Shekhar Kapur

This came in from Marshall :

Hi,

On the 30th January 1659, Charles Stuart, King of England, Scotland and Ireland stepped onto the scaffold to face his execution after seven years of civil war in his three kingdoms, conflict that resulted in the death of a greater proportion of our population than in the world wars of the 20th Century.

The execution of the King and the preceding war was without doubt one of the most momentous things ever to happen in our country. Why then is it a subject so poorly covered by the film and television industry. The Tudors, and in particular Elizabeth, are the subject of so many films and television series that it seems that every well known actress has put her own slant on Elizabeth’s life.

Your two Elizabeth films are truly amazing, but what of Cromwell, our chief of men, one of our greatest historic figures, who with the support of some amazing, influential contemporaries changed our country for the better – forever. They changed the unthinkable – that we could be ruled by someone outside the elite aristocracy – it was the real beginnings of our Parliamentary system and eventually helped inspire the American colonies to fight for their freedom.

The film ‘Cromwell’, staring Richard Harris, was amazing for its time but surely the time is right to tell the story of the Civil War, Cromwell and the execution of Charles I using modern filming techniques and digital technology, to bring to life someone that should be a hero to all democratically minded people.

You are the person to make this happen; to bring Cromwell to life, to tell one of the greatest stories in our history and to help put him at the forefront of our Nation’s history.

Your films are inspirational – our Nation needs inspiration, direction and a sense of who we are. We are not subjects, we are citizens of a great country – I want our voices to be heard I want us to be truely free. The memory of Cromwell, John Lilbourne and Thomas Raisborough needs to live on, to inspire and help us to realise there is another way – we don’t need to be ruled, we need to be free, we need to have a stake in our Nation, not simply be seen as servants of our ruling aristocratic elite.

Help us to become free through film.

Thanks for listening

We have long passed the danger point on Water, and are in a crisis situation. Which is why I decided to make my next film on Water, called Paani (water in Hindi) . Its time has come now as water is high on the consciousness on the people. When I first thought about it 10 years ago, it was a difficult film to get financed. People did not believe that we were heading to a potential wars on water.

Paani reflects a future society where water is used as a weapon of political and social control.

Of course I am dealing with a Mega City, as even according to the UN the world is moving towards cities of 30 to 40 million people with inadequate infrastructure. The most dangerous of that is water. We are not far away from social conflict over water, say, in Mumbai or Mexico City. or even Los Angeles a little later. One event could trigger it. 10% economic growth in India and China is not possible if large populations are thirsty. In an integrated Global economy, economic growth is possible only without social unrest. Depletion of water resources will destroy all of that.

Europe is already under pressure from immigration from north Africa. Imagine a million thirsty people migrating in search of water. Which army in the world will be able to stop that ?

Rising urbanisation is often at the cost of break down of rural and therefor the agricultural economy. Almost 65% of India’s agriculture depends on fast depleting ground water resources. Ground water resources meant for agriculture are being transferred to urban areas. As farmers see value of their land rising, they sell it to real estate developers, but gradually lose a traditional rural community. Their children finally turning to crime, as is evident in the surrounding new suburbs (Gurgaon) of Delhi after the money runs out. Of course politicians prefer to take water to a place with higher voter concentration. So the cycle is never ending. In Mumbai, for example, most water connections are illegal, and handed out by local political bosses to their vote banks.

Water is now going not where it is most needed, but where it gets the greatest price or votes. Privatization of water will provoke this problem further.

The ‘girl child education’ effort in India breaks down because she is the bringer of water. Her day usurped by just having to fetch water from many miles away. Everyday. You see that all over India, Africa and other parts of the world. The question of water is far more integrated within the socio economic fabric of our planet. Throw away a pair of jeans and you throw away 6000 ltrs of water. Cotton is a ‘dirty water’ plant. The desire for an export economy and rising local consumption is a huge pressure on dwindling water resources. Destroyed forest land is often replanted with Eucalyptus because it grows faster and therefore more commercially viable. But it depletes water in the ground much more than it puts back.

We need an integrated approach to confront the situation. Rising consumption and economic stimulation packages are as important as global warming and dissapearing glaciers,

I have been in discussion with World Bank and many other organizations. Looking for ways to tie in with my film. Why must a film be just one event ? Can it become part of building a sustainable community around the issue of awareness of water.

Awareness at every level.

Do we our need to have taps gushing ? 90 % of water we use for washing hands is wasted. Products like shampoos, soaps, toothpaste, detergents push the idea of foaming. Greater foaming needs more water to wash it off !

I could go on.

What do we do ? In Mumbai people can shower for 24 hours a day without water running out. They do. Literally, across the road people are fighting over half a bucket of water delivered three times a week by tankers at an exorbitant cost by a growing water mafia. Who are taking control over water in major urban areas.

Awareness ? Film ? Community movement ?

Shekhar

एक रोटी हमे भी दो
कुछ जीने का हक तो हमे भी दो

नहीं मंगाते हम आपकी ऊंची इमारतें
थक जायेंगे जहाँ
अपने आप को ही ढूँढ़ते ढूँढ़ते
छु लेंगे हम भी आसमान को
अपनी ही औकात से

लेकिन

एक रोटी हमें भी दो
कुछ जीने का हक तो
हमे भी दो

आपके बच्चे फलें फूलें
विदेश जाके खूब घूमें
चेहरे पे उनके मुस्कराहट रहे
हमारे बच्चे तो चीखते रहे

एक रोटी हमे भी दो
कुछ जीने का हक तो
हमे भी दो

यह सुनामी जो लायें हैं
हमारे अन्ना
देश को बह ले जायंगे
हमारे अन्ना
यह हवा जो चली है तूफ़ान बनकर
कहीं पेड़ को ही उखाड़ न दे
उसे जकड कर

इससे पहले की हम सब बह जाएँ

एक रोटी हमे भी दो

कुछ जीने का हक तो
हमे भी दो

Today – MPKK with Shekhar Kapur by Midival Punditz

Many years ago when I started writing Paani, my main focus was that the film should bring home the consequences of what could happen in a world that was running out of water. It was a call for action. To warn us of the consequences of continuing to treat the resources of our planet callously.

Over the years as the film and it’s characters evolved, I was writing either myself or with David Farr, but always in some kind of personal limbo not knowing whether it would work or not in the end. In the end would all these years of searching for the story inside myself make any sense ?

Two days ago we did a ‘read through’ of Paani with 16 wonderful actors in London enacting each of the characters, much like a radio play. . By the end of the ‘read through’ the emotional journey of the characters had almost every one in tears or at least feeling very moved.

We also had a long discussion on the script and the keywords that people used were :

Very emotional
Honest
Relevant
A modern day Blade Runner with a purpose and a heart
Cuts across cultures and appeals to a universal audience

All this makes me feel that at least the long long journey to get the script right has been worth it. At now I can move forward with confidence. Now to make the film !!! And that too is a very long and hard journey.

The read through was organized by Hubbards Casting. ?I have worked with John and Ros Hubbard before as casting directors on Four Feathers so it was great to be working with them again.

A read through is like doing a radio play on your script. It gives you a sense of the characters, the pace and the movement of the narrative. Professional actors of great quality will often come to the read through, for the experience, for the joy, or just looking to be in the loop. But I am always surprised at how seriously they will take these ‘read throughs’.

My thanks to all the actors that gave their day, their emotions, and their commitment to make such a wonderful read through,

shekhar –

I grew up in Japan. I m accustomed to earthquakes. But nothing could have prepared me for this one. It was the first time I saw buildings in Tokyo actually sway back and forth.

I watched live TV coverage as the tsunami swept away entire communities. It was like a horror film, but these are real people  thousands are dead, thousands more are missing. In one city, nearly half of the population is still missing.

And now we’re gripped with the fear of radiation from nuclear power plants. It’s a real-life nightmare.

In the past, Japan has helped the World Food Programme respond to some of the worst disasters around the world. Now, when my country is coping with its own tragedy, I feel proud to stand united with Japan to help people in need.

I m deeply grateful for the outpouring of support from all over the world. Thanks to the generosity of friends like you, in just 36 hours we raised all the funds we require for our operation in Japan. Thank you.

Amid the devastation left behind by the earthquake and tsunami, transporting goods is an enormous challenge, but families remain in desperate need of emergency supplies and WFP is providing its expertise to make sure those supplies are delivered quickly.

As the lead logistics agency for the United Nations in emergency operations, WFP has decades of experience in delivering food and other relief items in the most difficult environments.

It will take a long time to recover from this disaster. But, between the heroic rescue efforts coordinated by the Japanese government and the incredible support of the international community, I know well get there.

Thank you for the role that you are playing.

Sincerely,

Yuko Yasuda

Japan Spokesperson
World Food Programme

The World Food Programme (WFP) fights hunger worldwide, saving lives during emergencies while building a better future for the next generation. WFP is funded solely by voluntary donations.World Food Programme

http://www.wfp.org/?utm_source=emergency_appeal&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=wfp-japanappeal2-others

Via C.G.Viola 68
Parco dei Medici
Rome, 00148
Italy

As the popular rebellion of the Libyan people is being crushed by Qaddafi, and the world discusses the possibility of a ‘no fly zone’ or any other support to the rebellion by the people, a dangerous development took place yesterday as Saudi forces (with support from the UAE) went into Bahrain to quell another uprising there.

Is it the fear of a rebellion in their own nations driving this ? Or is the uprising in Bahrain not a popular one ? It seems more likely that the first is true, though I am getting mixed messages on my twitter a/c from both sides. If the first is true there are lines being drawn within the Middle East with Monarchy supporting each other to stop this uprising for a more democratic form of government. That’s dangerous.

But the most dangerous issue is if the democratic uprisings in the Arab world are subverted into a Sunni/ Shia conflict.? Colonial powers over the last couple of centuries have thrived on such divisions to protect their own military and commercial interests.

What is also very noticeable is that the reaction from Western powers has been surprisingly muted. Is it because of the the US bases in Bahrain and Oil interests in Saudi ? I cannot believe that Saudi army would have gone into Bahrain without extensive consultation with the US. That and a fear of Iran would drive the Western Powers to take sides in a potential conflict between Shia and Sunni. That would lead to a world wide disaster.

And as the the US, UK and European governments move to freeze the personal assets of the Monarch’s/Dictators, we must ask the question why people Hosni Mubarak and Qaddafi were encouraged in the first place to park such disproportionate assets in these countries ? There is no sense in suddenly finding high moral ground and freezing assets when for decades these very countries have been encouraging the dictators.

Dubious and double morals I am afraid.