Shekhar Kapur speaks about his bond with R.D. Burman
Mumbai: Filmmaker Shekhar Kapur has shared an interesting anecdote from the making of his critically acclaimed film ‘Bandit Queen’, and spoke about his bond with the late music composer R.D. Burman.
On Saturday, the filmmaker took to his Instagram, and shared a picture of the late singer Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, and reminisced about how the singer was aware of his love for the late composer.
He penned a long note in the caption, as he wrote, “There were tears in Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan’s voice. One of his favourite musicians R D Burman had just passed away. ‘Shekhar ji, you look at your film and I will look into your eyes. And I will sing’. We were doing the background score for Bandit Queen. And it’s the strangest request I’ve ever had”.
He then shared that the scene in question is the Behmai Massacre and its aftermath.
He continued, “With row upon row of funeral pyres with the sound of women on the bank lamenting in high rustic voices, we turned the mikes on and I found Khan sahab looking, no, staring into my eyes as if he could find my soul, and look deep into it. He knew how close I was to R d Burman too. His eyes and his voice arrested me. I was transported to a far deeper realm”.
“For Khan Sahab was taking me closer to God and into the space where life and death merged into one. If you ever see Bandit queen again, look for the scene of the aftermath of the Behmai Massacre. That music will transport you too. That’s what it was like working with Nusrat Ali Khan, and that’s why I make films. To find space between life and death. For in that space exists creativity”, he added.