Showing posts with label Khushmeet Gill. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Khushmeet Gill. Show all posts
Children are brutally honest and transparent-Amole Gupte
8:01 AM
DNA (November 14, 2017)
Amole Gupte hates the word kids. “I have an allergy to that word. I prefer to call them children. In the attitude itself the adult world doesn’t know how to respect children that’s the starting point for me.” Amole was the brain behind Taare Zameen Par before he handed the reigns of the film to Aamir Khan. He went on to make films like Stanley Ka Dabba, Hawaa Hawaai, and Sniff!!! He says, “My comfort zone is children. I have seen they are brutally honest and transparent, therefore I can retain my sanity in their world. In the adult world, people have huge egos. With children, I manage to create content with their help. It’s not a one-way street. It’s a two-way workshop mode. We have never used a single school day for our activity. And what comes out of our activities is the film. They have kept me sane. The children’s world and the cinema world; not Bollywood. I try to bring out the issues I have. Sadly, the adult world doesn’t want to pay attention to it.”
Here the filmmaker-actor talks about the world that he feels comfortable in, and why Hindi cinema hasn’t been able to do justice to them.
You said you had lot of issues with the way children are dealt with...
I have issues about respecting children, about the communication system, about listening to them. The entire adult world seems to be such a one-way street, the anguish of the child doesn’t reach their ears. So you have to bring it out, you have to talk about the educational system, the financial system. You have to talk about inequality. There are so many things that need to be brought out, it can’t follow the ridiculous entertainment programme, as it is made out to be.
What do you think about reality shows that focus on kids?
I think some children have the talent and they need a platform. There’s nothing wrong with that, but it should not be burlesque. Imagine a little girl or boy dancing in that way or creating laughter which is not tasteful for that age. You have to be careful of their age, or you can spoil their childhood by creating these little geniuses who are burlesque to watch. Many shows the adult judges and people who are running the show they seem to be praising the ability and quality that the kids are dancing like a grown up man or woman. They don’t realise ke usko time hai abhi. Let them grow, let them become trees from plants. We just need to see to it that the pace doesn’t become awful.
There doesn’t seem to be enough cinema for children...
Sniff !!! was taken off the theatre in a week, there was no audience because it wasn’t promoted well. Nobody actually gave it value. There seems to be an audience waiting somewhere that goes to see films like Harry Potter and The Jungle Book, but they are not aware that an Indian film was made. I actually have many people coming and asking me when is the film coming. There was no promotion, the theatres didn’t support it neither did the distributors. I can’t blame the audience because it did not reach them. The same audience received Stanley Ka Dabba and Hawaa Hawaai very well. So, for such movies its about the level of awareness created and the faith that the studio puts behind children’s content. Everytime you don’t get lucky and get an Aamir Khan in your film to get more eyeballs. People didn’t know any actor in Harry Potter, The Jungle Book is an animation film, but there were so many people who lapped it up. That kind of awareness and marketing nobody is talking about. People only wake up on November 14 and talk about it. That’s the unfortunate place I am in because I am fully wedded to children’s cause, but it is a fight for me to survive.
Do you think our industry doesn’t take the children audience very seriously?
Of course. Not just in Hollywood, even in Europe, children’s films do more business than movies made for adults. That happens because for films made for adults only that age group goes to the theatres, whereas for the films for children, the entire family sees it. The eyeballs multiply. That’s the reason they make it an event. Here you go to a U/A film with little kids, there will be an item song in it, it’ll have sex comedy...
Do you keep in touch with the children you work with?
Of course. Khushmeet (Gill from Sniff!!!) has been with me since Stanley Ka Dabba. I think about what can I do for a child like that so then I give him a cycle as a birthday present.
Your son Partho has stayed away from films or ads...
After Stanley Ka Dabba and Hawa Hawaai, you can imagine the endorsements and offers that must’ve didn’t take a single one because we shoot only on a Saturday. Will they do it? No, because they don’t plan for children. Because I am his parent I can control that. But I am not Darsheel’s (Safary’s) father or Khushmeet’s father, so I can’t control their movements. I can only advise the parents. I can only tell them to not take their children out of the system, else he or she will lose their childhood. But they may or may not listen, so it’s difficult.
The day Shraddha Kapoor is ready, we will roll with the Saina Nehwal biopic-Amole Gupte
7:48 AM
Filmmaker Amole Gupte on Shraddha Kapoor’s training for his Saina Nehwal biopic and his ‘sniffing’ superhero film
Roshmila Bhattacharya (MUMBAI MIRROR; August 12, 2017)
The focal point of Amole Gupte’s childhood was books. An avid reader, he devoured everything from Roald Dahl to Enid Blyton, his hero being Fatty from the Famous Five series. Innumerable dissections and 40-50 readings of The Mystery of the Burnt Cottage and The Mystery of Holly Lane turned him into a child detective, who tried to find clues to solve simple crimes in his everyday world, like who stole the scented eraser in school. “Between 10 and 12 years, with two friends, Mohan Natrajan and R Ganesh, I pooled our books to start a library for the 600-odd kids who lived in Bima Nagar, the middle-class society in suburban Mumbai I grew up in. This way everyone could sample my Blyton series and Mohan’s collection of Amar Chitrakathas, as also Mandrakes and Phantom comics, and get introduced to Inspector Eagle, Havaldar Naik or Agent Vinod. It was 10 paisa for one book, 15 paisa for two,” the writer-director reminisces with a laugh.
He sighs over changing times that have weaned kids off the habit of reading. “I don’t judge them but I can entertain them. This is another way of bringing mystery into their lives,” he reasons, referring to his upcoming film, Sniff, which is about a child detective blessed with supernatural sniffing powers.
The film features eight-year-old Khushmeet Gill as wonder boy Sunny Gill. Amole had finished his script based on a concept pitched to him by Radhika Anand, one of the four young writers who had been brought to him by producer Ajit Thakur, who couldn’t develop it because she had to be at a wedding. Amole sent out feelers to local gurdwaras inviting kids to free workshops on art, theatre and cinema during the summer holidays. “Since I don’t audition, this was one way of scouting for young talent. They came in batches of 30-35 and I screened Majid Majidi and Charlie Chaplin films for them, gave them voice exercises and we did a bit of drawing. Khushmeet also came and walked straight into my heart. He’s a delightful and delicious haapus mango!” he laughs.
Amole also discovered Adil Majoo, a little boy who surprised him with his intensity, and Parshva Dhariwal, being a painter, gave inputs on creating the den. Mahi Zaveri he’d met at an elephant sanctuary in Kerala when she was two. Eight years later, he cast her.
He filmed at Mazgaon’s St Mary’s School on Sundays and during Ganpati and Diwali holidays so he didn’t have to take the kids out of their comfort zone, wanting them to feel that they were prepping for an annual day function. He gave them a detailed narration with the cast and crew but gave the master script only to his technicians. “On the morning of the shoot, I would sit with the kids and explain the scenes to them. With the first shot we would go for take. Except for Khushmeet, everyone answered to their real names. This way no one was playing a character. Life is like a series of scenes, you don’t rehearse for it. You create moments and capture them,” he says.
He also took the story into the community he grew up in, shooting portions in Bima Nagar. “It was a golden jubilee reunion, me at 55, sitting with the mic and watching old friends walk into the frame. After this, I’d have no regrets if the Lord takes me away tomorrow. Meine Ganga naha liya hai,” he smiles.
There’s time for the curtain call as Sniff could spin into a franchise and he has the Saina Nehwal biopic lined up next. “Shraddha’s (Kapoor) working really hard and conscientiously with her coach Jitesh Padukone to become the butterfly called Saina Nehwal. I don’t want to press or rush her. The day she is ready, we will roll,” he says, describing the actress as an “amazing bachcha” and exulting over their father-daughter talks.
There has been buzz of him having approached several actors like Deepika Padukone and Alia Bhatt for the role which he dismisses as “rumours”. “Shraddha was the only one I pitched it to and she agreed as soon as I finished the narration. Look at her face and forehead, there are such startling similarities between her and Saina. She is also athletic, Jitesh will attest to that,” he asserts.
You wonder why he zeroed in on the badminton ace and he points out that she’s the ‘celebrated daughter of our country’ and hers is the “great Indian family’ he plans to explore with his film. “A World No.1 doesn’t happen every day in such families. I’ve known Saina since December 2014 when she trashed Spaniard Carolina Marin in the pre-quarters in Dubai. Marin is the reigning Olympic champion and Saina trashed her four times when she was at her peak,” he raves about his golden girl, pointing out that despite her phenomenal success there’s an inner glow about the champ and a disarming simplicity that are her biggest draw for him. “Being an international icon hasn’t affected her or her family. She’s still not very media savvy. Her spirited rejoinder is ‘maar doongi’. That’s a great slogan for Saina and Shraddha,” he signs off with a laugh.
The focal point of Amole Gupte’s childhood was books. An avid reader, he devoured everything from Roald Dahl to Enid Blyton, his hero being Fatty from the Famous Five series. Innumerable dissections and 40-50 readings of The Mystery of the Burnt Cottage and The Mystery of Holly Lane turned him into a child detective, who tried to find clues to solve simple crimes in his everyday world, like who stole the scented eraser in school. “Between 10 and 12 years, with two friends, Mohan Natrajan and R Ganesh, I pooled our books to start a library for the 600-odd kids who lived in Bima Nagar, the middle-class society in suburban Mumbai I grew up in. This way everyone could sample my Blyton series and Mohan’s collection of Amar Chitrakathas, as also Mandrakes and Phantom comics, and get introduced to Inspector Eagle, Havaldar Naik or Agent Vinod. It was 10 paisa for one book, 15 paisa for two,” the writer-director reminisces with a laugh.
He sighs over changing times that have weaned kids off the habit of reading. “I don’t judge them but I can entertain them. This is another way of bringing mystery into their lives,” he reasons, referring to his upcoming film, Sniff, which is about a child detective blessed with supernatural sniffing powers.
The film features eight-year-old Khushmeet Gill as wonder boy Sunny Gill. Amole had finished his script based on a concept pitched to him by Radhika Anand, one of the four young writers who had been brought to him by producer Ajit Thakur, who couldn’t develop it because she had to be at a wedding. Amole sent out feelers to local gurdwaras inviting kids to free workshops on art, theatre and cinema during the summer holidays. “Since I don’t audition, this was one way of scouting for young talent. They came in batches of 30-35 and I screened Majid Majidi and Charlie Chaplin films for them, gave them voice exercises and we did a bit of drawing. Khushmeet also came and walked straight into my heart. He’s a delightful and delicious haapus mango!” he laughs.
Amole also discovered Adil Majoo, a little boy who surprised him with his intensity, and Parshva Dhariwal, being a painter, gave inputs on creating the den. Mahi Zaveri he’d met at an elephant sanctuary in Kerala when she was two. Eight years later, he cast her.
He filmed at Mazgaon’s St Mary’s School on Sundays and during Ganpati and Diwali holidays so he didn’t have to take the kids out of their comfort zone, wanting them to feel that they were prepping for an annual day function. He gave them a detailed narration with the cast and crew but gave the master script only to his technicians. “On the morning of the shoot, I would sit with the kids and explain the scenes to them. With the first shot we would go for take. Except for Khushmeet, everyone answered to their real names. This way no one was playing a character. Life is like a series of scenes, you don’t rehearse for it. You create moments and capture them,” he says.
He also took the story into the community he grew up in, shooting portions in Bima Nagar. “It was a golden jubilee reunion, me at 55, sitting with the mic and watching old friends walk into the frame. After this, I’d have no regrets if the Lord takes me away tomorrow. Meine Ganga naha liya hai,” he smiles.
There’s time for the curtain call as Sniff could spin into a franchise and he has the Saina Nehwal biopic lined up next. “Shraddha’s (Kapoor) working really hard and conscientiously with her coach Jitesh Padukone to become the butterfly called Saina Nehwal. I don’t want to press or rush her. The day she is ready, we will roll,” he says, describing the actress as an “amazing bachcha” and exulting over their father-daughter talks.
There has been buzz of him having approached several actors like Deepika Padukone and Alia Bhatt for the role which he dismisses as “rumours”. “Shraddha was the only one I pitched it to and she agreed as soon as I finished the narration. Look at her face and forehead, there are such startling similarities between her and Saina. She is also athletic, Jitesh will attest to that,” he asserts.
You wonder why he zeroed in on the badminton ace and he points out that she’s the ‘celebrated daughter of our country’ and hers is the “great Indian family’ he plans to explore with his film. “A World No.1 doesn’t happen every day in such families. I’ve known Saina since December 2014 when she trashed Spaniard Carolina Marin in the pre-quarters in Dubai. Marin is the reigning Olympic champion and Saina trashed her four times when she was at her peak,” he raves about his golden girl, pointing out that despite her phenomenal success there’s an inner glow about the champ and a disarming simplicity that are her biggest draw for him. “Being an international icon hasn’t affected her or her family. She’s still not very media savvy. Her spirited rejoinder is ‘maar doongi’. That’s a great slogan for Saina and Shraddha,” he signs off with a laugh.
Amole Gupte kicks off his kids action film Sniff with Ganesh Aarti in a Virar pandal
7:46 AM
Avinash Lohana (MUMBAI MIRROR; September 13, 2016)
Mirror (Feb 24) had earlier reported that Amole Gupte, the director of Hawaa Hawaai and Stanley Ka Dabba, is gearing up for a one-of-its-kind kids action film which revolves around a spy-in-the-making. We have now learnt that the film is titled Sniff and the director has found his wonder boy in eight-year-old Khushmeet Gill who began shooting for the film last Monday.
"We started off on Ganesh Chaturthi with a Ganesh Aarti sung by Shankar Mahadevan. It was shot in a pandal in Virar with kids and senior citizens from a local housing society. It's a beautiful number; we couldn't have asked for a better start," Amole informed Mirror, adding that popular Qawwali singer Aziz Naza's sons, Mujtaba and Munir, make their debut as composers with the film, the first one to roll out of Eros's Trinity Pictures.
What sealed the deal for Khushmeet? "I don't audition children; I offer them films in the form of workshops. Khushmeet was a part of one such workshop since April. I knew he was apt for the role when I saw him for the first time. The other kids in the film have been selected from the same workshops," points out Amole. In his own words, his protagonist is supremely talented, a bit of a wonder boy who is more intelligent than intellectual.
After shooting for seven days in Virar and Mazgaon's St. Mary's School, the writer-filmmaker plans to resume filming during the Diwali vacation. "I might shoot during the weekends as well but only if it's convenient for the kids. I don't want them to miss school," he reasons, adding that he should wrap up the film by mid-January.
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