Ace filmmaker Steven Spielberg is currently in India, and – in what would’ve been an event to experience – participated in a question and answer session with several of the biggest names in Bollywood. The conversation was helmed by Amitabh Bachchan, and later the floor was thrown open for questions from the audience. During one conversation in particular, Spielberg claimed to have loved 3 Idiots – a statement that would’ve surely put a huge smile on Rajkumar Hirani‘s face!
When asked whether he was particularly knowledgeable on Hindi cinema, Steven admitted that he wasn’t. He claimed that there was a lack of access in the U.S. to films of different cultures, perhaps for commercial reasons, but that they should be exposed to more.
Later, when Steven asked the crowd whether Indian cinema has space for different genres, director Sudhir Mishra claimed that things were getting better and even mainstream cinema has been changing. At this point, Sudhir pointed to Rajkumar Hirani and mentioned 3 Idiots, to which Steven replied: “Yes, I saw it. I loved it!”
Plus, in another interview, Spielberg said he’d seen a few Hindi classics some years ago, and in particular thought Awaara was a “beautifully made, heart-rendering story.”
Pix: Yogen Shah for MissMalini.