Showing posts with label Khoj. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Khoj. Show all posts
Abhishek Banerjee on shooting at Maha Kumbh Mela: "Everyday, we used to have some adventure; we were improvising"
8:30 AM
Actor Abhishek Banerjee reflects on what it was like to shoot a film in the middle of large crowds at the Maha Kumbh Mela
Deep Saxena (HINDUSTAN TIMES; March 4, 2025)
Ever wondered what it must be like to shoot a film in the middle of crores of people? Ask actor Abhishek Banerjee, who wrapped up the shoot for Maha Sangam at the Maha Kumbh Mela in Prayagraj (UP) last month, and he says it was a “blessed experience”.
“It was a rare experience for the entire crew, as no one had done anything like this before. As actors, we are used to silence and isolation on the set,” the Stree (2018) actor says, adding, “Par yahan hum log shor ke saath acting kar rahe the. I feel there was a divine intervention. We did the shoot without any VIP culture — ek aam aadmi ki tarah.”
So, how much planning went into a shoot like this? He shares, “We had done all the planning and had a storyboard, too. But as we started, everything went for a toss. Any planning in such a crowd is just impossible. Every day, we used to have some adventure.”
Abhishek recalls, “I stopped thinking beyond the scenes. Throughout scenes, shots, frames, locations and portrayal, we were improvising. It turned out to be a kind of docu-fictional film, as we documented all that was around us and fictionalized it.”
Filming in the middle of milling crowds is no mean feat. So, how did they manage to pull it off? “The shoot does generally get disturbed when there are so many people around. Some may walk in to shake hands, and others may try to disturb the cameraman. But, fortunately, the people there were understanding. They were all on a mission to take a holy dip. Isiliye manage ho gaya,” the 37-year-old smiles.
“We shot there for eight days. Before that, we shot in Varanasi for a few days. Though it got too crowded around Magh Purnima, it was still manageable,” he adds.
Dwelling on the significance of the mela, Abhishek muses, “Kumbh ki kahani hai about family and relationship. This mega festival gives learning to every devotee. The characters in the film, too, get a kind of learning.”
Asked what the film has to offer and why it is sure to resonate with people, he explains, “I guess, for the first time, the people in India and abroad alike will watch a film on Kumbh. The film was earlier titled Khoj, which suggests that kabhi kabhi insaan bhi apne aap ko kho deta hain. So, this is a khone aur paane ki kahani.” Besides, the actor is all praise for the man who is helming the project: “Our director, Bharat Bala, is a legendary filmmaker.”
How has shooting at the mela influenced Abhishek? ”Bahut saalon ke baad apne desh se rubaru hua hoon. I saw people from all over India and abroad in one place. These 7-8 days will remain in my heart for a long time,” the actor signs off.
Filmmakers go all out to capture the grandeur of the Maha Kumbh Mela
9:43 AM
Deep Saxena (HINDUSTAN TIMES; February 24, 2025)
The ongoing Maha Kumbh Mela at Prayagraj (Uttar Pradesh) is not only attracting devotees and spiritual tourists, but also filmmakers, who are going all out to capture the grandeur of the unique congregation for their projects.
While filmmaker Bharat Bala is currently shooting his film Khoj with actors Abhishek Banerjee, Shahana Goswami and Neeraj Kabi, Telugu director Boyapati Srinu has already shot portions of the Nandamuri Balakrishna-starrer, Akhanda 2 — Thaandavam.
Actor Sanjay Mishra shot a campaign film for Uttar Pradesh Police on cybercrime, and French filmmaker Bruno Aveillan also visited the Maha Kumbh to shoot for a project. Several documentaries are being filmed at the event as well.
Rati Shankar Tripathi, a line producer for Khoj, tells us, “Bala is in Prayagraj since January 27. First, he shot for another documentary and then we started the film. The film’s title is apt as it’s about a search. We are shooting with small and big cameras without disturbing the public movement.”
Line producer duo Niraj Tripathi, who has worked on Akhanda 2, shares, “We had all the permissions in place and shot in gorilla mode to not disturb people. We filmed at the tents, akharas, near the Sangam and other parts of the city.”
Why this short film by Zara Khan and Raj Babbar's niece Kajri is a must-watch
8:14 AM
Salma Agha's daughter, Zara Khan, and Raj Babbar's niece, Kajri, bring a short film on a Punjabi bride's determination to track down the NRI groom who had abandoned her
Dinesh Raheja (MID-DAY; March 25, 2018)
Three-and-a-half decades ago, singer-actress Salma Agha and actor Raj Babbar made waves with the 1982 blockbuster Nikaah; now Babbar's niece Kajri Babbar and Agha's daughter Zara Khan (aka Sasha Agha), have joined forces to make a short film, Khoj, on the subject of young Punjabi brides who are abandoned by their NRI husbands. Khoj is scheduled to open at the Shorts Corner at the Cannes film festival in May 2018, and Zara is excited at the prospect of walking the red carpet.
In the film, however, Khan doesn't sport a glamorous look. The actress says, "I play a 19-year-old from a small village in Punjab who can't speak English properly and is married off to an NRI. Abandoned by her husband, she tracks him down in London. It was difficult for me to relate to my character's way of living and her body language, but her spirit appealed to me. Nothing can break her. And this is something I wish for women of all ages."
Director Kajri Babbar, currently completing her Masters in film direction at Arts University, Bournemouth, UK, speaks on the issue her film tackles with the fervour of youth, "I wanted to tell the world the story of a strong Punjabi woman. During my research, I contacted the NRI wing of Punjab Police and they connected me with women who had been deserted by their husbands. What shocked me was that most of the girls were still in their teens!"
Zara acknowledges the role that her and Kajri's shared family history played in getting them together for this project. "Thanks to mom and Raj uncle's association, we all are very close," she says. When she saw Kajri's first short film, Pardaa (2017), Zara messaged the director expressing her desire to work with her. Kajri responded with the script of Khoj. "We did a reading through Skype and she thought I was perfect for the role. Together, we created Gurpreet Kaur Bedi."
Though mother Salma chided her for letting her "monkey ears" show on screen because of her character's hair-pulled-back look, Zara is all praise for the film's makeup artist Charlotte Annice Spruch for making her character look authentic. Zara's personal contribution was: "long hair that really helped me look like a sardarni."
By agreeing to look her part, Zara won over Kajri who had been sceptical about the actress' willingness to accept the deglamorised part of a pregnant young girl with chapped lips and dark circles under her eyes. Zara reasons, "My job as an actor is to look the part, so paint me red, blue, yellow, or do whatever because when I'm in front of the camera, I submit myself to the director completely. I can look pretty at any given time, but to look real is my kind of beautiful."
Realism enthuses Kajri too. Groomed and raised to be a socially responsible individual, the director believes that her work should convey her convictions. Kajri attributes the fascination for NRI grooms to the belief that "India is still living under a colonial hangover. We believe everything from abroad is better including the food, money, cars, brands, government and even Indian men born on foreign land."
She adds, "In a country like ours, women should stand together and help each other but we hear several horrible cases of mothers-in-law torturing their daughters-in-law or even grandmothers abandoning their granddaughters because they are female. The issue of patriarchy becomes even more complex with the participation of women; and that frustrates me the most. This film was my subtle way of conveying the frustration."
The climax of the 28-minute film offers education as the key to empowerment. But Kajri agrees that the problem needs to be addressed at various levels. She cautions against choosing a life partner in haste and says, "Families should conduct a proper background check on the groom; from the passport to the bank accounts, everything should be verified. And it is crucial for any woman to have legal proof of marriage especially if the man is a citizen of another country."
Zara draws solace from the fact that "Union Minister Kiren Rijju went to the United Kingdom and negotiated an agreement to resolve the issue of Indians abandoning wives and aged parents back home in India." For Zara, Khoj is her chance to set her film career back on track after her debut Aurangzeb failed. Zara smiles, "A YRF film is every actor's dream launch but unfortunately Aurangzeb did not do well and everyone presumed that I was just a pretty face. But whoever has seen Khoj has said, 'Oh we didn't know you were such a good actor!'"
Kajri Babbar
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