/> Shekhar Kapoor who just finished shooting a film in Buenos Aires for which the music was by A R Rahman, will join Salvadore Dali and Picasso's creations in a museum in Europe with his own artistic interpretation based on a film that he has made for a leading international company.

Says Shekhar, "Rahman has composed a classic opera song that he recorded in India in an Indian female singer's voice from his music institute in Chennai. When I played the song in Argentina, they said, 'My God, what a great opera and an operatic voice!' Their jaws fell open when I said both were Indian."

Interestingly a leading multitinational company enters the filmmaking business with this 25-minute film by Shekhar.

Says Shekhar, "I was in New York when I got a call from them. I immediately flew down to Austria. They told me they had seen my films and they wanted me to make a film for them.

And they've a museum where some of the greatest modern artistes including Salvadore Dali and Picasso have done sculptures After I've completed the film they want me to get together with an architect and install a permanent sculpture inspired by the film."

Shekhar is naturally on Cloud 9. "My colleagues in Mumbai are so jealous. I 've just returned from Buenos Aires after shooting with three of the most beautiful women in the world and I'm feeling on top of the world."

Shekhar has just shot a 25-minute film called 3 Graces with Haley Benett, Lily Cole and Julia Stiles.

"Julia Stiles is the leading lady from all the Bourne Identity films.Haley Benett was the pop singer with Hugh Grant in Music & Lyrics. Lily Cole is one of the three top models of the world, in the same league as Kate Moss. It's the story of three sister. One of them is a tango dancer played by Lily."

Shekhar thinks the short film is the future for world cinema. "A lot of big-name directors are today making short films. It takes so little time. I shot a short-film for Mira Nair in New York in just two days.

And I shot the film in Buenos Aires in just five days.We shot like mad people for 14-15 hours a day. At the end of it my actors said we've never had this kind of experience in my life. We shot on the edge and that's the only way to shoot."

Quite an achievement for a director who has a reputation for taking years over a film. Shekhar protests, "That's a very strange image I have. If you look at my last feature The Golden Age, my studio told me, never has so much been done in so little time.

With all its visual effects The Golden Age took 65 days. Yes, the Indian projects were delayed. But not my fault. Those were different times. Actors were doing 3-4 films at a time. It was a situation very difficult for me to comprehend.

My Indian films Masoom and Bandit Queen were done at a stretch. Unfortunately some of the films that I made later were done like coitus interruptus. Aadha aaj baqi kal kar lena. That's not how you make love ...or a film. You've to sustain that emotional high. You can't afford to stagger and be interrupted.

Imagine, if I had to live with Bandit Queen for two years. I'd be emotionally devastated. No more marathons for me. Even in Bollywood they've realized it. We cannot imagine Wednesday or Mumbai Meri Jaan working the way they did if they were made over two years."