Indian audience will relate to `Fire In Babylon`: Stevan Riley

New Delhi: Director Stevan Riley, who is releasing his documentary ‘Fire In Babylon’, based on the rise of the West Indies cricketers here, hopes that Indian will connect with the film.

Riley, who is releasing the movie here two years after its UK release, says he doesn`t know a country which is as passionate about cricket as India. "I hope people here connect with the movie. I think it`s such an inspirational story and the backbone of it is cricket and India is a cricket crazy country so I think people will be able to relate to it very easily," Riley said. The documentary talks about the dominance of the West Indies cricket team throughout the late 1970s and 80s and charts the events, which led to the rise of the West Indian cricketers becoming a conquering force. "It is a cricket film but it is a feel good film. It is a story of the underdogs succeeding despite all sorts of obstacles - 300 years of colonialism and struggle to realise their identity, rediscover their roots," he said. Riley wanted to make the movie as he thought the story of these players needs to be brought out as not many know about them. "I just wanted to make it because probably there will not be a documentary done on this team. So there was a certain responsibility to tell a story emotionally and passionately and to leave a record so that the next generation knows about it," Riley said. The film is set to hit the Indian theatres today. Riley says he is not a cricket fanatic but watching West Indies play changed his perception towards the game. "When the producers told me they had this film I was not interested, as I am not a cricket fan. But when I asked what the theme was and they told me West Indies, it really interested me. "The first test match I watched was Malcom Marshal`s and I was hooked to it, because their cricket was different. I didn`t think of it as a real sport before but they changed my perception," he said. Riley spent 5 weeks in West Indies for the film`s research and was surprised to know that even the people there were not aware of the details of the team. "Even in the West Indies not everyone knows the story of these players because they never got to watch these matches on TV or radio. They never had it packaged and put into real context for them." PTI