Titanic Rose fails to bloom in Paharganj

As an international crew hurried about, adjusting cameras and lights, dodging cows and their dung, even director Jane Campion refused to acknowledge her own existence. Even the direct approach did not work. “Hi, are you Jane Campion,” asked this reporter. “No, I am not,” said the straw-hat clad director of the Oscar-winning The Piano.

Of course, Campion’s reticence did not stop everyone — from paanwallas to extras — talking about their movie Holy Smoke (only the paanwallas insisted on calling it Holy Smack). Like Dilip Verma, a theatre enthusiast and Paharganj supporter. He needed only a little encouragement to rattle off the story, in which Winslet is playing a young Australian woman who gets involved in a bizarre cult. And ultimately with its leader, played by Harvey Keitel. The film also stars Jackie Brown’s Pam Grier as Keitel’s wife.

Accompanied by Australian actress Samantha Murray, Winslett meets a band of devotees outside a seedy hotel — the shot in progress on Tuesday. From the Capital’s rundown lanes, her search for the cult leader moves to Pushkar on Friday. Though the crew shot on Monday too, few saw in Winslett the resplendent Rose De Witt Bukater of James Cameron’s mega-blockbuster. “But now that we know who she is, we all want to see Kate,” said Ujjwala Sachdeva, who lives in the area and has seen Titanic thrice.

The shoot had drawn other Indians, like television producer Akhtar Khan who is part of the unit and has Gandhi and Mountbatten: The Last Viceroy to his credit. Or Varun Narayan, who’s doing the Indian casting. Both are Jamia Millia Islamia film graduates. Or even Shakti Prabha Sidhu, who has done programmes for Doordarshan and is helping with make-up.

Campion’s film has already shot a 15-week stretch in Australia and will wrap up its shoot in India in a week. Produced by Jane Chapman, Holy Smoke’s line producer is Los Angeles-based Indian, Deepak Nayyar, who has worked on movies such as Wim Wenders’ End of Violence.