The Week India – July 14, 2019

THE COPYCAT

Himesh Patel, 28, fi rst came into the

limelight as Tanwar Masood in the BBC

soap opera EastEnders when he was 16

years old. In what is being hailed as his

breakout performance, the South Asian

actor plays aspiring musician Jack Malik

in Danny Boyle’s latest romantic come-

dy, Ye s t e rd a y. He is hit by a bus during a

sudden global power outage. When the

lights come back on, no one remembers

Th e Beatles except Malik. Our hero then

capitalises on this collective amnesia

and passes off their songs as his own.

What is the objective of this movie?

Th e story focuses on the lives of a

Dalit family from Kerala who move

to Himachal Pradesh after a natural

disaster. Th ere, they work in apple

orchards under severe climactic

conditions. I wanted the viewers to

understand the struggle faced by

families of labourers.

What were some of the challenges

faced while making the movie?

Everything from weather to logistics

has been a challenge. We worked for

one and a half years to complete the

movie. It was like a battle. We have

shown fl oods in the movie, but this

was shot before the Kerala fl oods last

year. A coincidence, I say. Th e entire

crew put their heart and soul into it

to fi nish this project with perfection.

I can proudly say that our hard work

paid off in the end. It was a battle we

won.

What inspired you to make Veyil

Marangal?

I wanted to focus on the lives of la-

bourers. I also wanted to subtly touch

upon the issue of caste discrimina-

tion and the struggles associated

with it. I make movies for me. Th ere

will always be people who criticise

the cast, the script the direction and

everything else about the movie.

But the most important thing for me

is that I like the movie and that it

impresses me.

Does Veyil Marangal set the bar high

for your next project?

Veyil Marangal was one among

3,964 entries from 112 countries at

the Shanghai festival, out of which

14 were selected to compete for the

Golden Goblet. It was the only entry

from India. I feel awards and recogni-

tion increase responsibility. Th is one

has certainly set the bar high for my

next project. But I am excited about

the script, the direction and the future.the future.

FANNING

OUT

Sonam Kapoor is popular on social

media and the proof of the pudding is

in the numbers. Her followers on Insta-

gram recently crossed the 20 million mark.

“Th ank you so much to all 20 million of

you, you fi ll my heart with so much love.

Th ank you, tribe,” she tweeted. She also

posted on Instagram pictures of her

in a stunning, green Emilia

Wickstead dress.

CONTRIBUTORS: LAKSHMI SUBRAMANIAN

AND SNEHA BHURA

COMPILED BY ANJULY MATHAI

STEVE VAS

COURTESY: INSTAGRAM

JULY 14, 2019 • THE WEEK 73