Devdas Cannes Do

If Lagaan can, so Cannes Devdas. Sanjay Leela Bhansali's reinterpretation of the classic Indian romance has been selected for screening at the non-competition section of the Cannes film festival — making it the first commercial Hindi film to bag this honour. Bhansali discusses the implications for Indian cinema with Subhash K Jha:What does this sudden pre-release honour mean to you?It means my two-and-half years of penance have paid off. It's God's way of telling me, ''You've suffered enough. Now it's time for the happiness to begin.'' We were caught completely by surprise. We had sent them an almost-finished film on beta video. But there was no time for fine-tuning. Devdas is meant to be seen on the large screen. That the Cannes jury appreciated it on the small screen is a miracle. For the first time since I started the film I have a smile on my face. When the e-mail arrived from Cannes, it was a very important moment in my life. I felt happy from deep down. Now I have to ready the film to take it to Cannes on May 15.How did the invitation come about?The Cannes festival's directorate contacted us in November. They normally visit various countries to check out the interesting films being made. Theirs is a thoroughly researched and foolproof selection procedure. The director of the festival, Christian June, came to India. He met a lot of film-makers and saw a lot of Indian films. He told me to send Devdas over to Cannes as soon as it was complete. The last date for entry was March 31. We weren't ready with the finished product. So, breaking the rules, we sent a scratch tape for approval. They were most co-operative. The selection committee saw the rough tape and nothing happened for a long time. I had almost given up when I was told we were on. What a wonderful beginning to the film's exhibition process! I believe Devdas is the first mainstream Hindi film to be selected for Cannes?Yes, it is the first film in the popular format. Cannes is more into the avant-garde cerebral non-mainstream cinema. It's a platform for committed film- makers who get a voice and a market in the festival. Devdas' selection says a lot about our cinema.How does it feel to be in the same section as film-makers like Woody Allen, Claude Lelouch, Atom Egogyan and Barbet Schroeder?I don't know how to react to it. To me, it seems like an opportunity for a completely new kind of audience to see our cinema. It's a different ballgame altogether. Like your earlier work 'Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam', 'Devdas' also stresses exotic Indian culture. Do you think the earlier film prepared the way internationally for this one?Not really. Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam did make quite an impression in international cinema. But I don't think that film would play any role in the impact of Devdas. The importance of the selection of Devdas for Cannes lies not just in it being a mainstream Hindi film but also its classical format of presentation. It's not about universal sentiments designed to cut across the world. My film's sentiments and emotions are very peculiar and specific to a certain part of our culture and period in history. The songs, dances, costumes, performances and sets all reveal a culture that existed 100 years ago. And if we were proud of what we were, we would have continued to exist in that atmosphere of aggravated lyricism.We had Satyajit Ray's cinema, then Mira Nair's Salaam Bombay and Ashutosh Gowariker's Lagaan. Do you think these paved the way for your Devdas in the West?Obviously an Indian film representing our country abroad, which creates an impact, makes a difference to the way our cinema is perceived internationally. However, when the Cannes representatives saw the film in November, Lagaan hadn't become a big event outside India.Today when we look at Lagaan, we feel it has created a space abroad for Indian cinema. We now feel our content and style of moviemaking are being given a fair chance abroad. Satyajit Ray, Mrinal Sen, Shahji Karun and Lagaan did get our cinema recognition. At the same time, if a new film is selected for an international festival, it isn't necessarily because of those other films and film- makers who gained international recognition earlier on. I feel Devdas has been selected more for its intrinsic merits than any extraneous reasons.Devdas' USP abroad is its unique vision of India. This isn't the India of arid land and parched throats they've seen so far. It's classical Indian literature treated in an opulent, glamorous way. Devdas opens up another India for westerners.What do you think this selection means for Devdas?When your work is recognised at the most prestigious film festival in the world, its merits become somewhat unimpeachable. The moviegoer gets excited about the film. I feel Devdas will now be seen in another, more reverent way. It will now move forward internationally at the same time as its release at home. Cannes opens up a whole new world for Devdas.Do you feel Lagaan proves that the international marketing of Indian cinema needs serious looking into?I've only been bothered with making the film. I know nothing about marketing a film. I leave the marketing to God. He'll send the right buyers to me. On my part, I can only work out a marketing plan that comes instinctively to me. I may not have 20,000 friends rooting for the film. But I've 20 people who believe in me and my film. And that's enough. What aspect of our films do you think international audiences are enjoying the most?I think our cinema is being appreciated for its melodramatic warmth. Even in the West, people are now eager to express themselves more openly. They aren't abashed by open expressions of emotions. Indian films exude a lot of warmth. At a time when the world is clogged with bitterness it's reassuring to experience a cinema where the smallest of emotions matter.Also, Indian cinema is celebratory in mood. There's a song for every occasion. That's again a novel experience for western viewers. Indian films have their own distinctive stamp and audiences abroad find them great fun to watch. That is why they good-humouredly call us Bollywood. You and I may hate the term. But that's how Indian cinema is going to be known for a long time. When I showed Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam in Berlin they called it a 'dancycle'. They were thrilled to see the musical celebration of universal emotions. They find the novelty of it all very endearing. They've seen and appreciated other cinema from Asia. Now it's our turn.