DEEPAK Perwani’s favourite movies change with time. Says the designer, “Films are such a vast genre, and there have been such varied kinds of movies in vogue over the years — romantic, cowboy, comedy, suspense, kung-fu, sci-fi, animation, and so on — and with so many in each category ranking among my favourites that it would really not be fair to name only a few of my pet ones.”
Nevertheless, Perwani does name some of his favourites for this year. Top of the list of his ‘must-see films’ is Irreversible. A French movie, the whole film has been done in reverse. Says Perwani, “It is all about nothing and everything. Taken backwards, it is about a pretty young girl whose life changes for ever when she steps into a subway one day. She is raped and the 15-minute scene has been done so brilliantly that you feel outraged not just by the act, but by the injustice of the violation.”
His second hot favourite of the year, in marked contrast to the first, is American Wedding, the latest of the American Pie series, which he describes as “hilarious”. Finding Nemo, which he finds “very cute”, follows close on its heels.
Perwani claims he has not watched an Indian movie in a long while, but if he had to name one, it would be Lagan — a feel-good film. Says he, “That is what cinema should be — it should be able to shock you, make you happy, sad. Dil Chahta Hai is another great movie. It is stylish and contemporary and could be about just anyone in today’s world.
As for Pakistani films, “I used to watch every new release until I began to feel that all they are doing is demeaning women. Most of them are in really bad taste, forget their production quality. In fact, in recent times the only Pakistani movie I have really enjoyed is World ka Centre. An experimental film, it is about two boys from Lahore who were leaving for the United States on 9/11. It was very well done, and this is the kind of cinema we need.”
Perwani’s favourite music is 32 Flavours by Alana Davis. It projects his belief that you have to be brave if you want to make it in this world as a woman. He has even used the song in a documentary that he has made recently.
Another all-time favourite of his is Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan’s Sajna Teray Bina. He is also very fond of Good Cop, Bad Cop, sung by the band Everything But The Girl.
An avid reader, Perwani’s favourite book is The Raj by Gita Mehta. He describes it as “a brilliant book set in pre-Mughal raj. A fiction, it focuses on the kingdom of a maharani and traces her entire life.” At the same time, the story somehow reminds one of the autobiography of Gyatri Devi and one gets the distinct impression that some portions have been inspired from her book, so it is part fiction and part reality, he adds. Orlando by Virginia Wolfe is another of Perwani’s favourite books. Set in the thirteenth century, it is “an incredible book” detailing the most intense considerations of gender.
Says Perwani, “Orlando is an extraordinary character living for 400 years and changing sex, and the book is a fascinating piece of literature on gender bending.”
Among his favourites is also Manto Nama, a highly enjoyable book. “The entire book makes for excellent reading,” says Perwani. He is also very fond of Sunlight on a Broken Column by Attia Hosain. “It is a very mellow and sad book about family life and how lives change with the moving of one’s abode.”
And finally, he dotes on The Blue Bedspread by Raj Kamal Jha, about which he is convinced that “if you read it once, you will want to read it again the same night.”
DEEPAK Perwani’s favourite movies change with time. Says the designer, “Films are such a vast genre, and there have been such varied kinds of movies in vogue over the years — romantic, cowboy, comedy, suspense, kung-fu, sci-fi, animation, and so on — and with so many in each category ranking among my favourites that it would really not be fair to name only a few of my pet ones.”
