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Reluctant Tru Fundamental Thoughts
Am back in the socialist-capitalist, traditional-cutting edge, muticultural-classist, anomaly that is the UK.
Been a mad year. Have shot three films and signed to a label I respect and rate – Tru Thoughts – the home of Quantic, Bonobo, Zed Nias, Rodney P, Belleruche, and more. They will be releasing a deluxe CD edition of the MICroscope album in early 2012 – with loads of new remixes.
The way it has worked out was funny – I finished filming the exact same day I signed to Tru Thoughts, and the same day I turned 29. Was a good day. Except I had the shits and spent a lot of it on the toilet and in front of camera and hot lights. Dehli Belly Birthday.
So this is where I been…
Earlier in the year I shot Black Gold in Qatar, and Trishna in India.
Just now I have finished a shoo for The Reluctant FUndamentalist. It was longer, and more of a journey than anything I’ve done. I always wanted to work with Mira Nair, since I saw Monsoon Wedding and Namesake – and always loved Mohsin Hamid‘s amazing novel . The shoot was gruelling – and inspiring becuase of what I learnt, who I met, and where I went…
To prepare for the character of Changez, I read up on international finance, Urdu poetry, and Pakistan US relations. This was eye opening enough (especially the amazing poetry of Faiz Ahmed Faiz), but then a lot of the journey also seemed to play out unexpectedly in really personal ways, while we were filming…
For example, I was in NYC on the 10th anniversary of 9/11 for research, and encountered some unbelievable racism, alongside some humbling and dignified mourners (a documentary of that day will be posted up over the next few weeks).
Then, the Occupy Wall St movement kicked off while we were shooting in NYC a month later! The main arguments of the protest at Zucotti Park, about how we really measure value, was a central thread of the film. It was interesting talking to people down there, so I made a documentary about it:
WHAT\’S IT LIKE AT OCCUPY WALL ST?
I also ended up reconnecting with Pakistan. My connection to Pakistan is mainly through the UK community here – which is very particular and has evoled in its own ways, but hanging out with novellist and singer Ali Sethi, Pakistani music star Meesha Shafi who plays my sister, meeting legendary Qawalli singer Fareed Ayaz – all this opened me up to a more spiritual, liberal, and humanist side of what’s going on in Pakistan.
Then, before we wrapped in India I snuck in a gig at the NH7 Music Festival in Pune, near Bombay. It was a really good gig, with DJ Nihal behind the decks for me, and a really receptive hard core at the front (despite around 60% stood watching, slightly confused). Have a look at the gig video (from 1 hour 11 minute).
Then we finished the film in Turkey. Istanbul hit me over the head and then stretched my skull – it shredded all fake East-West distinctions that we are fed growing up. It used to be capital of the Roman Empire, The Byzantine Christian Empire, the Ottoman Muslim Empire, and is a HUGE modern, liberal, secular city, full of white skinned, football crazy Muslims. It broke down lots of the pigeonholes that we take for granted.
Here’s the Aya Sophia – a church form 500 AD, full of Roman artefacts from 200 BC saved form Rome when the empire there fell, converted into a mosque in the 1400s. Notice the Virgin Mary and baby Jesus mosaic on the ceiling, which wasn’t covered up for at leats the first 100 years that it was being used as a mosque.
Above all tho it’s good to be home. I had another exhaustion related hospitalisation the minute I landed – was weird to go form 1st class to spending the night on an NHS Hospital trolley (keepin’ it real), but I guess my body needed to chill out properly.
Now I’m charged up and ready to make some ridonkuloid music for 2012.
Thanks for the support on fb, twitter, and everywhere.
x
