“Stories like Hamlet are drawn from deep, ancient myths"
Riz Ahmed hopes his contemporary South Asian adaptation of Hamlet will help audiences see themselves reflected in the story.
The 43-year-old said it took 13 years to adapt and bring his version of Shakespeare’s tragedy to the screen.
Directed by Aneil Karia, the film is set in London and reimagines the story within a wealthy British South Asian family.
Ahmed stars in the title role alongside Morfydd Clark, Joe Alwyn, Art Malik and Timothy Spall.
Ahmed said: “Once I knew I wanted to play Hamlet and that we wanted it to feel real and grounded, it followed naturally that the family would be South Asian.
“From there, it became set within a specific community.
“That wasn’t meant to be too much of a statement, but if people take it as one about who these stories belong to, and who belongs in these kinds of stories, I think that, particularly at this moment, can only be a positive thing.”
The story follows a son driven mad by his father’s death, triggering deadly consequences for those around him.
The film is styled as an action thriller rather than a traditional stage-to-screen adaptation.
Riz Ahmed, who was nominated for an Oscar for The Sound Of Metal, said the themes strongly resonate with South Asian culture.
He explained: “I think we really need to understand that culture is something we share, something we all contribute to.
“Stories like Hamlet are drawn from deep, ancient myths that transcend any one culture.
“For that reason, the first words you hear in our film come from the Hindu sacred text, the Bhagavad Gita, which itself resonates with the story of Hamlet.
“I hope it helps people to blow the story wide open in their minds, in terms of what it can be and who can be in it.”
Karia said Shakespeare’s recurring themes strongly align with South Asian experiences.
The filmmaker said: “What was also interesting on the journey of making this film was the resonance and the connections we kept finding between the text and South Asian culture.
“This play can understandably feel ancient and slightly fantastical, with its elements of ghosts, family honour, and rules around who you can marry.
“In some adaptations, these aspects feel antiquated or whimsical, but amazingly, they remain relevant in present-day South Asian culture.
“We were constantly discovering connections that felt particularly pertinent, which made everything feel more real.”
Ahmed stressed that the film was not an intellectual exercise or novelty interpretation of Shakespeare:
“It’s about feeling it in a visceral way, constantly under pressure and on the move.
“That’s the version of Hamlet Aneil has created, and I think it’s one that audiences really connect with.”
Hamlet opens in UK cinemas on February 6.
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