Salman Rushdie idea, just one shot in which three very, very unlikely people were seen as NASCAR drivers. And I think they approached Julian Schnabel, Lou Reed, and me. We were all supposed to be wearing the uniforms and the helmet, walking in slow motion with the heat haze." In the end their schedules didn't allow for it. Rushdie collaborated on the screenplay for the cinematic adaptation of his novel "Midnight's Children" with director Deepa Mehta. The film was also called "Midnight's Children". Seema Biswas, Shabana Azmi, Nandita Das, and Irrfan Khan participated in the film. Production began in September 2010; the
Knighthood of Salman Rushdie more, the sovereign's choice of who she wishes to honour will never be the subject of intimidation." Tessa Jowell who was Culture Secretary at the time of the knighthood's announcement told reporters that "Salman Rushdie was recognised in the recent honours as one of this country's outstanding writers. In times when terrorist threats beset the way of life in this country and the way of life in this country is being attacked by terrorists, standing up for free speech and freedom of speech is ever more important." On 22 June 2007 dozens of British Muslims (some with scarves masking their