Mumbai: Well, it might seem surprising to now but yes this Hollywood director was actually jealous with our Indian Directors when he first discovered Indian films.
‘The Mask’ director Chuck Russell who is debuting in Indian Cinema with his Indian movie debut ‘Junglee’ with Vidyut Jamal is all praises about the songs used in Indian cinema which on the other hand is quite limited in the West.
Vidyut Jamwal starrer Junglee is best suited for Indian actor as it explores the relationship between a human and an animal, HT reports.
“(I felt) It should not be told with western actors. This is about the relationship between a man and an elephant and it is in the Indian DNA for centuries. I was comfortable with it being an Indian story. At first, I did not know why they approached me for this film but I realised it was because I am always dealing with the human and animal relationship angle in my films,” he said.
Recalling his teenage period, Russell said: “I was jealous of Indian directors when I first discovered Indian films. As a teenager, I found you guys do song and dance in every or any genre. In the West, the musicals were very limited. There are many differences but we (both) can tell larger-than-life stories and our stars can carry it.”
He has watched quite a few Bollywood hit flicks and believes both the Industries can tell stories that are larger than life.
“When I see the world, I want to try to incorporate stories from different cultures. Also, I had realised that if everyone can enjoy a film like ‘The Mask’, we are similar in a way when it comes to consuming entertainment. My mother loved India very much, she passed away just as we started work on the ‘Junglee’. She was a travel agent. I am carrying on the tradition of my family,” Russell added.
Director Russel says he likes to develop the story around the actors rather than only picking them for his scripts.
“I develop scripts for the actors rather than starting with the screenplay and then look for somebody. I wanted to meet Vidyut, his memes and GIFs are very popular but I did not know about his films. “I created this character for him. He has a fun, vulnerable side to him that was good to explore. These men and women are brave who do action-acting.”
Vidyut Jamwal starrer Junglee is slated to hit the theatres this Friday.