Hollywood director Harald Zwart on his latest film The Karate Kid,which is more about Kung-fuHollywood director Harald Zwart does not believe in remakes,so he tags his latest film,The Karate Kid (which shares its name with the 1984 classic),featuring Jackie Chan and child-actor Jaden Smith,as a re-telling. It shares the core values of the original coming-of-age action drama of a young boy who is bullied in school and is then taught self-defence skills by his janitor, says Zwart,45,over telephone from his home in Los Angeles. In the original movie,the schoolboy learns Karate from his Japanese janitor,but since Zwart shot the entire movie in China,he had to fall back on Kung-fu. In his version,the helpless Karate kid no longer practises Karate; instead,he learns Kung-fu from his master. China is all about Kung- fu whereas Japan is about Karate. I was so intrigued by the philosophy and the artistry of Kung-fu,that I felt compelled to take the story to China, he adds. Zwart however says the decision to keep the original title was intentional. The boy initially tries to learn Karate from some old video tapes,so we decided to retain that element in the title. Besides,this name has a recall value, says the director. Made on a budget of US $35 million,the new The Karate Kid,he adds,packs in slicker fight sequences and a larger dose of humour than the 1984 film. Zwarts also made news lately for having 11-year-old Jaden Smith (son of actor Will Smith) perform dangerous martial arts without a stunt double. Jaden was on board before I signed up for this project. I ensured that he trained intensely for four-five hours daily to perfect his technique. But we knew where to draw the line, he says. Before hanging up,Zwart recalls an India connectionhe had directed Aishwarya Rai-Bachchan in the Pink Panther 2. If I am ever looking for a femme fatale for a film,I would love to cast her in it, he says.
