What is the difference between the Shekhar Kapur before The Age
of Stupid and after?
If a
poor person is not able to pay for the planet, those who can afford
to must pay 
This experience of beaming live to the UN summit (from the
Himalayas) was a critical experience. Greenpeace provided a
platform for me to speak on that. As far as issues of the
environment are concerned, I have been actively working, thinking,
and writing for about 10 years. I started making my film Paani.
Paani is exactly the issue that we went to the UN with. The fact
that when the waters dry up, there is a great movement to the
cities and the social problems move to the cities. Then, the cities
themselves go to war. That is exactly it.
Are we any closer to seeing your film Paani?
Yeah. It is a tough movie to make. It is a future world, and it
needs some kind of authenticity to create a future world.
Has your voice got stronger or more urgent after the trip to the
Rohtang Pass to see what climate change is doing? What would you do
to deal with the Indian polity on this now?
I think that my voice has certainly got stronger when I got
there. It is more urgent. The platform given to me was
terrific.
What do you think we should do if things do not work out in the
December Copenhagen UN climate summit?
I think it is time for the individual to raise their voice. If
nothing works out in Copenhagen, then it would be clear that our
leaders do not have the political will or the ability to make
changes. Sometimes, it is necessary to step outside politics. It
has happened before, you know. Gandhiji led the country to freedom
outside the political system, against the political system. It is
time for us to move against the political system and to save our
planet. We as individuals must raise our voices. People like me and
others like me have to become the leaders that say no, this will
not happen. Greenpeace is doing a great job of that.
Barack Obama made an interesting statement at the UN summit to
which you beamed live from the Himalayas. He said climate is now
the single biggest issue between the US and India. This could alter
a lot of dynamics. What is your take on that?
I don't think it is about a political issue or a trade issue
between two countries. I don't think we should get into that sort
of a debate on this. The basics are that we have crossed the danger
level. The basics are that somebody has to do something. Everybody
has to do something. It is not about the problems between India and
the US. I don't care about that. What I care about is that we have
to do something about the climate.
As individuals, how much should we do? For instance, at my home
we don't use machines so much. We do plenty of work with our
hands.
I
don't care about the problems between India and the US. What I care
about is that we have to do something about the climate
You know what, I've brought my electricity consumption down
drastically. My electricity bill used to be between Rs13,000 and
Rs14,000 a month. Now, it is Rs2,000. I don't use electricity
unless I have to. I already use my cars only when I have to. I
travel a lot, but I have cut down my international travel by 50
percent. I go online and seek other platforms available to meet
people. So, I have cut down personally and I think everybody must
cut down personally. But the point is that the elite of this world,
and I'm not just talking of the West, the elite in India also . . .
We tend to consume almost 60 percent of the resources. However,
just now, reducing consumption is not going to be enough. Things
have got to be done. Agriculture consumes a lot of water. It is
about crop rotation. Industry consumes a lot of water. It is about
changing the nature of the machines we use. There are a lot of
changes that have to take place. Consumers in the UK, for instance,
are saying we may have to pay more because we care for the planet.
That will happen all over the world. It is true though that people
who cannot afford to pay are very large in numbers. These are not
the people who have polluted the planet. Those who can afford to
pay must pay more for the planet. We are all part of the planet. If
a poor person is not able to pay for the planet, it doesn't mean we
allow it to be destroyed. We have to compensate for that.
Movies are a powerful medium to say something. In terms of
action at your end, how will your trip to the Rohtang Pass and to
the screening of The Age of Stupid play out?
The problem is that as human beings, we are adept at hiding
behind drama. Or behind statistics. We easily turn 10 million
deaths into a statistic. We have this ability to turn everything
into a statistic. However, this is not something we can convert
into an emotional story of someone we can identify with.
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