‘I’m a true fan of Shyamalan’

Though acclaimed supernatural film director Oren Peli has never travelled to India, he is quite smitten by our country. When DNA got him talking about his movie Paranormal Activity, we learnt the film-maker is keeping a tab on Mallika Sherawat and that he is a big fan of M. Night Shyamalan movies.

What is your impression about India?
I came to know that India is a place where paranormal things are part of the culture. So, I would love to come and explore those phenomenons later sometime after my current projects. The name of India comes in the news every second day if you pick the newspapers in US.

Have you seen any Bollywood movie? Which Indian actor/director do you like and why?
Not the exact Bollywood film but I am a true fan of Indian-born film director M. Night Shyamalan and have seen all his films be it The Happening, or Lady in the Water, or The Village, Signs, Unbreakable, The Sixth Sense, Wide Awake or Praying with Anger. I love the way he has some sort of twist in the end or surprise ending in his films and often use an event from the main character’s past as a major connection to what is happening in the present.

What is your impression about Indian women or actresses?
I know that Asian beauties are better known for their talent and recently I came to know from my agent that an Indian actress Mallika Sherawat has even shifted her base from India to LA.

Many Indian women are being cast in Hollywood.
I believe in the talent and demand of the script. If the story needs to be narrated by a character of Indian origin, regardless if  he/she currently lives in America or Africa, I will prefer the actor from that place only.

You took the suggestion for a change in your forthcoming film from Steven Spielberg?
It’s not like that I get influenced by every film-maker but Steven Spielberg is my idol. The ending was the one thing we had a lot of criticism about from the original version, so we knew we wanted to come up with something a little bit better. Steven had to bring the film back to the studio in a trash bag, which was the next day after he saw the movie. The whole story about how the doors to his bedroom got locked from the inside. Personally I believe it. And yeah, the ending was suggested by Spielberg.

Tell us something about Area 51 and how’s it coming about?
It’s another “found footage” film, centering on three teenagers who infiltrate the infamous AREA 51 Air Force base in the Nevada desert and find way more than they were bargaining for.