Shaji N Karun to make docu-film on MF Husain

Thiruvananthapuram: National Award winning film-maker Shaji N Karun is planning to make a docu-film on renowned painter MF Husain, who recently gave up Indian citizenship to become a Qatari citizen. According to Shaji, he had a telephonic discussion with Husain a week back and the artist accepted the proposal wholeheartedly. The film is titled as `In Quest Of Mother` and the work is to start in October. "Husain`s response to the idea was, `I am honoured by you doing a work on me`," Shaji told reporters here. "For me, this is an attempt from the side of an artist to bring back an acclaimed master like Husain to his motherland. My understanding is that Husain is interested to come to India, but there is no sincere efforts from the side of the government to make it possible," he added. Through the title, Shaji seeks to convey a wide range of meanings. Husain lost his mother when he was just a one-and-half-year old. Later in his life, after achieving fame and glory, he had to flee his motherland. The film would focus the universal theme of the relationship between a mother and a child. "My perception is that Husain has sought to explore the concept of mother even in his works like Saraswathy, which sparked controversy in the country for portrayal of the goddess in nude," Shaji, an internationally known director and cinematographer, said. "The controversy was the result of misinterpretation of the artists work by a minority of Indian people. Husain had only exercised his freedom of expression as any other artist. This sort of a thing shouldn`t have happened in a country of cultural diversity like India," Shaji said. "I have always found him as a person with whom I could communicate easily. He has appreciated my films like Vanaprastham, when it was screened in Mumbai," he added. According to the filmmaker, Husain is now engaged in a work commissioned by the Qatar royal house. This is a major artistic attempt on a bigger canvas to explore the history of the world and the Arabs involvement with an Indian element infused in it. The film, which unfold through the interpretation of Husain`s paintings, will also attempt to incorporated perspectives of various people related to Husain`s life including Madhuri Dixit, Vidya Balan and many others. "Husain has appreciated this approach. He would be going London soon and would be back in Qatar by October. In the meantime, I will be doing the research, meeting poeople and structuring the work," Shaji added. PTI