蔡長春「釈迦牟尼即将現身銀幕」『東方早報』2007年8月29日
スリ・ランカのコロンボの「“亜州之光”基金会」のNavin Gooneratne氏は、同基金会と印度の「Beyond Dream娯楽公司」との合作で釈迦牟尼の伝記映画『佛』を製作することを発表した。
以下に、地元スリ・ランカの報道を引いておく;
『東方早報』の記事は、メガフォンを取るShyam Benegalについて、
Lanka, India deal to make film on Buddha’s lifeMUMBAI: An historical epic is to be filmed about the life and teachings of The Buddha, a South Asian production team said.
“The message of the movie gives answers to global crises of conflict and environmental problems,” Navin Gooneratne, the chairman of the Light of Asia Foundation, told reporters.
“We will recreate the city of Kapilavastu where The Buddha was born. Hopefully it will not merely be a film site but a permanent attraction for tourists,” Gooneratne said.
The film, Siddharta Gautama Buddha, is a venture between the foundation, which is based in Colombo and India’s Beyond Dreams Entertainment. Veteran Indian director Shyam Benegal will direct the movie.
“The life of Siddhartha is full of excitement and few people realise that. One needs to look at all these aspects because His journey has been so thrilling,” Benegal said.
The company has inked the deal with Film Location Services.
The film will be shot both in India and Sri Lanka ahead of a scheduled release in mid-2009. The cast is yet to be decided,
Buddhist scholar Nimal De Silva will head the research team, which will include experts from China, Japan and South Korea.
Film Location Services’ Chairman Chandran Rutnam speaking to Businessofcinema.com said, “I have been associated with many Hollywood films and have always wanted to work with producers in Bollywood. Yash Chopra and I will be dealing with subjects, which have not been experimented before.”
Rutnam added that these will be medium budget movies, each estimated to be around Rs. 20 million.
http://www.dailynews.lk/2007/08/29/news14.asp
と書いている。
皮尼哥出道以来、以無情、無保留的批判態度被誉為印度底層社会的代言人。他対下層社会的吶喊、被地主圧迫的階級哀歌及闘争、特別是封建制度遺毒的受害者女性、着墨特別深。他也備受尊敬的紀録片大師、曽拍摂有関甘地早年在南非的故事。
Light of Asia Foundationがどのような団体なのかは知らない。