VARANASI: Tina Turner, the queen of rock-n-roll, who died at her Zurich home after a prolonged illness on May 24, 2023, had visited Varanasi in 2004 to prepare for her role in Hollywood’s late filmmaker Ismail Merchant‘s ‘The Goddess’.
She was hosted by a local resident, Ashok Kapoor, during her visit to the city. “We were very excited to host her and other members of the crew of the film whose shooting was to be done in Banaras. Unfortunately, Merchant died soon after so the project was shelved. Later, it was decided to revive the project but we were told that the producer was not as passionate as Merchant. We pay our homage to the five-time Grammy award winner and a legend Tina Turner,” said Kapoor, who had a close connection with Merchant.
It was on the evening of February 9, 2004, when the aesthetically decorated house of Kapoor in Jagatpur area hosted Turner and Merchant in a typical Banarasi style. They enjoyed and appreciated listening to the local musicians and also Banarasi cuisine. During their three-day visit to the city, they also visited the Ramnagar fort on the opposite bank of the Ganga, Kapoor’s house in Sigra locality, Durga temple and other places.
They also enjoyed a boat ride on holy Ganga and made a visit to the work place of Banarasi weavers to see their wonderful creations.
While talking to TOI at that time, Merchant had gone down memory lane, speaking about Phool Wali and Rang Wali galyian (lanes of flowers and colours) he had encountered during his visit in the ’60s to shoot sequences of ‘Guru’ in some parts of this millennia-old city. Soon after going back, the Merchant Ivory had announced the film. Beside playing the lead role of the Goddess Shakti, Tina was to sing songs in English, Sanskrit and Latin in the film. But, the dream could not be realised due to the demise of Merchant in 2005.
She was hosted by a local resident, Ashok Kapoor, during her visit to the city. “We were very excited to host her and other members of the crew of the film whose shooting was to be done in Banaras. Unfortunately, Merchant died soon after so the project was shelved. Later, it was decided to revive the project but we were told that the producer was not as passionate as Merchant. We pay our homage to the five-time Grammy award winner and a legend Tina Turner,” said Kapoor, who had a close connection with Merchant.
It was on the evening of February 9, 2004, when the aesthetically decorated house of Kapoor in Jagatpur area hosted Turner and Merchant in a typical Banarasi style. They enjoyed and appreciated listening to the local musicians and also Banarasi cuisine. During their three-day visit to the city, they also visited the Ramnagar fort on the opposite bank of the Ganga, Kapoor’s house in Sigra locality, Durga temple and other places.
They also enjoyed a boat ride on holy Ganga and made a visit to the work place of Banarasi weavers to see their wonderful creations.
While talking to TOI at that time, Merchant had gone down memory lane, speaking about Phool Wali and Rang Wali galyian (lanes of flowers and colours) he had encountered during his visit in the ’60s to shoot sequences of ‘Guru’ in some parts of this millennia-old city. Soon after going back, the Merchant Ivory had announced the film. Beside playing the lead role of the Goddess Shakti, Tina was to sing songs in English, Sanskrit and Latin in the film. But, the dream could not be realised due to the demise of Merchant in 2005.