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It wasn’t only me who was born in Mumbai, but also the idea of the book and the film Midnight’s Children , says Salman Rushdie. The author and filmmaker Deepa Mehta speak to Sonil Dedhia in the city where the story began.

“It always feels good to be in Mumbai,” says Salman Rushdie . And you only have to take a look at the big smile on his face when he says that to know he means it.

The novelist is currently in India with filmmaker Deepa Mehta to promote the film Midnight’s Children based on his Booker Prize-winning eponymous novel.

Rushdie and Mehta discuss why Midnight’s Children , which marks Rushdie’s debut as a screenwriter, has been an exhilarating experience.

Sir Salman Rushdie, you have come to Mumbai after a long time. What are the things that you miss about this place?

It wasn’t only me who was born here, but also the idea of the book and the film. I always had an idea of writing a novel on childhood that would draw my memory of childhood in Mumbai. It got a little out of hand and got big, but that was the germ of the book.

One thing that I have always thought about Mumbai is that the secret of the city lies within its people. There are cities that are more beautiful than Mumbai, but I really miss the people of this city. I have a lot of friends who I don’t meet very regularly. My friendship has stood the test of times so whenever I come here, I really enjoy connecting with my friends and other people.

I don’t care about going for sightseeing and I am very bad at shopping ( laughs ).

Talking about the film, it is opening in more than 50 countries but I feel really special about coming to Mumbai with this film.

Mehta : I went up to Salman and told him, ‘Here we are in Mumbai where it all began. This is the place where the story of Saleem Sinai (the protagonist in Midnight’s Children ) starts.’

I n many films that are adapted from a book, the symbolism is often lost. How did you retain that element in this case?

Rushdie : I have seen a lot of films in my life and for me to write the screenplay the best thing I could possibly do is to close the eyes and run the movie in my head and then write it down.

Saleem Sinai narrates the film, and the narration is not there just to tell you here is what you are about to see. It will be stupid to do that. The narration adds another layer of the characters, dealing with the reflection and contemplation. I hope that it works in the way we have done it.

Mehta : The film is about a gesture and not about saying it. It’s about the performance or the lighting in a particular way. What was very interesting was that the film is not dialogue heavy; it is very sparse. This approach gave a lot of weightage towards the performances. There are so many little moments in the film, which are so beautiful and fascinating.

With this film, I realised that it is not necessary to always have heavy dialogues to convey a message.

H ow difficult was the process of converting a 600-page book into a script?

Rushdie : The novel is deliberately digressive. In a movie you have to find that true line that will grab the audience at the very beginning and keep the attention at all point of time. You have to take the audience through the journey without raising any doubts in their mind about anything.

The first draft of the film was 250 pages, which was absolutely ridiculous. It would have been a four-and-a-half-hour film. There are many parts of the novel, which were not essential to the film. It was really tough to eliminate things.

It was a long and difficult journey to make this movie.

How significant is this film in your lives?

Mehta : The reason the film has a certain presence in my life is because it’s a search for a family, a search for identity, a search for home. The film was like a double whammy because it also depicts the time when India got its independence, the nation got an identity.

Being an NRI, I have been obsessed by the feeling of where my home is, whether I am Indo-Canadian, or a Canadian, so it gets very complicated.

Rushdie : It just struck my mind that the film embraced the people from the Indian community residing all over the world. Deepa stays in Toronto, I stay in New York, Satya Bhabha (who plays Sinai) is from America, Anita Majumdar, who is a wonderful actress, is based in Canada. The major cast belongs to India and Nitin Sawhney, who has done the music for the film, is based in London.

All of us have a strong India connect and it was like India and the Diasporas was somehow able to come together. It felt like a nice thing.

M s Mehta, was it daunting to manage such an ensemble cast? Did you strictly follow the script or allow the actors to improvise on the sets?

Every character in my film, irrespective of screen time, has a beginning, middle and an end. All the actors who have been a part of this ensemble cast have made my life so much easier. I am proud of each and every one.

One of the biggest reasons that I really wanted to do this film was because the book has such strong women characters. Each and every woman in this book has an inspiring story and tells us about Indian womanhood.

For me as a film director, one of the most infuriating things is when an actor on the sets comes and asks me, ‘Just stop, tell me what my motivation to play this character is.’ This is what needs to be worked out before you start doing the film. My intention of the workshop was so that the actors could be well prepared.

Film is about the environment, the clothes one is wearing or the interaction between the characters. There were times when the actors would come up to me and give me suggestions, and I was open to discussion. I was not open to long discussions because that would be a waste of time, but if any actor had something that was instinctive it would be very stupid on my part to disregard it as that is where the magic would happen.

N ot many know that Sir Rushdie is also playing Saleem Sinai in the film. Could you tell us more about it?

Rushdie : We have three people playing Saleem Sinai. We have Darsheel Safary playing the young Saleem and then Satya Bhabha who play the older one. The novel came out in 1981 when Saleem, who was 31, was narrating the story of his life till that age.

But now 32 years later, Saleem would be somewhere around 65, who is still narrating the story up till the age of 30 in the film. So, we thought it would be wrong for a 30-year-old actor to do that, as it would look funny. This is why we thought we needed a third Saleem and that is how I got cast in the film.

I did not decide to become the narrator, but it was Deepa who insisted. I will not be seen in the film. I am just doing the narration.

Mehta : I felt it is right because an overview ( of the story ) was very important with respect to today’s time. I tried a lot of actors to do the voiceover for the film, but I couldn’t find the authenticity of the voice that is so beautiful in the book.

Rushdie : Actually, I wanted to act in the film. Years ago, I had thought if there is ever a movie on Midnight’s Children , I wanted to play the part of the fortune teller. It was my secret fantasy. Since I had written the novel, I thought it would be fitting for me to play the role.

I mentioned this to Deepa and she instantly told me that you are part of the cast. After a while I had big second thoughts. The scene was a little disturbing and the emotional centre of the scene belonged to Amina, who is Saleem Sinai’s mother ( Shahana Goswami ) and I didn’t want the audience to suddenly say, ‘Isn’t that Salman Rushdie?’ ( laughs ).

I didn’t want to take the limelight. Ultimately, the scene never made it into the film.

M s Mehta has also made you sing in the film, Sir Rushdie. Tell us about this unusual experience.

It was an absolutely shocking moment when Deepa asked me to sing in the movie. It’s for a brief moment, but I wasn’t ready for it at all.

A few years back, I was invited on stage with the band U2. There were 85,000 people present in the arena and it was a little daunting for me to face so many people. My son was with me as an audience in the first half of the show. I was called to the backstage just before the start of the second half.

As I was leaving to go towards the backstage, my son came up to me and told me, ‘Dad, just don’t sing.’ ( Laughs ).

Just to tease him I said, ‘U2 is a good band with some good guitarists and drummers so maybe I should sing.’

He replied to me, ‘If you sing, I will have to kill myself.’

How often did you visit the sets, Sir Rushdie?

I decided not to go for the shoot. I was busy writing my memoir Joseph Anton . The other reason was that I was worried that if two people are sitting side by side, trying to make a film it can be confusing. It is confusing for the actors, the technicians. I wanted the film to be the way Deepa had envisioned it.

S peaking of Joseph Anton , has it taken a lot of weight off your shoulders?

It’s a very heavy book. I have been with the book for the last 30 months, and I have told many of the journalists who interviewed me that this is the last time they get to speak to me about my life because in future if any of them ask me about my career and my life, I would hit them on their face with the 600-page book.

To answer your question, I do feel there is some kind of weight, which is off my shoulder. The reason why it is called a memoir and not a biography is because it tries to focus on a particular incident in my life.

The life of writers is not very interesting and I, unfortunately, acquired an interesting life, and I thought I should tell it to everyone.

B oth of you have spoken about the cultural emergency in India — the protests that are happening against the writers and filmmakers. Do you think filmmakers, writers, and intellectuals make for soft targets when it comes to cultural intimidation?

Mehta: Yes, you are absolutely correct. We have been at the receiving end for a long time. I had faced it in 2000 when I came to Varanasi to shoot Water . After many protests and threats of violence from various political and religious parties, the filming was stopped before it ever really had a chance to begin. It’s a real pity.

I was at the Jaipur Literature Festival and was having a conversation with Ashis Nandy about who is now facing a controversy of his own about whatever was happening with Kamal Haasan’s film Vishwaroopam . It’s like 14 people can actually dictate what the fate of a film or a book is. It is completely incomprehensible.

Rushdie: ( In jest ) I have never faced such kind of an experience at any point in my life. I really sympathise with people who are facing these issues.

I n his very first big screen appearance in a leading role, American actor of Indian origin Satya Bhabha stars in Midnight’s Children.

Bhabha had not expected to be picked to play the main protagonist, Saleem Sinai, a role for which several Bollywood actors were in the running.

But Deepa Mehta saw the potential in the 29-year-old charismatic and naturally talented Bhabha, and cast him in the leading role.

In this e-mail interview with Sonil Dedhia , Bhabha talks about being the unlikely choice for the film, and how he prepared for his character.

You were probably just 10 years old when you first read the book. What were your initial thoughts of the book, especially Salman Rushdie’s writing?

I remember this as my first ‘un-put-downable’ book. I immediately fell into the wonder and magic of Salman’s characters, finding in them forgotten and, at times, unrecognised elements of my own family.

H ow did you feel when you saw the movie for the first time — the reality of what Deepa Mehta created versus what you had imagined?

I was floored. During the shoot, it was clear that this was going to be a beautiful picture — the design was incredible and the lighting was always wonderful — but to see the whole puzzle put together was thrilling.

It was like meeting the family of a close friend — much is familiar, but still constantly surprising.

A lot of big actors from Bollywood were vying for the role of Saleem Sinai but Deepa Mehta announced your name at a movie screening in New York. Were you surprised?

Deepa and I had met a few times and I think we really connected on an aesthetic level — and we have a similar sense of humour.

Despite having previously discussed the project, I was certainly surprised when she announced my name; I mean can one ever be ‘prepared’ to find out one is to play Saleem Sinai?

Going by the book, your character goes through heavy emotions and experiences. What was your first impression when you read the script?

It was a thrilling, but daunting, prospect playing this character.

Saleem really goes through the wringer emotionally; however, my job was to find a through-line — the thing that keeps him going through all of these unbelievable obstacles.

That was something that Deepa and I worked on and discussed extensively and something that really improved my performance in the film.

Y ou really have to carry this movie on your shoulders; without your character, there is no heart to the story. This being your first major role, how did you tackle it?

It was a sincere joy and pleasure getting to work on this movie. It was certainly challenging — both intellectually and emotionally — but also an incredible honour to be able to communicate this beautiful story, and work with such an incredible cast.

Did you, at any point of time, feel unprepared for the role?

Thankfully, I had a long time to prepare for the part so by the time we were shooting I really had the story and the character at my fingertips.

You came to Mumbai to prepare for the role. Can you tell us more about it?

I came to Mumbai and lived with my grandmother for some months, studying Hindi and investigating Saleem’s ( and, to some extent, Salman’s ) Mumbai.

With my trusty companion, the fantastic filmmaker Kabir Chowdhry, we explored every corner of this magical city.

D id you take a cue from Darsheel Safary, who plays the young Salim Sinai, to keep the continuity? Did you observe his body language?

I didn’t get to see much of Darsheel’s work before shooting, and the way we shot, I ended up shooting a lot of the film before he even came to Sri Lanka.

However, we spent quite a bit of time together just chatting before the shoot and extensively discussed the character. When I finally saw the film, I was thrilled by how seamless our transition feels.

H ow much of you as a person came through in the character?

( Laughs ) I think every character has, at its heart, a kernel of truth to the actor — except maybe in very heightened things such as my role in Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World , which was largely a character comedy.

Ultimately, I think that Saleem and I are closer than we maybe knew going in to the project.

You have been born and bought up in England. Did this film allow you to explore your Indian side and understand your family roots?

Absolutely. I really felt far more connected to India during and after shooting this film than before… It really feels like coming home when I land in Mumbai now — and that’s a new experience.

A lot of people say experience makes for a better actor. Looking by the trailers and the reactions from the international critics, you seem to be defying that assumption.

Well, thank you. That’s very kind. I do think that when people say that they are also often referring to life experience — and though my on-screen work has not been extensive, I think I have a hefty wealth of life experiences to draw from.