Social activist Nafisa Ali has singled out Vishal Bhardwaj's AIDS film Blood Brothers as the best of Mira Nair's 4-film bouquet Jaago. Says Vishal, "It was well-received at the Toronto Film Festival. And I was happy about that. But now that it has been screened in India, I feel even happier. The film was made to spread awareness about AIDS. I was told it would be 15-20 minutes. I've always been very fond of the short-story format. My Blue Umbrella was a short story to begin with."
Vishal says he was very challenged by the format and theme. "Everything had to be put into 15-20 minutes. Besides, Santosh Sivan's film Prarambh is far better than mine. His is by far the best of the bouquet. His film comes straight from the heart. I'm openly saying Santosh's film is far better than mine. So, I don't mind comparisons with the other films in the bouquet. Mine is not bad."
About Blood Brothers, Vishal says, "It's quite a multi-starrer. It has Siddharth in the lead. I think he's too mature for his age. He's so well- read and has experienced so much of world cinema. I'd love to work with him again. My film also stars Ayesha Takia, Pavan Malhotra and Pankaj Kapoor in a small role. Can you imagine how difficult it was to accommodate them in a film of 15-20 minutes?”
Courtesy: IndiaFM
