Filmmaker Gurinder Chadha, known for her works like Bend It Like Beckham, Bride And Prejudice, Viceroy’s House and others, recalled her experience of meeting Dr Manmohan Singh, India’s former Prime Minister who passed away recently, in an interview with us.
When did you first become associated with Dr. Manmohan Singh and his wife?
I had met his wife Gursharan (Kaur) at the G20 Summit at Downing Street, where I had been invited by Gordon Brown’s wife Sarah and we struck up a friendship. I had also met (Barack) Obama there with Michel Obama and Michelle Obama. It was a great evening.
And you kept in touch with Mrs Manmohan Singh?
Yes, we stayed in touch. She said when you’re in Delhi, please come and visit us. I didn’t get to meet Manmohan Singh at Downing Street. That day he was very busy. I think I met him briefly. But the next time when I was in Delhi during the making of my film Viceroy’s House, I went to meet Mrs Singh at the Prime Minister’s residence and we had lovely tea and we talked a lot about the Partition and our family history and her husband and just the whole world of Indian politics.
You didn’t meet Manmohan Singhji until this point?
Then I thought I would be leaving shortly but she kept saying to me, ‘Just stay a little longer , have another cup of tea’ … and then I didn’t realise until later there had been a whole plan where Mr Singh was trying to leave work to come home to meet me.
So Mrs Singh was holding you back in the hope that the Prime Minister would be able to meet you?
Yes, he really wanted to meet me and I didn’t realise that until finally when, as Mrs Singh and I sat there having tea, there was this noise at the gate and all these official cars came in.
What was your reaction on seeing him?
I was flabbergasted to meet PM Manmohan Singh, because I knew just how much he meant to all my family all my uncles, aunts…. everybody because he was from where we were from pre-Partition and part of our baradari.
How was your meeting with PM Singh?
I said, ‘What a wonderful surprise to actually meet you’. And he said to me, ‘No no, the pleasure is mine…you are one of the stars of our baradari and you have done so much for us globally… it is my pleasure to meet you.’ I was so touched.
What was your impression of Manmohan Singhji?
Humble…. humble man he was. Then we sat down. We had some more tea and then we talked about British India and what that was like… talked about my work’s impact on the diasporic India perspective on the world… and he said he was very proud of me and I felt terribly honoured and moved. I really did.
What is his contribution to Independent India?
I think what he did for India silently, quietly in terms of the economic boom of India is phenomenal. We must remember that at this time.
The post Gurinder Chadha on meeting Dr. Manmohan Singh, “He said, ‘It is my pleasure to meet you’, I was so touched” appeared first on Bollywood Hungama.
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