A black and white flickering crime drama, spoken through Akira Kurosawa’s direction had a rapt audience at the Siri Fort auditorium on Saturday, like it has always had for the last 59 years. Rashomon kickstarted the celebration of the film director’s birth centenary organised by the India’s Information and Broadcasting Ministry and the Japanese Embassy. Priyadarshan, the latest director, to win the national award for Kanchivaram attended the event.

Kurosawa, Priyadarshan said, has been a strong influence. “His work is a textbook for any filmmaker in the world. I never worked as an assistant director. I just watched films. Rashomon is a favourite. I remember watching it the first time in 1979. I was in Class 10 then,” he said.

While reporters buzz around him, and questions revolve around his new award, Priyadarshan emphasises his team’s contribution. “The film was a combined effort. I was disappointed that the cameraman didn’t get any award,” he added.

Winning the award has not changed his approach to film making, he said. “I am not going to make films like Adoor Gopalakrishnan or Shyam Benegal. I will continue making comedy films. I am doing a social service by doing comedy.”

A regular visitor to the Capital since childhood, Priyadarshan said, “I would come here to visit my uncle. I remember moving around the city, seeing monuments like the Qutub Minar. Nowadays most trips are work related.” For a man who has made movies and remade them, he knows how to keep people happy both up North and South. “When you make a film for a Hindi audience, it has to look Hindi. You have to change it a bit. For example, Bhool Bhulaiya was at a faster pace than its Malayalam version, that version was made to be watched more patiently,” he says.

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