‘Mumbai Feels Special,’ Says Nolan
The filmmaker says India’s passion for cinema made Mumbai a natural stop on The Odyssey’s global tour
Christopher Nolan believes cinema has the rare ability to unite audiences across cultures, and that belief was at the heart of bringing The Odyssey to Mumbai as part of its global promotional tour.
Addressing a select media conference in Mumbai, Nolan said the visit to India was long overdue. Recalling an earlier trip to Mumbai for a conference on the future of filmmaking, he said he had always admired the city’s deep connection with cinema. “We’ve wanted to do this for years. Mumbai feels special,” he said, adding that finally including India in the film’s international tour was “a thrill.”
Asked why his films have consistently resonated with Indian audiences, Nolan said the answer lay in storytelling itself. “Films are a universal language,” he said. “When they have universal themes, it’s wonderful how they bring us together.”
For Nolan, travelling with a film is as meaningful as making it. Meeting audiences from different cultures, he said, it reminds him that stories rooted in timeless emotions can create common ground regardless of geography. He described the experience of watching people laugh, cry and respond together in theatres as one of cinema’s greatest strengths.
Speaking about adapting Homer’s epic, Nolan acknowledged that reimagining one of the world’s most enduring works inevitably comes with expectations. Rather than worrying about creating a definitive version, he said every filmmaker has to present their own interpretation while respecting the original material. His focus, he explained, was on making “as good a film as possible” while remaining faithful to the spirit of the source.
The filmmaker also spoke about pushing the technical boundaries of filmmaking. The Odyssey was shot entirely using IMAX cameras, something he said had not been possible on his earlier films because of equipment limitations. Advances that allowed the cameras to operate quietly meant the production could capture every scene in the format, offering audiences what he described as the most immersive cinematic experience possible.
