Majid Majidi on his first Indian film

In the world of cinema, Iranian film director Majid Majidi is considered as one of the most important, relevant and respected film makers. His movies Children of Heaven, The Color of Paradise, Baran, The Song of Sparrows etc., are always film festival favourites. His latest film Beyond The Clouds was screened last week at the Dubai International Film Festival.
Shahid Kapoor's younger brother Ishaan Khatter makes his debut with this film. This is the first time that Majid has made a movie outside of his country. While talking to City Times at Madinat Jumeirah, he revealed that Indian filmmaker Satyajit Ray has had a big influence in his life and cinema. "I always wanted to make a film in India. Indian filmmaker Satyajit Ray has really inspired me and my cinema. I know India and its cinema through Satyajit Ray and I really wanted to make a film in India for a long time. I believe that there are many common points between Iran and India. We also have many common Persian words that we use in Hindi as well. I believe there are many common things that bind these two countries."
Beyond The Clouds explores the themes of loneliness, siblings, love, and complicated human relationships just like most of his movies. "My films are part of one big tree. With every new film of mine, a new branch in the tree grows. So this film is a continuation of my previous films. Only the location has changed. Filmmaking is kind of like passing a message to the world and it brings immense pleasure in my life. It satisfies me to make a film and pass my message through my movies."
Did he factor in the fact that Ishaan comes from a family of well-known actors? "We took auditions of many actors and when we selected him, I had no idea that he was the brother of an Indian star (Shahid Kapoor). Him being a star kid did not affect my decision to chose him as a lead star. He is a really talented actor."
Majid's movies are known for their simplicity and being very close to real life. We saw Beyond The Clouds and the introduction sequence of Ishaan seemed a bit Bollywood-ish. There were bike, running and chase sequences which ended up with Ishaan showing his dancing skills in a warehouse, and we asked Majid if there was demand from the producers to present the actor in a 'filmy' way. "I tried to get really close to the real lives of kids who live in ghettos. They have a huge influence of dance and music. I wanted to get close to the Indian style, so I added music and dance in the opening sequence of the film."