The 26th Singapore International Film Festival (SGIFF) wrapped up 11 days of cinematic magic and red carpet on 6 December 2015. International stars graced the line-up of events with public interview sessions, meet-and-greets, film discussions and red carpet walk downs.
British actor Dev Patel of Slumdog Millionaire fame and director Matthew Brown sat down for a discussion with SGIFF to speak about their latest cinematic effort, “The Man Who Knew Infinity” – a story about mathematics prodigy Srinivasa Ramanujan. Speaking openly, Patel and Brown fielded questions from both the moderator and the crowd.
Both professed to be numerically challenged and that they faced an uphill task in understanding the mathematical concepts addressed in the film. Emory University professor Ken Ono served as the mathematics consultant tasked with helping both Matthew and Dev make sense of the erudite theories and went a long way in making it mentally digestible. In due course, both found the difficult discipline to be grandiose and beautiful, like a work of art. The topic of the push-pull relationship between science and religion also surfaced.
However, contrary to expectations amongst the crowd, Matthew drew closer to his religion after the movie and after learning about Srinivasa Ramanujan’s theories. He explained this to be due to the observation of perfect mathematical order being found in all aspects of nature that a greater hand must have crafted the world in which we live. Both also talked about being in awe of the theatrical brilliance and professionalism that co-star Jeremy Irons displayed impeccably each and every day of the filming.
As the leading man, most questions were directed at Patel. He struck me as a very humble, earnest person still not entirely at ease with his fame. He spoke about his awkward growing-up years in the UK where he estranged himself from his culture in an effort to blend in with his school mates, and that as a quiet youth, ethnicity was not “cool”.
This all changed with his breakout role in “Slum dog Millionaire”. His self-confidence grew and he became more self-aware, and accepted himself for who he was born as. He recounted spending his formative years being spent in front of the camera and how, being thrown off the deep end at 16, he had to surmount the acting learning curve. To aspiring actors, he warned of a rewarding but difficult slog. “Persevere” was the advice that he stressed on.
Michelle Yeoh, no stranger to movie goers, ended the festival activity series with a discussion session at MBS theatres. She spoke openly about her start in the movie business, the challenges and changes in the movie industry and about social causes she feels strongly about.
Addressing questions on her career, she recounted the challenges in breaking perceptions and being type-casted. Having starred in numerous action movies, it is almost inconceivable to picture her in the role of a helpless damsel but, that was how she started out in Hong Kong cinema in the 1980s. From that start, her career involved many challenges to actively plot her career path. She had to fight to do her own stunts and become an action star, she had to fight female stereotypes and she had to fight for a place in Hollywood. With all that fighting on and off screen, perhaps her career move into action films was not such a difficult transition.
“The Lady”, a biopic about Myanmar political leader Aung San Suu Kyi, in which Michelle played the title role was the one movie that she lingered on the longest. She spoke candidly about her admiration of the political leader’s sense of duty, perseverance and above all, discipline. Steering away from the political undertones of such a production, she was careful to stress that the movie was foremost a love story – she explored the gamut of emotions Aung San Suu Kyi experienced in her choices between her family and nation. It was a special experience for Michelle in the sense that the real life story touched her deeply, so deeply that she actively pursued the role.
Otherwise, Michelle Yeoh the lady, was extremely approachable. Her amiable demeanour endeared her to the crowd immensely. There were no airs about her, and the connection between her audience and her was effortless. It was no wonder that at the conclusion of her session, her fans thronged around her, eager to speak, get an autograph or photograph with her.
