Being Suu Kyi

When scriptwriter Rebecca Frayn came up with the story four years ago,she visualised Yeoh as the protagonist. Yeoh,who had heard about the possible cinematic project,had already asked her manager to track Frayn down. When the script finally came to her,she was deeply moved by the powerful delineation of her role. I had heard of Daw Suu (as the leader is fondly referred to in her country) but I was not aware of the minute details of her story,nor did I know what she had to give up. It was difficult performing the role because she embodies the yearning for freedom found among the worlds oppressed people, says Yeoh,confessing to having become obsessed with the script.

In Goa at the 42nd International Film Festival of India (IFFI),where The Lady was screened on the closing day,Yeoh talked about how her husband of a year,former Ferrari honcho Jean Todt,stepped in to help her with the film. He saw how important it was for me. He called up Luc and asked if he would be interested in directing it, she said.

Before taking up the directorial reins of this film,Besson was busy with his production company. When Michelle asked me to direct the film,I told her I wasnt available. But then I read the script and I was blown away, he says. He also changed his mind when he saw how absorbed Michelle was in the character. To get into the role,Michelle had about 200 hours of rushes on Suu Kyi at her disposition. It helped her acquire her body language and accent. When I met Suu Kyi six months later,I had the impression that it was Michelle,only 20 years older, he says.

Though Yeoh shies away from calling herself a method actor,she prepared for four years before she faced the camera as Suu Kyi. She read up all of Suu Kyis writings and the books she loved. It was not so much a question of mimicking her by adopting her hairdo,her gestures or her beautiful English accent but of capturing her soul,and understanding what made her leave everything,including a husband and two children in England,whom she cherished,in order to embody hope for millions of people in Burma. Even though she had never given a public speech,all of a sudden there she was,addressing a million people. I wished to understand where that strength came from, she says. That apart,having dated Todt for almost five years before the marriage,Yeoh felt she understood the bond between Daw Suu and Aris.

Suu Kyis first public speech was one of the toughest scenes for Yeoh. The actor,who is fluent in Mandarin and Malay,apart from English,wanted to learn Burmese and get her pronunciation precise. But she had a hard time mastering it. I thought Id never manage. I was to learn the language over three weeks. It was a very challenging process. But I was relentless and decided to memorise the lines. And wherever I was in the car,on the boat or in the shower Id just say the lines over and over again until I got them right, she says.

There were other challenges as well. The events recounted in the film took place over a period of more than a decade. It was not only a matter of hair-do or make-up, Yeoh explains. Between 1988 and 1995,for example,Suu Kyis looks and demeanour changed slightly,and so did the way she related to others. I had to be constantly on my toes because we would be doing a 1988 scene in the morning,another scene happening in 1995 in the afternoon and yet another one back in 1989 in the evening because of the weather or the location, says the actor who had to go on a special diet to lose weight and acquire Suu Kyis slender frame.

Before Yeoh played Suu Kyi,she dabbled in several challenges,on and off screen. The 48-year-old actor,who was training to become a ballerina from the age of four,had to give it up at 15 due to a spinal injury. Yet,she went on to become one of the most highly-ranked action heroines of all times. The Malaysian Chinese actor,who found international adulation as a James Bond girl in Tomorrow Never Dies (1997),matched the spy skills of Bond with her stunts. Nearly three years later,Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon,which showcased her martial art moves,established her as one of the most popular Asian actors internationally.

Her performance in The Lady,however,demanded mental strength and stamina of a different sort. Her pain was internalised,so several of her actions were understated, she says. Yeoh scores high on that. In a sequence after her party wins the 1990 general elections,an elated Suu Kyi walks towards the entrance of her heavily-barricaded home,after doing up her hair with flowers. But she is stopped by gun-toting military personnel from meeting her supporters outside. As she walks back home,Yeoh very ably shows her controlled rage.

Throughout her fight against the junta,Suu Kyi stuck to principles of non-violence. According to Yeoh,her peaceful resistance is something Suu Kyi imbibed during her stay in India. The film often shows the 66-year-old leader reading books on Mahatma Gandhi. My feeling is that Daw Suu adopted more Indianess than that. You can notice that in her manners. She nods her head while listening to you just the way Indians do, says the actor. Yeoh met the leader of the National League for Democracy once during the shooting of the project,for a day in Myanmar. No matter how petite she looks,she exudes amazing strength. I felt like I already knew her,like she was an old friend because Id been following her so intently. She was exactly what I had figured she would be. In June this year,director Besson and some others from the crew were allowed to meet Suu Kyi too. Yeoh,though,was deported from the Yangon airport this time.

Yeoh is hopeful that the film will draw a few Oscar nominations. But she quickly clarifies: We hope for an Oscar more for Daw Suu than us. Every international attention she gets would help in her fight for democracy.