Talk us through your favourite scene in the film.
There are many. But I loved the part where Jamal jumps into the shit, and emerges out of that to get that autograph from Amitabh Bachchan. It translates so beautifully on screen. It was like magic. There was also a chase sequence where a policeman chases Jamal and Salim, in the youngest age group. That was great fun. If they slowed down, I would keep shouting from the background, 'Bullet! Bullet' and they would rush again.
And what was the toughest scene to shoot?
Again, there were so many. There were a lot of scenes that I shot on my own when Danny wasn't around -- the scenes where the people are watching KBC all over the city, in dhabas (roadside eateries), outside electronic stores, all kinds of spaces. Wherever a lot of people are involved, it gets difficult to manage them.
Children also, of course, can be demanding and challenging. Shooting kids isn't difficult, it is eye-opening. Kids don't come with pre-conceived notions about how to be in front of the camera. They don't plan it. They are very effortless. The way to do it, I've learnt, is that when you don't treat them like children and patronise them, you can get the best out of them.
The film had a lot of touching scenes, especially the one where a child was blinded. How was it like shooting that?
It was challenging to explain that scene to the children -- the child who gets blinded, and Salim's character, who watches that happen. When his eyes are gouged out, Salim starts to vomit. But kids are very instinctive, they don't need to practice. If you can explain the right emotions, they'll do it beautifully. But I always made it clear to them that it was all game play, nothing was happening in reality. They shouldn't let it affect them.
What made you zero in on Freida Pinto?
Freida sent her pictures and I really liked them. We were pretty sure we wanted her, but we had to put her through the process because there were many other people who were also very good. We had to match the soul of Latika to the younger characters. I must have auditioned her 10 or 20 times. There were only that many scenes with her, and we would keep going through them. She was very patient and ready to learn. That really helped.
In the picture: Loveleen with Danny Boyle
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