The clash between modernity and tradition is at the heart of "Monsoon Wedding". Are you anticipating problems when the film is released in India?
That's when the public debate will begin. But I'm keen for that to happen. Unlike this country or America, we don't have the Oprah Winfreys or the forums to discuss the taboo subjects, especially when it comes to the family. It will be a very interesting situation.
Are you being deliberately provocative with something like the bride-to-be who has sex with her married lover on the eve of her wedding?
It's much more fun to do that, but it's really what it's like. Sabrina Dhawan, the writer, is more than ten years younger than me and she has her ear to the ground with the younger lot. It's extraordinary what's going on, but it's the natural course of things. A lot of things are being challenged right now, and with that comes changing sexual mores.
Are you shocked by any of the changes?
Yes. Like, for instance, alcohol in the high schools. I thought it was an American phenomenon. These upper-middle class kids have these parties and it's beer all the way. I don't think I tasted alcohol until I was 20. Those things amaze me.
Are other Indian filmmakers likely to address these issues in the future?
Everybody has to do what they have got to do, but they must do it because they have something to say, not because it's the new thing to do. Which is unfortunately what sometimes happens.
How much footage did you lose to x-ray damage?
Three hundred minutes. We restored the big dance number digitally, and we re-shot three other scenes. And this time we had enough money to buy rain in every sequence. You buy it by the tanker, along with a couple of extra bodies to hold hoses. It's pretty back-to-basics where I come from.
"Monsoon Wedding" opens in UK cinemas on Friday 4th January 2002.
