When Tina Turner took a tour of India to prepare for her role as Goddess Shakti

Called the Queen of Rock ‘n’ Roll, Tina Turner passed away Wednesday in her home in Küsnacht near Zurich, Switzerland, aged 83 after a long illness. Tributes have poured in for the iconic singer from the likes of Angela Bassett and Oprah Winfrey.

Over the course of her decades-long career, Turner has given a number of mega-hits, including ‘What’s Love Got To Do With It’ and ‘The Best’. She was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice – once in 1991 and the other in 2021.

She has eight Grammys in her successful career as a musician. But did you know Turner has been part of numerous successful film projects as well? In 2004, she came close to playing Goddess Shakti in a film by Merchant Ivory.

The film was called ‘The Goddess’. It dealt with the supernatural and was to also star Matthew Modine in a lead role. Set in ancient India, the film is about a goddess who is capable of manipulating the past, present and future.

It aimed to show the relationship of a painter, played by Modine, and three Indians with Goddess Shakti. But the film could never be made due to Ismail Merchant’s sudden death after surgery. Although there was some rumour in 2010 about the film getting revived, it soon died down.

In order to prepare well for her role, as per a 2010 HT report, Turner even took a tour of India, visiting temples in South India, going to Varanasi, taking a trip across the river Ganga, and meeting actors, singers and dancers in the film industry.

Nonetheless, Turner wasn’t just a pop behemoth. She was an inspiration for many, being called “raw”, “unstoppable” and “powerful” in a statement issued by Barack and Michelle Obama following her death on Wednesday.

She started her career as the lead singer of the Ike and Tina Turner Revue with her ex-husband. But the two separated in 1978 over Ike’s abusive nature. Thereafter, Turner went on to garner more fame and found even greater success as a solo performer.