Sanskrita Bharadwaj (HINDUSTAN TIMES; May 23, 2020)

Filmmaker Rima Das, whose film Village Rockstars (2017) was India’s official entry to the 91st Academy Awards, has been staying alone in Mumbai during the lockdown. “I was working on an untitled film with Tillotama Shome. More than 50% of the film was supposed to be shot in Mumbai and the rest in Assam. But now, the film is going to be on an indefinite halt. We would have had a crew with us. It looks very unlikely that shoots will begin anytime soon,” she says.

Talking about spending time on her own, Das says, she used to always like her own space “but this lockdown and Coronavirus pandemic are ‘forcing’ people to stay at home, which is increasing my anxieties about the uncertainty of things even more. How many movies can one watch now, it is getting a bit too much.”

Das wishes she was at her native place in Assam right now, but she is hopeful that she will be able to head back home soon. “We have to be hopeful in these times. That’s all we can do,” says the maker of films such as Bulbul Can Sing (2018) and Man With The Binoculars (2016).

Initially, Das who wanted to become an actor, says making her award winning film Village Rockstars was a journey of sorts for her. “I have heard people say negative things about it. But there will always be people who will say both positive and negative things. One has to be sensible enough to take something from both. When Man With The Binoculars didn’t do well, I was devastated, and I cried one day in the middle of the road, but I did not give up. I kept trying. Filmmaking is a journey. Some people are lucky, they get instant success but for others it’s a process, it’s not something that can be achieved in a day. You might even get success overnight but the effort, the dedication, the passion and the love for making films are a continuous process,” says Das who enjoys watching Majid Majidi and Andrei Tarkovsky films, and wishes to make more “realistic and experimental” films.

Saptaparna Biswas (BOMBAY TIMES; February 24, 2019)

With an enviable record of three acclaimed films to her name, National Award winner Rima Das is the toast of the international filmmaking community. Her film Village Rockstars brought the Assam girl critical recognition and fame, but few know that direction was not always on her radar. Rima went from Chhaygaon to Mumbai with dreams of becoming an actress. However, rejection and a chance encounter with works of Satyajit Ray, Majid Majidi and Abbas Kiarostami gave her a new direction in life, quite literally. After making waves with Village Rockstars, which was India’s official entry to the Oscars 2018, and Bulbul Can Sing, which is currently earning praises at multiple film festivals, Rima has overcome gender disparity and language barriers to emerge as an influential name in the field of filmmaking. In a chat with us, she speaks about breaking the glass ceiling, why women should believe in themselves and what can be done to make Indian films Oscar-worthy. Excerpts:

‘MANY PEOPLE DIDN’T BELIEVE IN MY METHOD AND QUESTIONED MY APPROACH’
At the Berlin International Film Festival aka Berlinale, festival director Dieter Kosslick pledged for gender equality in film submissions by 2020, in addition to ensuring better gender representation. Speaking about the same, Rima says, “I can happily state that India was well represented by Zoya Akhtar, Udita Bhargava and my films. These were screened with other big names of international cinema. I think this pledge shows that there is a conscious movement to decrease the gender gap in the field of cinema. It will certainly encourage women to tell the stories they want to.”

For Rima, the journey to her first directorial was not a bed of roses. She hit a low point in her life before taking things in her hands. She shares, “Women must put more faith in themselves than others. In my school and college, I was always the best actress. But in Mumbai, the story was different. I was not accepted because of things like my accent, no film school background etc. I slipped into depression and resorted to watching world movies alone. However, that proved to be a turning point as it opened a whole new world to me. The films mesmerised me and direction took over. I realised that I wanted to create my own world, rather than being restricted to that of others. That is when I decided to tell stories from my native village through my characters.”

With her cousin Mallika Das’ support and a new DSLR camera, Rima ventured into filmmaking. “When I started my first film, Man With The Binoculars, there were many who did not believe in my methods and questioned my approach towards topics. By the second film, I decided to overlook all these hiccups and stuck to my stories that spoke of a dreamy-eyed village girl Dhunu (Village Rockstars) or the free-spirited Bulbul (Bulbul Can Sing), despite the lack of faith from people in my craft.” Agreeing that it takes a lot more for a female filmmaker to prove their worth, especially if the film is speaking about women from their perspective, Rima says, “See, I’m a woman who has grown up observing things around her. So, when I tell stories, the issues that women face in India naturally get highlighted. Having said that, I don’t believe in shoving feminist issues in anyone’s face. I’d rather present them subtly, through organic visuals, for better understanding. Things have to be believable to be taken seriously.”

‘THE WORLD NOTICED THAT A WOMAN CAN SINGLE-HANDEDLY MAKE GOOD FILMS’
Rima doesn’t regret the struggle and, in fact, calls it her ‘film school education’. “Since I do not have any professional training, I have had to pretty much learn everything through the process of filmmaking. I was handling multiple departments at the same time. It was tough yet liberating. With Village Rockstars and Bulbul Can Sing getting international recognition, I finally found my footing, and the world noticed that a woman can also single-handedly make good films. Going ahead, I will collaborate with big production houses, mainstream filmmakers and more. In a way, the real struggle will begin when I do that,” says Rima.

‘VISIBILITY IN THE US IS KEY FOR AN OSCAR NOMINATION’
Though Village Rockstars couldn’t make it to the Best Foreign Language Film category at the Oscars, Rima refuses to get bogged down by the setback. Instead, she focuses on what more could’ve been done. “I think we need more time to market and promote our films. Visibility in the US is necessary. Members of the guild need to watch the movie. There are around 5000 members who vote for the top nominations after that. A total of 87 films from all over the world were in the category, including films like Roma and Shoplifters, which had ample visibility. We got only two months to campaign and promote Village Rockstars and that’s not enough,” says Rima, adding that support from the government and private firms is essential for any Indian film to make it to the Oscar nomination list.

‘SATYAJIT RAY SHOWED ME THE WAY’
When people drew parallels between Village Rockstars and Satyajit Ray’s Pather Panchali at a film festival, Rima was overwhelmed. “They said that I have a realistic and organic approach, just like Ray. I would say that Ray is the master who showed me the way. And there’s still a long way for me to go,” she concludes, hoping for better collaborations and stories to come forth in the near future, and this time, not just from Assam.

Rima Das, whose film Village Rockstars is India’s nominee for the 2019 Academy Awards, on why she doesn’t mind being an independent filmmaker
Kunal Guha (MUMBAI MIRROR; November 4, 2018)

“There were no natural disasters, we had fun,” says Rima Das, about the floods she experienced as a child in Kalardiya, 50 km southwest of Guwahati. “As a child, you looked forward to heavy rain and water all around. We would make rafts out of banana leaves to go to school, go fishing and sometimes, school would be shut too.”

It’s this childlike perspective that Das, 36, has tried to capture in her multiple National Award-winning Village Rockstars, which is India’s entry for the 2019 Academy Awards. Set in rural Assam, the film follows the story of a young girl who dreams of owning a guitar and forming her own band. Das says it’s a story that reflects her own dreams and aspirations. “Miracles happen. If you dream, they can be achieved,” says the one-woman-crew who wore multiple hats during the production — that of a director, producer, editor and cinematographer.

Das, who aspired to be an actress, considers herself to be an accidental filmmaker. When she arrived in Mumbai in 2003, after completing her masters in Sociology from Pune University and after clearing the National Eligibility Test (to pursue teaching like her father), it seemed her tinsel town ambitions would never take off. “I did a few plays at Prithvi, but I wasn’t getting the roles I wanted,” she says. “So I thought I would make a film and create a role for myself.” This is when Das came across the Canon 5D, “a small camera which offered cinematic results”. Her first “experiment” resulted in the short film Pratha (2009), which was well received on the festival circuit and gave her the “confidence to go ahead”.

A few years later, Das released her first feature Antardrishti (Man With The Binoculars), inspired by a friend who had purchased a pair of binoculars for his father in Kalardiya. The film, which was shot in Kalardiya, was completed in 2016. While Das was determined to make it to the front of the camera, she found being both an actor and director too much to handle. “I couldn’t focus on either and eventually direction took over.” Antardrishti was screened at Cannes in 2016, the Mumbai Film Festival and the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival in Estonia the same year. “When I started out, people told me there are 10,000 films submitted for Toronto Film Festival and 12,000 films submitted for Cannes, who is going to watch your film? But we are here, right? People told me a women empowerment film won’t win a National Award. But here we are.”

The idea for Village Rockstars struck Das when she was filming Antardrishti and came across a group of children dancing with make-believe musical instruments to a tune playing from a loudspeaker. As the movie enters its fifth week in theatres, Das feels “it’s truly a regional film that has gone mainstream.”

But this isn’t the response she expected. “When I made Village Rockstars, it was, for me, a festival film. There is no background score, there are many layers and it is not a structured film. But the response was heartening.”

Das credits the festival circuit as an enabler, as it “helps [the film] reach out to a wider audience”. “I didn’t even think of various interpretations [of the film] that others pointed out during the one-on-one audience interactions.” To create a buzz around her Oscar contender, Das has acquired an agent in LA and plans to host screenings to build awareness and generate interest.

While Das has received Rs 1 crore from the Assam government towards her Oscar campaign, she agrees that being backed by a studio would’ve made things smoother. On the other hand, she isn’t entirely sure if it would allow her complete autonomy over her project. “A few [studios] who have approached me lately, say they will give me the freedom to do whatever I want… but I can’t say how it would be because I haven’t experienced it yet. Mine has been a different journey,” she says. “When I take money from other producers, I would have to be more careful and listen to them too.” But she also admits that lack of funds can be detrimental when lobbying for a film that hasn’t had an international release. “There are 87 films being entered in the Best Foreign Language Film category so people should know about our film too. Films like Roma (Spanish) and Shoplifters (a Japanese film which won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival this year) are backed by big studios and can afford to spend over 10 crore to create visibility, we can probably spend one, but it’s OK. Why should films backed by big studios be the only ones to go for Oscars?”

Rima Das, the National Award winning filmmaker, whose film has been chosen as India’s official entry to the Oscars this year, charts the journey ahead
Rachana Dubey (BOMBAY TIMES; November 2, 2018)

Filmmaker Rima Das is relieved that the government of her home state, Assam, has contributed Rs 1 crore to help her promote Village Rockstars in the US. The National Award-winning film was unanimously chosen as India’s official entry to the Oscars, 2019. It beat 27 films, including contenders from Hindi cinema and other languages, to bag the honour two months ago. Back then, Rima, in her interview to BT, had said, “As an individual, it will be very difficult for me to gather so much money on my own. My journey with Village Rockstars began five years ago. I have made it with my own money and travelled with it all over the world. Now that it’s gearing up to represent India, the country needs to step forth and help it get there.”

Her plea was heard and the government of Assam, where the film was also shot, has contributed Rs 1 crore for her impending Oscar journey. More contributions, big and small, have also been made by individuals. Rima can’t thank the state government enough for their contribution. Manish Mundra, the producer of Newton, which was India’s entry to the Oscars last year, has also helped Rima with a handsome amount, though no one from mainstream Bollywood has stepped in to help her.

Rima says, “Promotions for the Oscar run is a very big deal and I am still figuring my way forward. Thankfully, I didn’t have to work too hard for the CM of Assam to grant the money. I value every penny and whatever little help that people have extended so far. My state was celebrating Village Rockstars’ selection for the Oscars. I met our CM and a couple of other ministers. Everyone has seen the film and they willingly came forth to help me.”

For Rima, the Oscar chase is unlike anything she has experienced in her journey across international festivals. With the money granted to her, she has hired a publicist and is seeking advice from some of her friends, who she met at international film fests. “We have hired a publicist. I have been travelling to festivals for three years now. I’ve found some genuine people who are guiding me for putting together a team that will help me publicise the film and cover some ground in the Oscar run. We are now looking at exploring other avenues for visibility in America. I’m paying everyone in instalments. Crowdfunding is not a cakewalk. People are chipping in. I am talking to corporates, too, but all this takes a while,” says the filmmaker.

Rima will head to Los Angeles on November 5 and spend two months there, promoting her film and screening it for the Oscar lobbyists. “People across the world have responded well to my film. So, I am hopeful that it will impress people at the Oscars, too,” she says. Rima had applied for visas for her child actors, Bhanita and Mallika, who headline the cast of her film. However, their applications were rejected. “I want them to travel to America and promote the film there. Their application was rejected for the lack of documents, but I will try again and hopefully, I will be able to fly them to the US, which will be great for the film’s visibility,” she explains.

The director, in the last two months, has not had time to breathe. She believes that every work of art has its own destiny, and though she panics sometimes, it always helps to be calm in every scenario. “I just hope we do our best,” she sums up.

With a month to go before the Oscar lobbying begins, director Rima Das rues lack of financial support for India's entry, Village Rockstars
Shaheen Parkar (MID-DAY; October 17, 2018)

Rima Das is on the threshold of realising one of the biggest achievements for a filmmaker - going to the Oscars. Her Assamese film, Village Rockstars, is India's official entry to the Academy Awards 2019 in the Best Foreign Film category. Though jubilant about the honour, Das says she has a tough road ahead - with no studio backing her small-budget film, the director lacks the financial resources required to promote it in Hollywood. Das is well-aware that lobbying is crucial to ensure that her film makes it to the final five nominees vying for the golden statuette.

"I made Village Rockstars on a budget of less than Rs 30 lakh. But to make it visible in Hollywood, I need money for marketing and promotion. I need to hire a PR machinery there and have to organise screenings for critics. My friend Adil [Hussain, whose film What Will People Say is the Norwegian entry] told me I need at least Rs 5 crore. How will I promote my film without any money," questions Das.

As a mark of support, the government of Assam, her home state, has promised her Rs 1 crore. "I have been assured that the tax will be waived. If taxed, I will get about Rs 68 lakh." Das adds that her friends and well-wishers have joined forces to raise funds for her trip.

No stranger to global acclaim, her film has done the rounds of several international film festivals. Before the lobbying of films kicks off in Los Angeles next month, Das hopes that her labour of love does not fall victim to scarcity of funds.

"Taking my cast to Los Angeles and staying there will cost me a tidy sum. I am now appealing to Bollywood stars to help Village Rockstars find a place in the world forum." She also points out that while previous Oscar entries have had their share of controversies, Village Rockstars has been universally applauded.

Independent filmmaker Rima Das’ Village Rockstars has been selected as India’s official entry to the Oscars. In a chat with BT, she talks about the challenges that lie ahead
Rachana Dubey (BOMBAY TIMES; September 23, 2018)

Independent filmmaker Rima Das has hit bulls-eye with her coming-of-age film, Village Rockstars. After impressing the National Award jury earlier this year, and bagging top honours, including the National Award for the Best Film, the Assamese film has been selected as India’s official entry to the Oscars which will be held early next year. The film beat 27 contenders, comprising Hindi, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and Gujarati films, to make its way to the top. The filmmaker has travelled with the film globally on her own steam. She produced, directed and shot it by herself with the help of one camera, one light and featured two children Bhanita and Manabendra Das from her village in Assam. Rima Das, who is currently in Assam, is elated with this news, but in a chat with BT, she says that taking this film all the way to the Oscars will be no mean feat. Excerpts…

The National Award put the spotlight on your film that had only been seen at festivals before that. And now, Village Rockstars will represent India at the Oscars. Would you say that you’ve had a dream run?
It’s a dream come true that the film has been unanimously selected to represent India at the Oscars. When I entered it for the Oscar selection, I was somewhere expecting that it will make the cut. I’m so happy that I got what I expected. The news came to me when I was at my village in Assam where I shot the film. Life has come a full circle. The children who have worked in the film are jumping with joy, although I am not sure how well they understand the gravity of the situation. It’s a huge task and responsibility to represent the country on a global platform like the Academy Awards. I don’t know how I will do it, because it needs a lot of money to promote the film and reach out to the right people at the right juncture. The film needs to get maximum visibility and a fair chance to surge ahead in the competition.

What’s the plan then?
I don’t know what will happen now. I will reach Mumbai on Monday and immediately start work on chalking out a plan for promoting the film in the US. Money is a huge constraint and I will address that with the Film Federation of India and whichever other bodies that I need to reach out to. As an individual, it will be very difficult for me to gather so much money on my own. I will need help and I will ask for it as openly as I can. I am an independent filmmaker. My journey with this film began five years ago. I have made it with my own money and travelled with it all over the world. Now that it’s gearing up to represent India, the country needs to step forth and help it get there.

In our last conversation, you underlined the fact that no studio, despite a National Award, was willing to back your film and give it a theatrical release. How do you plan to release the film now, given that it’s an important criterion for a film running for an Oscar?
Even before that article, I had been speaking to people, and after the article, a cinema chain partnered with me to release the film in seven cities in India and I will release it independently in Assam. The chain has a plan in place and the film will finally release in the country. I wish it had happened earlier. A film running for the Oscars has to have released in the country of origin on or before September 30. Thankfully, Village Rockstars releases on September 28. Since the film has been a part of the festival circuit for some time now, it has already been seen by many people, but the theatrical release will only help it grab more eyeballs. The class audience has seen it and appreciated it and I hope the mass audience will also like it as much.

There were 27 other films in the race for India’s entry to the Oscars, including some popular mainstream Hindi films. Almost every year, a controversy erupts over the choice of film being sent to the Oscars. So far, there hasn’t been any hue and cry about this year’s choice...
(Cuts in…) You know something? I am used to such talks. It happened when my film won the National Award this year. I am only grateful that my work was appreciated by the jury at the National Award and the Film Federation of India (FFI) Selection Committee. The number might be low, but even the aam junta who had seen the film didn’t question the selection. Yes, there are more people who are not aware and they might think that it is a vague choice. After my film won the National Award, several people told me that they would be interested in helping me release it nationally, but no one came forth when it was time to act on their words. Even now, everyone is saying great things. I hope they will stick to their words and help me out. Empty words hold no meaning. People can say anything they want about a selection, but what matters to me is that there are so many young boys and girls who love independent cinema and are willing to give such films a chance.



OTHER FILMS THAT WERE IN CONTENTION FOR THE OFFICIAL ENTRY

Hichki
October
Love Sonia
To Let
Halkaa
Pihu
Kadvi Hawa
Tumbaad
Manto
102 Not Out
Gulabjaam
Mahanati
Aa Karaala Ratri
Bogda
Rangasthalam
Reva
Mai Gayatri Jadhav
Bioscopewala
Best Of Luck Laalu
Kolamavu Kokila
Bhayanakam
Ajji
Nude
Gali Guleiyan 

Village Rockstars, this year’s National Award winner for the Best Film, has travelled to international festivals, but it hasn’t released in India yet. Here’s what the director had to say
Rachana Dubey (BOMBAY TIMES; August 9, 2018)

Even as she is gearing up to start work on her fourth film, director Rima Das has not been able to find a producer for the release of Village Rockstars, this year’s National Award winner in the Best Film category. By the time the film bagged the National Award, it had already travelled to 60 national and international film festivals, enjoying full-house screenings. So, what is it that stops Village Rockstars from making it to our cinema halls?

Rima says, “As an independent director-producer, I will release the movie in Assam and a few other cities. Big producers and studios don’t want to take any risk on content. They all talk about markets and the audience’s taste, but what they fail to understand is that markets need to be developed. I have been to many international festivals where children have watched my film and interviewed me for it. These countries work on developing the taste of their audience early on. As adults, these children will have a very different sensibility in cinema. That is what we need to do in India. Simply talking about the market not changing does not help. We need brave producers to back a film like Village Rockstars.”

As she is gearing up to start her fourth project, Rima hopes to get better resources and equipment. Though she is struggling to find support for her National Award-winning film, she admits that she has no regrets. “With the position I am in, I don’t have to bother about getting a producer. Yes, I will try and get more equipment for making my fourth film. Since I have been financing my films so far, I could create my journey the way I wanted to. I want to continue with what I am doing. That is liberation in the true sense,” she explains.

Has the National Award given her more opportunities? “I made Village Rockstars because of my passion for cinema; I wasn’t thinking about the market or the audience. The National Award has opened more doors for me, but I feel sad that a large part of the audience in India has still not seen the film, though it has been appreciated all over the world,” she replies.

Rima, who is based in Mumbai and grew up on Bollywood fare like Pakeezah and Mughal-E-Azam, reveals that she has never been to a film school, nor hasshe assisted a top filmmaker. “I have constantly been educating myself about the craft. When my work gets appreciated, it fills me with confidence to make the next film. I think, as a writer-director, self-belief is very important. For that, even if one has to start on a really small scale, the journey is worth it,” she signs off.

Mohar Basu (MID-DAY; October 20, 2017)

"Everything is possible with hardship,” declares Rima Das, who has toiled away for the last four years on her second film, Village Rockstars.

Her self-confessed hardship has borne fruit — the film bagged the Golden Gateway Award at the recently concluded MAMI Mumbai Film Festival. Not just that, it was also honoured with the Oxfam Best Film for Gender Equality and Young Critics’ Choice award.

Overwhelmed with the recognition, Das says, “When a film like ours achieves such an honour, it helps in reaching a wider audience. More people will write about it, which serves our purpose of putting across the message. We are hopeful that it will get a theatrical release now.”

Advocating women empowerment and self-actualization, the story revolves around a young girl who hopes to own a guitar someday and how her mother supports her musical dreams. Besides being an emotional mother-daughter story at heart, the film also delves into the socio-political scenario of Assam. “I am a solo producer on the project, so it was a task to amass funds. I shot with a single camera and used only natural light. Since major part of the cast included kids, we could only shoot as and when their school timings allowed us. As exhausting as it sounds, it was a thrill all along.”