Legendary filmmaker-scriptwriter Paul Schrader is ready to begin filming 'Xtreme City', yet another Hollywood film set in Mumbai. But unlike Danny Boyle's 'Slummdog Millionaire', 'Xtreme City' will not showcase the grimy underbelly of the city.
"My film will not be a shanty film. Not like Slumdog Millionaire at all, thank you." Schrader said. In case you didn't already know, Paul Schrader is the screenwriter of such critically acclaimed films as 'Taxi Driver' and 'The Last Temptation of Christ'. Schrader said that his film will be the total opposite of 'Slumdog', and that it would show Mumbai at its colourful best. "I have scoured Mumbai and have looked at locations. But unlike Slumdog, my focus will not be shanties. Slumdog was too British...and too one-sided. Danny Boyle's film, well...It seems that India is boiling with poverty all the time. That is the way the West wants to see it. But my film will be different."
"Between any two buildings, there is bound to be some space for somebody to live in, a shanty, may be. That is not my primary concern. Xtreme City will show Mumbai at its colourful best." he added. There were rumours that Priyanka Chopra and Shahrukh Khan are in negotiations to star in the film. However, Schrader stated that the Indian cast has not been confirmed yet, but that Brad Pitt and Leonardo DiCaprio are being considered for the role of the American hero. "All talk of Indian number 1 Shah Rukh Khan having confirmed as the Indian hero is mere imagination. For the American hero, the names of Brad Pitt and Leonardo Dicaprio are being actively pursued. Shooting for the film will begin early next year." he said.
Schrader confirmed that 'Xtreme City' would follow the naach-gaana formula of a Bollywood movie and that there would be at least five songs in the film. Goes without saying, AR Rahman is his first choice to score the music. "There will be at least five songs and dances in the film, typically Indian stuff. This will attempt to be the first crossover potboiler. A Bollywood potboiler used to have a dozen songs earlier, a comedy had around eight...I think now it can be five and we are safe," he said."I would love A.R. Rehman to score the music. He is the Everest of Indian music. I intend to make a real pop cultural hybrid. There will be commerce at its best. The film will show a city where contradictions live side by side."
"In other films, my goal was art...this time, my goal is commerce and I am clear about that. The only film of mine with which I can compare the script of Xtreme City is Yakuzo directed by Sydney Pollack in 1976." Co-producer Mushtaq Sheikh and co-writer said, "Other films show India's pimples...we will show the dimples. Slumdog Millioanire cannot be the end point of all matters Mumbai. This "White man, please save me,' syndrome is disgusting. We are not going to allow milking this city dry because the West wants to live in that myth."
Source: India(dot)com
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