Radha Bharadwaj on Basil: My screenplay for Basil is loosely based on Victorian mystery writer Wilkie Collins’s book, Basil. I had first read the book when I was twelve years old in India. Even then, its very modern emotions and bold structure struck me as refreshing and original. Collins delves into the psyche of his doomed protagonist with an immediacy and intimacy that was rare in literature those days, and he freely explores the nature of Basil’s sensual/sexual obsession for the spoiled Margaret Sherwin. Turning the very personal, almost stream-of-consciousness book into a screenplay took thought and effort. I had to structure a plot that brought the key characters into the pivotal clash; I had to give the Mannion character a back-story and hence a motive for the war he waged against the aristocrat Basil’s family. Basil’s birth family had to be fleshed out—at times, even created from scratch. I believe that despite my inventions and innovations, the screenplay for Basil remains true to the spirit of the book that Wilkie Collins wrote. Working with legendary thespian Sir Derek Jacobi was one of the highlights of this experience, and, indeed, of my life.  I learned an immense amount just watching him prepare to go on camera.  The shoot was riddled with problems—last minute budgetary cuts that cut the filming schedule in half.  But he embodied grace under pressure, ever professional, with his performance never short of perfect. The director’s cut for Basil was selected twice to be the closing night film for the prestigious Toronto International Film Festival’s “Special Presentation” series. This is the sort of opportunity most financiers would die for. The financiers for Basil, however, felt differently about the opportunity. They pulled Basil from the festival screening at the last minute, foregoing an opportunity to screen at one of the world’s premier film festivals in a series that featured, among others, Paul Thomas Andersen’s Boogie Nights, Robert Duvall’s The Apostle, Spike Lee’s 4 Little Girls, Gary Oldman’s Nil by Mouth, Michael Apted’s Inspirations, Mike Figgis’s One Night Stand, Jim Jarmusch’s Year of the Horse, Alan Rudolph’s Afterglow, Hal Hartley’s Henry Fool, David Mamet’s The Spanish Prisoner and Michael Moore’s The Big One. The key actors in my film, Christian Slater (who produced the film with me), Sir Jacobi and Jared Leto, pleaded with the financiers to allow the director’s cut to play in Toronto. To no avail. Basil’s financiers did not relent, however.  They released their cut of my film, complete with their choice of sound design and music.  This is the version that was subsequently released on cable, and then in video and DVD. [Click here for a printer-friendly page]