'Diana' and 'Hasnat' have their Royal say

Naomi Watts believes Princess Diana's lasting legacy was to make the British Royal Family more accessible and she hopes her film 'Diana' will remind people why they loved the late princess so much.

The 44-year-old actress portrays the late icon in new biopic 'Diana' and she believes the princess ultimately had a positive effect on the royal family, despite the fact her marriage to Prince Charles ended acrimoniously in December 1992 and continued to attract scandalous headlines until their divorce in August 1996.

Speaking at the world premiere of the film at the Odeon cinema in London's Leicester Square on Thursday night (05.09.13), she told BANG Showbiz: "She made the royal family in my mind more accessible, more human and I still think we're very uncomfortable with the fact she's not here.

"Hopefully audiences will be reminded of all the good feelings they had about her and be reminded of her great legacy."

Naveen Andrews thinks 'Caught In Flight' - the original title for new biopic 'Diana' - was a more fitting name for the movie, which focuses on the last two years of Princess Diana's life.

Naveen Andrews preferred the title 'Caught In Flight' to 'Diana'.

The 44-year-old actor portrays Dr. Hasnat Khan, the former lover of the late Princess Diana, in the biopic which focuses on the last two years of the royal's life before her tragic death in August 1997.

Naveen is unsure why the film - which is based on Kate Snell's 2001 book 'Diana: Her Last Love' - got a different name but he thinks the original title was much more appropriate for the story as he believes Diana was starting to flourish before her life was snatched away.

Naomi believes the film's focus on the final two years of Diana's life before her tragic death in a car crash in August 1997, aged just 36, show a woman reinventing herself after her fairytale life with the future British monarch - the son of Queen Elizabeth II - turned into a nightmare.

She mused: "After she divorced Charles and lost her royal title I imagine it would be hard to reinvent yourself and she seemed to do that and I guess this love story played a part in that; to give her the confidence to do that. Despite the tragic ending to her life she was definitely reaching her highest potential before."

Diana lost the style Her Royal Highness after her divorce, but was still considered a member of the British Royal Family and was referred to as Diana, Princess of Wales, because she was the mother to Prince William - the second in line to the throne - and Prince Harry.

When quizzed on why the title was changed, Naveen told BANG Showbiz: "I preferred 'Caught In Flight'! I personally don't know why it was changed. I always thought in the way the film was structured - it's about the last two years of her life - the original title made sense."

Khan started dating Diana - the mother of Prince William and Prince Harry - after meeting her in September 1995 and the pair eventually split in June 1997 after the heart surgeon decided he wouldn't be able to cope with the attention if they went public with their romance.

The physician has been very critical of the movie and insists the depiction of his relationship with Diana - who separated from Prince Charles in 1992, with their divorce finalised in 1996 - is entirely inaccurate.

Despite his criticisms, Naveen hopes Khan will watch the film as he thinks he has been handled in a very respectful way, although he does accept artistic license has been used to portray the pair's intimate moments.

Naveen said: "I don't really know what he's actually seen, but if he does see the film, it's my fervent hope that we rendered him with great respect. I think he comes out of it very well in terms of how the film is. It would be my hope that he watches it, but you have to remember this is somebody who really values their privacy, and if he has a sense of it being violated then I totally understand, he's entitled to his opinion."

Speaking about the scenes between the two that director Oliver Hirschbiegel and screenwriter Stephen Jeffreys had to interpret from research, the actor contemplated: "Behind closed doors who really knows?

“But we do know there was a relationship and they loved and respected each other in a pretty consequential way. It was a very important relationship for both of them. So obviously there's license to what goes go on behind closed doors, absolutely, but in terms of our research on how they met, how the relationship came together, I'm happy."

 

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