Film-maker Mike Pandey on his icon,Steven SpielbergWhen it comes to contribution towards cinema,the first name that strikes me is Steven Spielberg. He redefined the world of communication by going beyond the frontiers of storytelling. His techniques have revolutionised the way movies are made across the world. For instance,he helped create the idea for the original Star Wars in 1977 and helped George Lucas direct it. He was a true craftsman and storyteller and translated his vision onto the screen. His thinking was futuristic and he transferred digital cinema on to celluloid. It was an amalgamation of storytelling and technology. One could get an impression that the characters were real while watching Star Wars. I began admiring his work after watching this film when I was just beginning my independent career as a film-maker. I was 28 years old then and the admiration grew after seeing Schindlers List,much later.I almost met him when he was shooting for Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984). Spielberg was about to shoot a section of the film on a 250-acre plot in Ghaziabad behind Mohan Meakin Mills and I was the contact person commissioned to erect the sets in India. But after the Prime Ministers secretary,Gopi Arora,saw a copy of the script he refused permission to Spielberg's crew as he believed it promoted superstition. That was the first major assignment for my company,Riverbank Studios,and a big opportunity for me to meet Spielberg. The scenes were finally shot in Sri Lanka. As a film-maker,I tried experimenting with Spielberg's style of storytelling at a subconscious level. While working on Razia Sultan in 1983,I tried to replicate his style of moving a camera,how it lingers on an image and creates a connection with the subject. The experiment worked.His films brought the viewer to a certain level that motivated and allowed room for experimentation. The films took you to a different thinking platform.
