Iranian maestro in India!

This is Makhmalbaf's third attempt to film here.

He remembers India as the land of Mahatma Gandhi and one which has fascinated him with its colour, vibrancy and an amazing democratic set-up.

About a decade ago, Makhmalbaf had planned a venture in India but could not afford to overlook the red tape that accompanied the filmmaking process here.

A few years later, he returned with another historical venture, but again could not get past the bureaucracy.

This time round, he has succeeded and is all set to shoot Colder Than Fire, a hard-hitting social drama set in Varanasi, and Rajasthan.

The 47-year-old director, who believes in Gandhian non-violence, interestingly began as a teenaged militant. He underwent a change of heart after a short prison stint, and has since come to be regarded as the most active artist of the post-revolutionary period in his country.

"This is my 17th film, but this is the first time that I am going to make a film in India. From 10 years ago, I was interested in making a film in India because of the different culture here, and because of the kind of democracy based on a different culture and different languages. I am so interested by Gandhian spirituality, the Gandhian soul and the (ideals of) non-violence. I am much interested in the colour and the dress of the Indian people too," Makhmalbaf told reporters in Chennai.

The Tehran-based director mostly makes film outside his conservative nation to escape its stringent censorship laws.

His earlier films include The Silence, based on a 10-year-old blind boy who supports his impoverished mother by playing musical instruments. His 2001 venture, Kandahar, portraying the Taliban-era in Afghanistan is among his most critically-acclaimed work.

His cinema, critics say, blends starkly realistic situations with some stunningly beautiful and lyrical images.