'Rahman was the only choice'

Chinese writer and director He Ping’s epic Warriors of Heaven and Earth is a lyrical story about the human spirit

From the point of view of two men — a soldier turned mercenary and a swordsman for the Emperor’s court — leading a caravan across the desert who swear to fight each other to death when they reach their destination. Significantly for India, Warriors of Heaven and Earth features the haunting music of A R Rahman and the film showed at the MAMI festival last year.

With previous films like Swordsman in Double Flag Town, Sun Valley and Red Firecracker, Green Firecracker, here’s what He Ping, who has pioneered the Chinese Western genre, has to say about Warriors of Heaven and Earth:

How did you come to hear of A R Rahman and involve him in the music of Warriors of Heaven and Earth?

From watching Lagaan. The music in that film was phenomenal. After I heard the score of Lagaan, Rahman was the only choice for me. He was a joy to work with and so talented, yet so humble.

The locations and scale of the film are both breathtaking and vast. Where did you shoot and how difficult was it directing and shooting to this scale?

We shot in the Gobi desert. The weather situation was extreme, so that was the hard part, though the end result was all worth it.

The fight scenes themselves are tremendous – what kind of training did the actors undergo and how much was choreographed?

Some of the fight sequences were choreographed. The actors were all very professional, in spite of the heavy physical demands of the film. I thought initially that some sort of artistic clash would be inevitable between Jiang Wen and myself, since he too is a director. However, Jiang was most professional and he only took on the role as the male lead.

The story has a spiritual leaning and juxtaposes morality with duty. Comment.

Warriors of Heaven and Earth is a story about the human spirit. It isn’t just a story about the battle between two men. It’s about putting personal emotions on hold while doing your duty to your country and emperor. It is about making difficult choices.

What is the market like for Chinese films and how has the response been to your film internationally?

Chinese films are coming onto the international map more and more. I set out to make a good film and it has been accepted critically and commercially so far.