Jan 25, 2007, 11:38 GMT
New Delhi - Sanjay Leela Bhansali, known in Bollywood for opulent movies, has been invited to direct an opera to be staged by the French company Theatre du Chatelet, a news report said Thursday.
The yet-untitled opera will be based on a literary work by an unidentified 1920s French author, and once completed, will be staged all over the world, reported news agency IANS.
Bhansali, whose films are identified as cinema of emotional storytelling and lavish productions, was courted in Mumbai by officials of the opera company.
'The opera gives me the chance to carry every emotion to the highest scale, that's something I enjoy doing,' Bhansali told IANS. I can't deny theatrical influences in my cinema, so in a way this opera will give me the chance to return to my roots.'
Trained at the prestigious Film and Television Institute of India, Bhansali is a three-time winner of Bollywood's coveted Filmfare award.
'Bhansali is a passionate filmmaker,' Bollywood filmmaker Muzzafar Ali said. 'His storytelling appropriates a vast canvas - there's a melodramatic story, songs, full range of colours and theatrical acting. This should be suitable for an opera.'
The director, who is completing his latest cinematic opus 'Saawariya', a love story, said he wasn't sure when he got the offer.
'Very frankly, I was flattered but unsure whether I wanted to do it. After all, a staged opera is a discipline entirely different from cinema.'
'Devdas', Bhansali's last period film, a story of an aristocrat thwarted in love, had lavish sets and theatrical music.
The filmmaker says the movie was what attracted the French company.
'I'm already very nervous. It's a very lavish production, involving a huge cast and production values. I'm very honoured. At the same time it scares me.'
Only selected filmmakers have been invited by Theatre du Chatelet, one of the world's most-prestigious opera companies. Directors Woody Allen and Hong Kong's Yimou Zhang, director of 'The House Of Flying Daggers,' were previously chosen.
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