Ottawa Citizen - canada.com network

The Rising, touted as the most expensive Indian film ever made, is released
Cara Anna, Canadian Press, August 11, 2005

Hundreds of Indians stand stiffly in rows, sweat dripping into thick uniforms and heavy boots. A wrong movement, and a shout from the white man with the microphone. Other white men stand on a platform in front of them, looking stern."Silence!"

The rest of us foreigners wait nearby for our scene. On a dusty parade ground a few hours from Mumbai, the "most expensive Indian film ever made" is paused before us. New to India, dressed as British officers, we watch the Indian men blankly, sipping cold water in the shade.

We wonder when this film will be released.

We wonder if we'll be able to see ourselves in it.

It's long past noon. No lunch until this scene is finished. The heat rises. A few men on the field start to swoon and are carried away.

This film is called The Rising, about a rebellion against colonial British rulers. For a sixth of the world's population, it's the biggest release of the year. It was meant to be from the very first take, when Prince Charles himself gave the clap and stepped back to watch a bloody story unroll.

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