'Tanvi The Great' is film from India for the world, says Anupam Kher

"Tanvi The Great", which tells the journey of a young autistic woman, is a film from India for the world, eminent actor and the film's director Anupam Kher said.

The North American Gala Premiere of the film was held at the just concluded New York Indian Film Festival hosted by the Indo-American Arts Council here.

In a special gesture, legendary American actor and Academy Award winner Robert De Niro, Kher's co-star in "Silver Linings Playbook", attended the premiere of the film at the festival last week.

The film, which will release on July 18, has a "universal theme, and I think it's a film from India for the world," Kher said during a conversation following the film's screening that was attended by Consul General of India in New York Binaya Pradhan as well as prominent members of the Indian-American community and patrons of arts and culture.

The film, which marked the directorial return of Padma Bhushan awardee Kher, is an emotional journey of a young autistic woman, played by debutant actor Shubhangi Dutt, and her determination to realise her late father's dream of honouring the Indian tricolor at the world's highest battlefield - Siachen.

Kher was deeply touched by De Niro's presence at the premiere of his film.

"To be very honest, I had not expected Mr. De Niro to come. He doesn't need to come. He's a friend of mine, and I did not ask him," Kher said, as he added that "it's a big thing for me."

Kher recalled that when he was in drama school, he had done a research paper on De Niro's classics "Mean Streets" and "Taxi Driver".

"I never knew that after 40 years of being in the movies, that one day he will be watching my film," Kher said adding that he is "a sum total of my optimism and hard work" amid applause from the audience.

Kher warmly welcomed De Niro as he arrived for the premiere.

"World's best actor attends the premiere of Tanvi The Great in New York! What else can an actor/director ask from God!", he said as he expressed his gratitude to De Niro. "It easily is the highlight of my entire career. I am still in shock. But then I also say 'Kuch Bhi Ho Sakta Hai' (Anything Can Happen).

The film also stars Pallavi Joshi, Jackie Shroff, Boman Irani, Arvind Swamy and Karan Tacker.

Kher pointed out that even though he has seen the movie many times, he still cries watching it. "I see so much of compassion in Tanvi, I see so much goodness around Tanvi," he said adding that this brings out the "goodness of people".

"You don't cry because it's sad. You cry because it makes one realize that it's okay to be nice."

The movie is inspired by Kher's niece Tanvi who is autistic and who makes a cameo appearance in the movie. "Whenever I met her, I felt good about life. Whenever I met her, I felt life is beautiful even with all the problems, difficulties, ups and downs," he said.

Kher said that during the course of making the movie, he and the film's team interacted with children with autism. "The common thing that I found in them was that they were full of love. And I generally feel that autism is their superpower."

Highlighting the themes of the movie, Kher said "I am very passionate about Army. I'm very, very passionate about my India... I wanted to make a realistic film and yet larger than life. And I had my own competition with myself. I said I want to do something which should be difficult," Kher said.