Santosh Sivan’s 2011 Malayalam historical epic Urumi has just got a new twist in its tale. Having completed and released the lengthy Malayalam version with songs, dances, drama and action, Sivan has now cut a new version of the film entitled Ek Yoddha Shoorveer in Hindi ,opening this Friday which would not only be discernibly shorter but also contain extra characters and most, importantly, would give a completely new perspective on Vasco Da Gama’s invasion of India.
The film contains stellar cast that includes Prithiviraj, Prabhudheva, Tabu and Vidya Balan (in cameo roles).
Says Santosh, “Urumi is a subject that is inherently Indian in a flamboyant and dramatic way. It is formatted as a fable. I wanted to retain that flavour for the Hindi version. There are traditional devices in my film from Indian folklore—like characters singing in the ballad style that I would like to take to the Hindi audience.”
Urumi sheds new unflattering light on the explorer Vasco da Gama. “So far Vasco da Gama has been seen as a discoverer. The English version of my film will show him as an invader, and a savage one at that. Do you know that da Gama went to brutal lengths to keep the Muslim traders out of the pepper trade? At that time pepper was as precious as petrol in world trade. To maintain a Portuguese monopoly on pepper trade from Kerala, da Gama went to brutal limits. When a Brahmin priest was sent to him for negotiation he cut off the priest’s ear. This is a side of Vasco da Gama that I’ve shown for the first time.”
About the Hindi version of Urumi Santosh says, “It could be a blend of the Malayalam and English version. That whole perspective on Vasco Da Gama as an invader and plunderer that I’m doing in the English version makes for some visually stunning drama which I want the national audience to see.”
The film’s script was sponsored and approved by the Hong Kong International Film Festival. Santosh says he was galvanized into action by the idea of doing a film on Vasco da Gama. “It was all about Vasco da Gama, the first to colonise parts of India, and in search of pepper. It has fascinated me to create worlds which belong to the past where the land is a character too.
This film is mostly about how the ministers of yesteryear aided the Portugese, and took our land. The film also has a present time, where the characters are same where the ministers aid corporates to exploit our land .” Does Santosh expect Ek Yodha Shoorveer to be another Baahubali? Laughs the director, “Urumi came much before Baahubali, and shot mostly in real locations and feel.”
