British Culture: Albion Never Dies On Location: 'James Bond: Octopussy' (1983) - Interview with Del Singh - Part 1 [Episode 114]
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Why does an imposing James Bond henchmen wear a school turban? This is the podcast episode that will answer this question, which you may never have asked, but are surely now desperate to have an answer to! 40 years ago, Del Singh was involved "in a very un-orthodox way" with the 007 franchise. This interview with him is so great, so fun, so lively, it cannot be constrained to a single podcast episode.
In this first of two parts, Del explains how he became involved with the filming of 'Octopussy' (1983), after receiving a phone call out of the blue from EON Productions - the dream for any Bond fan! He talks about his time with Roger Moore and Kabir Bedi, who played the imposing Gobinda, and even Del's input into the latter character's wardrobe. Del even comments on the best (and worst) place for a movie crew to buy a turban.
Del talked to Roger Moore about his take on Sean Connery's 007, and observed how Moore dealt with this question differently in sessions with journalists. What did Moore claim he could do as Bond that Connery could not? The answer comes at minute 26. We also hear what Moore said his favourite film was (answer at minute 27), and, hear of Roger Moore's experiences filming 'The Wild Geese' (1978) with Richard Burton and Richard Harris.
The spectacular train stunts in Octopussy were filmed at the Nene Valley Railways near Peterborough, where Del hails from, back before CGI could be used for such scenes, so we also hear Del's memories of watching these incredible stunts done on location, and the immense risks involved: Del says, "they really do earn their money"!
Out of curiosity, do you know how long a turban is?
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