‘Jayanti Majri,this is your film’

has distributed the film under UV News and Media Ltd and Harshvir Singh,secretary TiE (The Indus Entrepreneurs),Chandigarh chapter — looked on.

“In Denmark,I still have the blue stones of the house that we built for the film. This film is all dil,100 per cent from the heart. Jayanti Majri,this is your film,” said Udwin,as she asked the audience to “bless their film”. Puri,meanwhile,acted as the official spokesperson of the team,translating their words into Punjabi,especially what was said by ‘bibi’ Leslee and ‘bibi’ Ila Arun. “Ila,this bibi belongs to Rajasthan and doesn’t know the ABC of Punjabi. Speaking in Urdu was an option in the film,but she took a difficult path and learnt the language,” said Puri. Introducing Kaushik,he said,“After trying all roles — actor,producer and director — he is now a distributor.”

Kaushik,meanwhile,added,“That’s because I was so floored by East is East. I have seen the first part ten times,as I wanted to see how an Indian actor relates to his character in an English film. Puri’s work was my point of reference for my role in the English film Brick Lane. When I heard of West is West,I wanted to be part of it,but the film was already made,so I said why not distribute it then.”

And even as the audience readied for the screening,the focus shifted from eighteen-year-old Raj Bhansali,who plays Zaid in the film,to a nostalgic Puri,who revisited his character George Khan and discussed how the film’s story is still relevant today. Ila Arun,on the other hand,seemed enthusiastic about her first English film,where she plays the character of Basheera,who she says represents many women left behind in Pakistan by their husbands.

“Basheera is Mrs Khan Number One and her role was already established in East is East,so when they called me for the auditions I grabbed it,” said Arun,dressed in a bright kurta,palazzos and her signature bindi. With ample tuition in Punjabi from Happy Singh from Phagwara,Arun has carried her role with a quiet calm and dignity,just like the writer,Ayub Khan-Din,had visualised. “Ayub did not want Basheera to cry,but he wanted her to live with the pain. Death,one can deal with,but rejection is the greatest pain and I empathised with Basheera,who is the voice of all the village women who live abandoned,in quiet solitude,” said Arun,the “serious,true element” in the film which is otherwise light-hearted. “We are not making westernised jokes. Our humour comes from the soil,from our daily lives,” she added.

A Shyam Benegal loyalist,the film has Arun baking cow dung,burning sticks on the chhulah,herding the cows and milking them. Like Puri,she too is looking forward to the third part. “There is a potential and I’ll call it East Meets West,” said Puri.

This year,Chandigarh will see more of Arun. She will be back in October with her stage production,and is also working on an album. “I am trying to understand the new music market of downloads,mobile ringtones and YouTube. As for the play,it is an adaptation of Henry Gibson’s Lady From the Sea. It has 36 characters and is a musical and my daughter Ishita is in it too,” she says,adding that her film on terrorism and Gujarat riots,Agha,by Karan Razdaan,releases on August 5. In the meantime,catch West is West,which releases on June 10.