Ryan Lobo's "Mr. Iyer Goes to War"

Ryan Lobo is an award-winning photographer and filmmaker based in Bangalore.

His work has appeared in National Geographic, The Wall Street Journal, The Guardian, The Boston Review, The Caravan, and Bidoun Magazine.

Here Lobo dreamcasts an adaptation of his new novel, Mr. Iyer Goes to War:

I initially wrote this book as a screenplay.

When I wrote the book I had in mind an actor like Sir Ben Kingsley as Lalgudi Iyer . His gangster character in the movie Sexy Beast was inspiring in some regards, especially the intensity.

I imagined Bencho to be played by Nawazuddin Siddiqui, an excellent Indian actor who was great in the movie Lunchbox. He came across as a very identifiable and likeable character.

Iyer was inspired by Don Quixote, a conservative iconoclast of sorts who lived by the values of an older time, at odds with the modern world. A bit of insanity would essential to his character and Sir Ben Kingsley's acting in Sexy Beast certainly fits the bill.

Visit Ryan Lobo's website.

--Marshal Zeringue