Châtelet Bollywood

Jean-Luc Choplin, the head of the Théâtre du Châtelet since July 2006, is either a very funny guy, or a very stoned director.
Or maybe a little bit of both.

I was very sceptical when he put the Chanteur de Mexico in this year's season (and apparently those who saw this production also were), now it's Bollywood time for the 2008 season.

The Times of India announced a few weeks ago that Bollywood filmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali will direct an unidentified opera based on a French script from the 1920s (please let it not be a Pascal Dusapin's score).




Says Bhansali, “It’s an honour not just for me but the whole country. I think my operatic mode of storytelling in Devdas convinced the Theatre du Chatelet to approach me. Frankly, I was flattered but unsure whether I wanted to do it. After all, a staged opera is an entirely different discipline from cinema. I’m glad I’ve agreed to do it.”

I bet you are.

Also, "The dynamics of the opera fascinate me. I always wanted to do theatre, more specifically the opera. (...) The opera gives me the chance to carry every emotion to the highest scale. That's something I enjoy doing. I can't deny theatrical influences in my cinema. So, in a way this opera will give me the chance to return to my roots" Bhansali told IANS.

Anybody scared, other than me?