Director Shekhar Kapur has cemented his name in the annals of global cinema with his exceptional works in ‘Masoom’ (1983), ‘Mr. India’ (1987), ‘Bandit Queen’ (1994), ‘Elizabeth’ (1998) and its sequel ‘Elizabeth: The Golden Age’ (2007). He added yet another gem in the list, ‘What’s Love Got To Do With It?’ (2022).
Recently in an interview with BBC, Kapur expressed his views on Hollywood’s pursuit of ethnic inclusion. According to him, this push stems from a sense of ‘guilt’ over the multitude of actors who are left without work.
During the interview, Shekhar Kapur delved deeper into the issue, agreeing to the fact that the inclusion of ethnic minority actors in popular shows like Netflix’s ‘Bridgerton’ (2020) presented new opportunities. However, according to him, it merely masks a more profound and critical problem concerning the stories being showcased on the big screen which are still from Hollywood’s lens whereas the stories need to be expressed from the point of view of the ethnicities and their cultures.
While elaborating, he shared, “Hollywood should be telling stories of that culture, of the culture of the brown people, of the African-American people, of the black people, of Asians. But what’s happening is they’re still addicted to their, you know, the narrative is still their point of view.”
Calling Hollywood’s endeavours to diversify its casting choices ‘guilt driven’, Kapur further added, “It’s Hollywood feeling guilty about all the actors that are not getting work. And because there’s a huge rise of protests.”
Meanwhile, Shekhar Kapur’s latest film, ‘What’s Love Got To Do With It?’, a captivating British romantic comedy, has made waves globally and even won four awards at the British National Film Awards including Best Director.
Following the success of the hit film, the national award-winning director has another exciting project on the horizon which will be a sequel to his 1983 hit directorial debut film ‘Masoom’.
