Booker Prize winner Aravind Adiga’s work is not new to Indian screens. If in 2021 an Iranian-American director Ramin Bahrani brought to life his much acclaimed book, The White Tiger, now is the turn of yet another noted international filmmaker Ben Rekhi. Only this Indian-American also happens to be a Punjab da puttar in whom East meets West most beautifully and syncretically. As his new film Last Man in Tower based on Adiga’s 2011 book hits the theatre, Ben lets us into how he hopes to infuse his unique global perspective into a very local story, how 90 per cent of good direction is great casting.On the surface level he agrees that Last Man…might too be about how greed destroys family, community but it digs deeper. He adds, “It’s a nuanced look at human condition, what ordinary people do when pushed to the extreme.”Whether his hero Masterji (played by Manoj Bajpayee) is heroic or plain stubborn, Ben answers, “I love the fact that he is morally grey and the film constantly challenges the viewer; is he right or his neighbours who see redevelopment as a passport to better life. When two rights clash, there is an intense psychological warfare.”Moral ambiguity for Ben isn’t merely a tricky terrain but also creatively fascinating and an electric realm with sparks flying. He says, “We all have some good in us and some selfishness.” But, at the end of the day, the film isn’t a commentary or mere slice of reality, but packed with enough twists and turns which audiences won’t see coming. Of course, when the book already exists in public domain, readers would be privy to the big reveal. Hence he admits that adaptation, ‘a great balancing act’ has to take on the challenge of weaving new flesh around the original skeleton, a task his screenplay writer Sooni Taraporevala, has achieved ever so deftly. Ultimately, though the film might have made some departures, the source material for him always, “is a North star.”While he hopes that fans of the book like the film as much, he is not unmindful of unfair comparisons with the written word. But unperturbed, he avers, “You can’t be shackled by expectations. To cater to a million readers, who have all imagined the book a certain way in their head, is an impossible task.” Besides, he is not chasing the market, “You can only be true to yourself and your work.”Precisely why, though he has worked with George Clooney in the past and could have chosen an international actor, he went with Manoj Bajpayee. Ben dubs Manoj a ‘national treasure’, compares him to Daniel Day Lewis who disappears into the character. Taken in by versatile actor’s wide range, he quips, “Most actors operate on a single frequency but Manoj is so intuitive, absorbs the material and then his physicality changes and what is remarkable is behind his eyes, the unspoken.”Other actors, be it ‘scene stealer’ Divya Dutta or ‘elastic’ Boman Irani too come in for fulsome praise. Ben also reveals how Boman and Manoj, two giants of Indian cinema, will be sharing the screen for the first time.Hailing Indian actors as no less professional or talented, yet another talent he can’t stop raving over is Rana Daggubati, his producer. He credits Rana for protecting the creative vision and believing in the film strongly enough to take a chance in theatres at a time when a big ticket Akshay Kumar film is set for release. Ben doesn’t see Akshay’s Haiwaan as a threat, calls it counter programming and feels, “there is room for both films.” Between Indian and global audiences, he doesn’t draw a line, “I have made this film for people and hope to tap into emotions, the universal language.”As a director he would always want his audiences to feel more than think for, “We are in the business of emotional storytelling.”  His Punjabi genes anyway make him gravitate more towards feelings. Working with Punjaban Divya may not have done much to his spoken Punjabi but the DNA remains quintessentially rooted in Punjab. Passionate, fiery and of course, master of three Cs, creativity, curiosity and conviction, the purpose of art, he believes, “is to bring people together.” He adds, “Cinema, a powerful tool, can be used to build an ‘us vs them’ narrative or aspire towards living in harmony.” In him not only do two cultures come together but also a deep desire to build bridges. Breaking the Code is not just the name of his documentary on his Sikh father but also his life mantra.