The International Film Festival of India is taking place in Goa. It is great that we are basking in the glitter away from the mundane miseries of the world outside and breathing only cinema.
I feel honoured [as chief guest]. All of us who are part of showbiz, I should say, are indeed blessed. We don't dabble in politics in the film industry except for the struggle in our hearts.
I am coming back to the wonderful state of Goa after almost 40 years. I wanted to see Goa when it was liberated. I have always been in love with it. All I can say about wonderful Goa is that this is the most appropriate venue for an international film festival of this calibre.
Miracles take time
I have absolutely no doubt at all that IFFI Goa will beat all other festivals including Cannes and Berlin in terms of popularity and the quality of films screened.
Please do not expect miracles in the first or second year of holding IFFI in Goa. Give it time to nurture itself.
I am going to spend a few days in Goa soaking in the atmosphere. Though I am not ready with the first print of my next film Mr Prime Minister, it is my promise to Goa that I will hold the world premiere of my film in Goa.
Mr Prime Minister is actually the result of my thinking over the past 60 years. I love my country and do not belong to any political party; hence my film is not against any political party although it is out and out a political satire.
I have requested Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to review my film before I release it on December 30. It is a concept which was born out of a hung parliament.
Money not the criterion
I am very glad that the world is becoming more and more a global village. Last year I shot my film Mr Prime Minister in Naples. The Italian government had made all the necessary arrangements.
I look forward to shooting my next film Beauty Queen also in Naples. Money has never been the main goal as far as filmmaking is concerned.
Today's filmmakers are all playing with new ideas. I am glad that most of them are shunning the run of the mill stuff.
Creativity is my energy. It is spiritual and I feel that spiritual is eternal. I am lost in work and it is intoxicating and that is the secret behind my energy.
I have at last finished writing a book on my more than six-decade journey through the film industry. I started writing the book almost a year and a half ago and it will be brought out by an American publisher friend.
