By Sangeeta Kumar

She’s produced Bollywood blockbusters in the US. She’s a Hollywood point person for India, a Bollywood point person for the U.S., and then there’s the small matter of being a film-maker in her own right, EGO felt that it was time to seek answers from the main woman in the know: “The Darjeeling Limited” co-producer Anadil Hossain.

Q1. EGO: You’ve spent a considerable amount time in the world of entertainment. Tell us about the highlights of your journey from Murdoch’s world to independent cinema and Bollywood.

When I moved to New York from London almost a decade ago I ended up doing corporate events for News Corporation. In parallel, I pursued my film career working on commericals and indie films. It was a interesting dichotomy to work between the high powered corporate world and the struggling indie film world. I would spend the same amount of money on a one day corporate event that I would spend on a six week feature film shoot. I value the opportunities I had during that time to hone the same skill sets at different scales. In 2003, I wasn’t particularly a devout Bollywood aficionado even though the genre tends to inculcate this in its fans. "Kal Ho Naa Ho", a huge blockbuster set in New York, was scheduled to shoot mostly in Toronto. No Bollywood film of this scale had ever been shot in the U.S. I convinced the skeptical producer that the whole film could be shot in New York at or under the budget proposed for Toronto. I had no idea what I let myself in for but to this day I feel proud of what we achieved on that film. It was my first Bollywood experience and the film was a huge success, breaking box office records worldwide. This is a particularly special film as it was the last to be produced by Yash Johar. This led to other Bollywood work in the U.S. such as "Swades" the follow-up to Oscar nominated "Lagaan", and "Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna" which was a mammoth 71 day shoot in New York. I was also a line producer on Mira Nair's "The Namesake" which shot in New York and in Calcutta, and then co-producer of Wes Anderson's "The Darjeeling Limited" shot pretty much entirely in Rajasthan, India. Now I am approached by both Hollywood and Bollywood when they want to cross over to the other side for both commercial and independent projects.

Q2. EGO: You’re a student of film-making, having studied it in England. Talk to us about some independent films you’ve worked on.

I studied Film and American Studies at University of East Anglia, Norwich, England, which essentially focussed on film theory. For our practical component, I co-directed and produced a half hour film with a friend and that experience made me realize that I was definitely a producer and not a director. After graduation, I worked in corporate television in London. Then, in New York, I got into the independent scene. I line produced several indie features, and then in 2002 I produced an omnibus series of shorts about women in the Lower East Side, which was directed by Liselle Mei. The film won awards and was s aired on television as part of the Women in Film series. My next projects were all mainstream features, both Hollywood and Bollywood.

Q3. EGO: Did any of it prepare you for the production work you do today?

Everything I've done has prepared me for the next adventure. I am always learning. It is important for me to continue the cycle where every project teaches me something new which I can take to the next project. That is the beauty of this industry: it keeps you on your toes and constantly pushes your boundaries.

Q4. EGO: You were the local producer for Karan Johar’s New York City shoot for his blockbuster “Kal Ho Naa Ho” and subsequently for “Khabi Alvida Naa Kehna” – how does the Bollywood production style contrast with that of Hollywood?

There are some fundamental differences, but at the end of the day it’s same challenge of juggling chaos, egos, drama, and creative energy. Bollywood operates like an insular family, with private agreements, special financing methods, a ritualistic code of conduct, a personal approach to hiring and organizing staff, and concentric levels of loyalty. This is slowly changing as the new generation of filmmakers adopt international production standards. Every country’s film industry has their own methodology which works for them according to cultural and social traditions. What's fascinating is how films get made at all, anywhere, given the sheer amount of coordination and things going wrong.
I've done four films back to back where Hollywood goes to India and Bollywood comes to America. You shift armies across continents, but it is ultimately like creating an independent state which moves across borders: peanut butter and jelly gets fedexed to India and masala chai gets brewed on the sidewalks of NY.

Q5. EGO: Bollywood films get a bad rap from the intellectual elite but are gobbled by masses intent on an escape from the rigors of daily life. In contrast Hollywood has its share of films that are purely escapist. These films however seem to slide by the same folks. Why do you think that is?

I think there is a huge double standard when it comes to this. Mainstream Hollywood and Bollywood are the same beast, namely commercial escapism for the masses. Human beings divide their time between work and play, study and rest and demand films that fulfill both states of mind. There are some very intellectually challenging Indian films just as there are purely entertaining Hollywood flicks, and each has its place in society.
Spectators in Asia, and worldwide, enjoy looking up to idealized heroes, being flung into plots like emotional roller coasters, and enjoying the choreography and colors of musical numbers reminiscent of the Hollywood luminary Busby Berkeley. Bollywood fulfills this demand for billions of people, more than Hollywood reaches. North America is very ethnocentric in its consumption of cinema. Travelling outside of North America or to festivals reveals burgeoning and powerful film industries.

Q6. EGO: How did you get involved in “The Darjeeling Limited” ?

I worked with the producer of the film, Lydia Dean Pilcher, on her previous film, "The Namesake".

Q7. EGO: Even though the director himself and actors are the crème-de-la-crème of Hollywood, and even have a few Oscar wins between themselves, I’m sure they weren’t really recognized in Rajasthan. How was that experience of relative anonymity?

It must have been refreshing for American celebrity actors to be spared constant scrutiny by paparazzi and fans while working in a place as beautiful as Rajasthan. Being a well-recognized actor these days is a double-edged sword. As much one craves privacy, publicity is a necessity in our industry.

Q8. EGO: The story follows the journey of three brothers (played by Owen Wilson, Adrien Brody and Jason Schwartzman) who take a road trip across India. Wes Anderson’s forte is films dealing with male angst. How is this different or similar to his other works?

This is not unlike Wes Anderson's other films which deal with the American male crisis of identity. His characters live in a world of dysfunction and spiritual bankruptcy. I think this film lives up to the Anderson tradition. All his trademarks are there, a highly stylized look, an esoteric world of detail and order, characters' idiosyncratic searches for meaning and fulfillment in that special world.

Q9. EGO: What are other projects you’re currently working on?

I'm reading scripts and developing several of my own projects. I'm interested in stories about the new generation of youth with intercontinental lifestyles which are becoming more and more accessible, and stories which evoke colliding worlds. I am also interested in developing historical projects set in Bangladesh. As always, I look forward to the challenges of ever more complex and larger scale international projects.