I care a damn about media: Shyamalan

Whenever one thinks of Manoj Night Shyamalan, the idea is of a man who’s known for his film portrayals of the ‘other’ side of life.
But the filmmaker, who is right now in the “very beautiful Japan,” says, “It’s all about the connect. I don’t have any particular connection with all of that, but I do believe in vibes. It’s the vibes and the rhythm, and if you are in the right frame, things you want, manifest themselves.It is then that we develop the connections. But quite often, we are so busy, we forget to be in the moment.”
While he had the Japan premiere of his latest movie, The Last Air Bender, he reveals that the whole idea of making this film, “Came through a cartoon TV series that my children used to watch regularly.” He says, “There was a confluence of many subjects in my mind, but I guess this was meant to be. I tend to see signs everywhere, that guide me to take the next step in life, and the signs at that time told me I should make this film. I tried finding out more on the subject, explored a little into Japanese mythology and also saw how there’s a fine connect with Indian mythology. The belief in the five elements and the existence of the spirit world and their being our guides and guardians are just the same.”
But ask him what he thinks about the international media giving less than a lukewarm reaction to the film, he blasts out, “I care a damn about the media. I stopped worrying about what they say, since a long time now. I try and be honest with my work, with my subjects and put in a lot of hardwork. If my work doesn’t really go down well with a certain bunch of people, it doesn’t mean that I have failed to do good. I take it as, they have failed to understand my work.”
After visiting the Far East, he reveals his next stop could be India. He says, “I’ve been toying around with the idea for a while now. And I have an interesting subject that I’m working on. In fact, I’ve also been offered a movie in India, the details of which I would convey subsequently.” Here, the filmmaker also reveals the other side to his own persona and says, “It’s just a mindset that people have developed about my films having a connect beyond the realms. But I would say those are just ideas that come to my mind and I find them interesting to make. By far, The Village, remains one of my favourite of the lot that I’ve made, and I would say it’s probably the best dramatic movie I’ve done. Who knows, the next could be anything from comedy to tragedy to fantasy, or maybe horror again!”
Follow us on Twitter for more stories