart from anything else.
So, it has been a journey of discovery for me, as much of my
own capabilities as that of the most important figures in Indian
history.
Initially,
I had to try and enter the mind and spirit of this emperor,
who apart from having lived one of the greatest love stories
of the world, built the greatest symbol of love that the world
has ever known. He was also one of the greatest builders. And
what is interesting about the structure of the film, and the
way Akbar has conceptualised it, is that it begins with Shahjehan
in his final crisis, where his own son is usurping him of his
throne and the whole love story is a series of flashbacks." |
- "Beyond my own work on the
role, I really have to salute and thank Akbar for being such
an enormous support and inspiration.
A thousand salaams for giving me the role and also
the freedom to interpret it in ways that suited me. Initially,
when we started, there was some friction because there were
differences of style and how I imagined certain scenes should
be shot. And Akbar was very clear, yet very flexible. He was
so certain about the results he wanted and yet flexible enough
to know how he got there. So, whatever minor teething troubles
we had were ironed out very quickly.
Above all, I have to salute Akbar's extraordinary courage in
mounting a film of this scale, this expense and this vision
without casting Bollywood's top box-office stars. Akbar has,
in a sense, even risen above himself in the process by assembling
a team of great talent. So something very special has come
out and Akbar has brought all of us together." |
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| ...and here are
some more pictures from TAJ
MAHAL, THE BOOK: |
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