India has an enduring connection with actor Ben Kingsley. A whole generation of kids in India were forced by their parents to watch Richard Attenborough’s 1982 classic “Gandhi” at least once a year, as the sole TV channel in the country at the time – Doordarshan – would abidingly broadcast it every Republic and/or Independence day. As a result, we grew up identifying Kingsley’s face as (Gandhi’s, and consequently) inherently Indian, till the time we were old enough to discover he was a British actor. Many of us left it at that, however it is not uncommon knowledge that Kingsley’s original name is Krishna Pandit Bhanji and he has an Indian father. Therefore, even though the Academy Award-winner hasn’t played any other Indian roles in his film career, India has a strangely deep connection with Ben Kingsley.But this year, the 71-year-old actor plays the role of a Sikh man, turban and all, in a film titled “Learning to Drive” that also stars Patricia Clarkson (“Good Night, and Good Luck”, “Friends with Benefits”) and Sarita Choudhary (“Homeland”, “Kamasutra”). The film was released in 2014 on the festival circuit, earning it a nomination for the People’s Choice Award at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival, but it gets a theatrical release on August 21, 2015.It is based on American feminist writer Katha Pollitt’s essay published in 2007, and it tells the story of an American woman who decides to take driving lessons from an Indian taxi driver. Both characters are going through marriage troubles and end up connecting over issues of life and relationships.A departure from Pollitt’s political writings, “Learning to Drive: And Other Life Stories” is a collection of personal essays that covers a variety of topics from getting over a cheating boyfriend, to discovering new things about her parents’ personalities. It has been described as “A powerful personal narrative… full of insight and charm... Pollitt is her own Jane Austen character... haughty and modest, moral and irresponsible, sensible and, happily for us, lost in sensibility.”The story has been adapted from these writings by Spanish film director Isabel Coixet whose films in English as well as Spanish have received much critical acclaim and awards over the years. She has worked with such actors as Juliette Binoche, Julie Christie, Tim Robbins, Penélope Cruz, Dennis Hopper, Gabriel Byrne, Rinko Kikuchi, Rhys Ifans, Mark Ruffalo as well as both Kingsley and Clarkson previously.Clarkson’s character in the film is that of a New York book editor trying to rebuild her life after her husband leaves her for a younger woman; and Kingsley plays the role of an Indian immigrant taxi driver who is awaiting his arranged marriage. His character is pragmatic and enterprising, despite any hardships he might have faced while building a life in a new country, including facing racial abuse for having a beard and wearing a turban in America.Kingsley, who has been directed by the likes of Attenborough, Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese and Roman Polanski, has said that he considers Coixet as one of the most talented directors he’s worked with. Follow @ARTINFOIndia
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