So far we've always thought of Indian cinema as being a derivative of its western counterparts.
So to hear that one of American cinema's most influential directors, Quentin Tarantino, director of movies like Pulp Fiction and Inglorious Basterds, has admitted in a conversation with one of our own directors, Anurag Kashyap, that a whole sequence in one of his films is inspired by an Indian film, came as a huge and a welcome surprise.
Apparently Tarantino admitted in a private conversation with Anurag that the celebrated animation-action sequence in Kill Bill was inspired from 2001 Hindi-Tamil film, Kamal Haasan starrer, Abhay.
When contacted, Kashyap says, "Yes, Sight and Sound critic Naman Ramchandran first told me this. So when I met Quentin in Venice I asked him whether the Manga sequence in Kill Bill was inspired from an Indian film and he excitedly remarked, ‘Yes, I saw this Indian serial-killer film which showed violence as animated.'"
Kashyap explains, "There is only one Indian serial-killer film which was made before Kill Bill where violence was animated, and that was Abhay." Kamal Haasan, who starred in Abhay, has his own take on the compliment.
"When I did the animation action sequence 12 years ago it was seen as self-indulgent and odd by a lot of people. Now that it has been endorsed by a filmmaker of such brilliance, critics will be kinder to some of the things I attempt in my films."
