Kamal Hassan's knowledge about films is encyclopedic: Barrie M Osborne

Lord of the Rings producer Barrie M Osborne and actor-director Kamal Hassan are collaborating on their much awaited international project, the two filmmakers announced recently. The project is still in a nascent stage with just the ideation happening, said Osborne, who flew down to Singapore to announce the association with the Tamil thespian on the sidelines of the IIFA weekend.

"I have been interested in working with Indian artistes in the past but a story is what compels me to make a film. Kamal's concept inspired me and the discussions we've had convinced me that it would be something worthy for us to pursue," Osborne told PTI.

The Hollywood producer said he met Hassan several times in the past and decided to work together on a film after seeing his work on 'Vishwaroobham'. "I am impressed by what he has accomplished on Vishwaroobham. After that we started talking about ideas and about the possibility to work together. His knowledge about history, literature and films is encyclopedic. Kamal presented an idea to me that was so compelling that I couldn't resist working with him," he said.

Osborne hopes that their collaborative effort will focus on Indian history and culture. "Everybody wonders about who we are, where we came from. We could tell a story about the history and culture of India but on a Hollywood template," Osborne said. Hassan, 57, said he was honoured to work with Osborne. "You keep doing your work, after sometime you don't know whether you are doing good work or not. Its only when people like Barrie come up to you, all the hard work makes sense. He has worked with the champions in Hollywood like Coppola," said Hassan.