Hollywood mega- mogul James Cameron, who’s films have grossed over £3 billion worldwide, has said he could adapt one of the two Indian Epics- MAHABHARATA and RAMAYAN– for his next big screen spectacular once he finally wraps up his AVATAR trilogy.
Speaking at the INK conference in Lavasa, the writer/director/producer said “maybe right after the third AVATAR “, he “might pick up ancient Indian epics”. Terming India as a “fascinating country I have been to a couple of times”, Cameron recalled taking a dip in the Ganges near Hardwar. The filmmaker implied that his interest in Indian spirituality and the epics was triggered off then.
“We saw pilgrims on our way…It was nice to feed in the spirituality, nice to share in the belief system. You do feel a certain something, for sure,” he said.
Cameron suggested that his interest in the epics was a result of getting to know India and it’s people during his visits. “I realised they were all real people in India,” he said.
“If an Indian director wishes to use our 3D cameras and equipment to make a film on the Ramayan or the Mahabharata, we can offer technology that’s already developed by us – the digital 3D Fusion Camera System and virtual camera,”
For now, of course, Cameron is in the process of scripting the sequels of AVATAR. The second of the series will be shot under the sea. The story will take the audience into the oceans of Pandora, the mythical planet where the first film unfolded, and will then expand to other planets.
“part of the focus in AVATAR 2 would be in creating a different environment,” Cameron said and thanks to the mega success of AVATAR, he admits several NGOs approached him to use the film to spread environment awareness message.
Earlier this year, Cameron was in the Amazon where he was involved in protests against Belo Monte dam that the Brazilian government plans to construct very soon; a docuentary he shot there A MESSAGE FROM PANDORA can be found on the AVATAR: COLLECTORS EDITION which is out now on DVD and BLU-RAY box-sets.
