Rock n roll queen Tina Turner, who passed away on Wednesday, once spent several days in South India, visiting temples to prepare for her role as Goddess Kali in a Hollywood film. There are reports that she had also visited the Eravishwaram Shiva Temple in Kudamaloor in Kerala and also toured North Malabar to get accustomed to the folk dance and rituals of the region.
The singer, whose chart-topping songs include 'What's Love Got to do With It', 'Private Dancer' among others, also made a mark in films, playing prominent roles in movies like 'Mad Max beyond Thunderdome', 'Last Action Hero' among others. She also appeared as the Acid Queen in Ken Russell's 1975 adaptation of the Who's rock opera 'Tommy'. She sang the title song, penned by Bono and the Edge of U2, for the 1995 James Bond pic 'GoldenEye'.
The winner of eight Grammys, Turner was a 1991 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, and was recognised at the 2005 Kennedy Center Honors for her career achievements, adds Variety.
In Merchant Ivory's film (directed by James Ivory and produced by Ismail Merchant), she was set to play Goddess Kali also known as Goddess Shakthi who could 'manipulate the past, present and future'. Her relationship with three Indians formed the crux of the film. However, the makers had to drop the movie after producer Ismail Merchant's death in 2005.
