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It's a bird, it's a plane...

Nicolas Cage (in Superman-mould)

Shekhar Kapur is on a roll. Elizabeth has been winning him accolades all over. Exciting new movie offers are coming his way. From an earthquake film based in New York to the next Superman blockbuster.

Meanwhile, the script for the Mandela biography is getting ready. Right in the midst of all this, he was back in Bombay for an evening. Minus his trademark beard and moustache. To announce a brand new entertainment company he is setting up with friend Parameshwar Godrej. He spoke to Pritish Nandy.:

Are you excited about getting so many Golden Globe nominations for Elizabeth? Did you expect them?

No, frankly, I did not. But I am certainly excited by them. I saw the report in the newspapers only today. It is thrilling to see myself pitched against the likes of Steven Spielberg. Who knows, I may even win! That would be great, don't you think?

Is your new project, the cinematic biography of Nelson Mandela, ready to go on the floor? You said you were going to call it Amandela?

No, it is not exactly ready to film as yet. The script is being written and, from all indications, we should be ready to go on the floor after about a year. It will take that much time for us to keep changing bits and pieces of the script till I am satisfied with it enough to commence filming.

Yes, Amandela, is the tentative title of the film. It means freedom and this film is about a man's search for freedom, what it took him and his nation to finally achieve it despite the enormous odds. It is a huge film and I do not intend to start it unless I am absolutely ready with everything.

So what will you do for the whole year? Just keep tinkering around with the script? Isn't that a terribly boring idea?

Shekhar Kapur

Well, almost every day I keep getting these scripts to read. That itself is a hugely time-consuming task. I enjoy it too. I get to read some very good stuff. For instance, I am contemplating making one of these fun films during the interregnum. Say, a new Superman film. I have an offer on hand and am reading the script. I think it would be a wonderful idea.

Who's playing Superman?

Nicholas Cage. In fact, that is a bit of a problem. He has too much character, too much of a personal identity. I would have preferred someone like Christopher Reeve who was, in my view, the perfect fit for the role. He had this clean, clear-cut look that I would identify with someone playing Superman. Cage is different. He has tremendous character. To make him fit the role of Superman would be far more difficult.

But he played an angel recently? That's pretty close, don't you think?

Maybe. But I am not sure I would feel that confident in fitting him into the role of Superman. I am sure he will do a great job of it but, for me, Superman looks different.

Why not take someone else, in that case?

Who? In any case, this casting decision was taken more than two years ago. If I make Superman, which seems to me like a very exciting idea right now, I have to take that decision as accepted. I cannot persuade them to open up that chapter again. It has been decided and announced already. Nicholas Cage is a wonderful actor, of course, and I am sure he will work. But, somehow, as I said, I do not quite see him as Superman.

Christopher Reeve as Superman

Actually, before the Superman offer came along, I was toying with this idea of making one these huge hundred million dollar plus disaster films. Several scripts had come to me but the biggest one was this where an earthquake strikes New York! You can imagine the size of a project like this! It was mind-boggling! But I turned it down because I could not see myself making such a huge film right now. It was too big and would have taken too much time. But the studios are still coming up with several such ideas. I am keen to make a fun film. Like Mr India. A popcorn-for-the-mind film.

How do these scripts reach you? Through your agent?

Without my agent, I would not have got anywhere. They are very organised, very good at all this. They are always bringing me these exciting proposals.

Where are you living these days? In Johannesberg or London?

I am spending most of my time in Los Angeles. It seems most likely that my next project will be out of Hollywood and so it makes sense to base myself there for the time being.

How did you react to the high praise for Elizabeth?

I must confess I was quite taken aback by it. I was confident about the film but I never thought, quite frankly, that would receive such high acclaim.

What about negative reviews like the one by Andrew Robinson, where he said that all he was waiting for was to see the Queen running around the trees and singing, in typically Hindi film fashion? The technique, he felt, was absolute Bollywood.

Well, they are all looking at India these days for new directors. They find our style different, our treatment different... The way we look at things. Even at the craft of cinema. So obviously we have made some kind of impact out there on the West. We are not all that bad as we were made out to be.

When will Elizabeth be released in India?

I have the rights for India but, frankly, I have been so busy till now that I have not even thought about it.

What is this new company that you and Parameshwar Godrej have set up?

You know, Pritish, we have been talking about this for a long time but nothing actually happened for so many years. Suddenly the other day Parmesh phoned me out of the blue and said: 'Look, Shekhar, we are now ready to get into this line of business. Movies, serials, entertainment. The whole works.' So I said: 'What do I have to do?' She said: 'Don't worry, we will work all that out once the company is formed. So that's the background for this party, for this evening. We are announcing this company now and will look into the rest thereafter.'

What will the company actually do? Produce stuff for the entertainment business?

I guess so. To start with, the company can get into producing movies now that bank and institutional finance will be available to the industry and it is preparing for a new era of corporatisation. This is actually a good time to enter the business but, you are right, my own priorities have changed somewhat and I do not exactly know, as yet, how much time I will have at my disposal to devote to all this.

You came only for this, all the way from LA?

No, I am off to Jindal's tomorrow.

For one of those long, restorative courses to bring the mind and body back to shape?

No, just for ten days.

Imagine, a health farm to knock off all the stress and strain of success!

No, to knock off this party first.