28 June,2009 06:40 AM IST | | Shradha Sukumaran
She doesn't sleep or lose colour. She sucks you in, yet leaves you feeling alive. New York director Kabir Khan tells Sunday MiD DAY why NYC where buildings scrape the sky will remain special
"My first trip to New York was in 1995. I was working with journalist Saeed Naqvi and we would do a lot of documentaries on international politics. We had to do one on the 50 years of United Nations and that's the first time I went to New York. That city has played a strange role in my entire film career. I didn't realise when I was flying down in 1995 what kind of an impact the city would have.
"I fell in love with it immediately. Out of all the cities I'd traveled to, it was the one that just left you alone. Despite the millions of masses moving around you 24/7, there was no one looking at you. There were no prejudices and I just felt so free in that city! I was relaxed, but there was an air of excitement all the time. I don't know what it was whether the distant sirens that you hear all of the time or the steam coming off the streets.
"And walking amongst those giant buildings. In all of America, except perhaps San Francisco, New York is the only walking city. Even on our off days when we were filming, I used to walk about 60 blocks a day. That's how I grew to love it.
"I was 24 when I first visited New York. I've travelled to about 60 countries now, but at that time, I'd only been to about 10-12. During the New York trip, I got to go into the General Assembly and we interviewed the then Secretary-General Boutros-Boutros Ghali.
"The next time I landed in New York was on September 9, 2001. Two days later, was 9/11.
"That trip wasn't work-related. My wife Mini (Mathur) was hosting a world tour of Aamir Khan's Lagaan trip. That's when 9/11 happened and we were in the US for a month after. That was when one really saw New York completely changing in character. Things became a little shrill, you could see paranoia coming into society. It was sad.
"I can understand a civil society reacting a certain way. During that trip, our plane from LA to Washington was stopped on the tarmac because about five of us were Muslims; we were shouted at in bars and restaurants, the FBI stopped me a couple of times. I'd still give them the benefit of the doubt.
"But what's dangerous is when these prejudices go into formulating an entire government policy and approach to handling this. That's what the Bush administration did. That's my backdrop for New York the film. New York isn't a jingoistic film, but of course, it takes a stand. My film was born on my next trip in 2004-2005 when I was contributing to Ahmed Jamal's documentary The Jehadi and the Journalist. I shot interviews with Marianne Pearl and Daniel Pearl's parents. That's when I started reading about illegal detentions and somewhere, the seed of the idea later became New York.
"After the twin towers came down on 9/11, I did go to have a closer look, but it was pretty much cordoned off for miles. I didn't take any photographs because everything was still so sensitive. I felt that with the way I looked and the colour of my skin, it might have created problems. I wasn't nervous, but I was uncomfortable after that. The joy I felt walking the streets of New York came back only while shooting this film. Our last day of shoot coincided with Obama being elected, so there was this whole new exhilaration.
"There are a couple of quite clichu00e9d places I have to visit when I go to New York. There's the Liberty State Park from where there's the glorious view it's so relaxing. Then there's Times Square! (Laughs) It never fails to fascinate me.
"There's the place that I have to visit as a photographer. It's one of the great institutions a place called BNH near 18th or 20th street. It's a mecca for photographic equipment and I blow up stacks of cash there. It is the ultimate camera store in the world. It's run by a group of ascetic Jews with dark coats and hats. A kid would be fascinated by their unique pick up and delivery system. It looks like a Harry Potter setting. They have these conveyor belts that go looping all over the store. They put one thing and that goes all the way to the counter it's great to watch. And you get the best prices for cameras!
"During this shoot, we ate so much Japanese food sashimi, sashimi and more sashimi. At night, we used to go to the Meat Packing Dist and visit one new nightclub each time. John took over as our trainer and we used to go to the gym at the Manhattan Sports Club I swear all of us were leaner and fitter when we came back.
"It was different when I was in New York alone. Then I visited the Ansel Adams museum, went to these edgy exhibitions at the Village and felt all arty (laughs) and did the regular beat of New York the hop-on, hop-off buses, hot dogs and Broadway. People don't know this, but I've taken training in dance from Ashley Lobo and performed in West Side Story. So I loved watching that and Miss Saigon in Broadway!
"What I love about New York is there's every single nationality. Such interesting cabbies and there was this Egyptian gateman at the building where my cousin used to stay who had such conversations with me about Cairo! It's truly the city that never sleeps, so much so that you feel like walking through it all the time instead of sleeping yourself. I have wonderful memories of the place."u00a0
