Showing posts with label Ship of Theseus. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ship of Theseus. Show all posts
My pandemic script was called 2020-Anand Gandhi
8:10 AM
Ship Of Theseus director Anand Gandhi talks of Emergence, his work-in-progress piece since 2015, which he is eerily seeing play out in reality
Aastha Atray Banan (MID-DAY; July 12, 2020)
Anand Gandhi has been thinking about "a virus" for as long as he has been making movies. A concrete thought made an appearance in The Ship Of Theseus, his 2012 critically acclaimed film, where he questioned the idea of the alien microbes living in our body, and again in Tumbbad, 2018, a film he set in 1918, the year that the Spanish Flu struck India. "The genre of horror, especially zombie stories, have often been used to tell stories of the pandemic. In the US, these movies are backed by the Centre of Disease Control," he reveals.
Gandhi is also an innovator, systems researcher and co-creator of ElseVR, India's first virtual reality (VR) platform. He is also the founder/CEO of the Mumbai-based new media studio and systems think tank Memesys Culture Lab. It's even more reason to discuss viruses and pandemics now given the Coronavirus outbreak that the world is struggling with. Interestingly, since as early as 2015, Gandhi has been working on Emergence, a film surrounding a virus. The story follows four scientists, as they race against time to fight a pandemic that's threatening to destroy the world.
When we probe the genesis of Emergence, Gandhi says it started with him asking the "Who am I, where do I come from and what I am supposed to do?" questions. "It's the stuff children ask, and philosophers don't answer. I looked for answers in spirituality and history. Then, later, as the questions became more comprehensive, I started looking into evolutionary biology and cognitive sciences. All my previous movies have had hints of the question, what is human identity? We are not monolithic entities, we live in a ecosystem. Not just around us, but inside us. Inside us, there are trillions of bacteria that don't share our genome."
"So, we are a colony of organisms. For example, the bacteria in our gut affects our mood—people who have bad gut health tend to suffer from stress and anxiety issues."
This triggered conversations and Gandhi began thinking about a movie about a virus that changes the way humans behave.
When he started writing Emergence, he says he gave it the working title, 2020. Something he now calls prophetic. He began to seek out and have conversations with public healthcare specialists from around the world. "The more I dug, and the more I developed the story [of Emergence], the more I realised that this was an eventuality. When it did happen, my reaction was paranoia. But we have to live with it. Pandemics are like the stars in the night sky. They started their life a long time go, but have begun to reveal themselves now."
The fact that the Coronavirus pandemic caught up with Gandhi is not reason for him to despair. He is working on the movie even now as you read this, adapting it to the current circumstances. It helps that now, he can get straight to the crux of the story, without handholding the audience on the concept. "It functions as a story of caution, but also as one that celebrates resilience. But the quest is the same as before—to answer the question, what is human identity?"
Gandhi believes that although the virus is forcing us to change, many are not going to, since human behaviour is hard wired. "These emotions have been carried over for centuries. So, there will still be those who believe that the earth is flat and that a vaccine is going against the will of God. The virus is pretty new that way," he says, adding that he does think a policy change will come about, though. "It's a punctuation event in our lifetime—so big that people will die. We need to get the death rates down and and get to a vaccine soon. We have to learn how to live with the virus, and know that this [large scale spread] could recur again."
He admits that he is a year too late, but he is also happy that what he spent time studying about and pontificating on, wasn't off the mark. "That's why, it matters."
Still from Tummbad
Still from Ship Of Theseus
Madhuri Dixit to make her digital debut with Ship Of Theseus director's next
8:23 AM
Yet to shoot for her first web venture, sources say Madhuri Dixit-Nene has greenlit Ship of Theseus director's next for her second outing
Uma Ramasubramanian (MID-DAY; May 7, 2020)
The news of Madhuri Dixit-Nene making her web debut with a Netflix show backed by Karan Johar's Dharmatic Entertainment brought much cheer among her fans. Even as she has yet to shoot for the series, the actor has zeroed in on her second digital outing. According to the buzz, Dixit has given her nod to Ship Of Theseus director Anand Gandhi's web series, Saheli.A source reveals, "Anand has been developing the six-part drama over the past two years. The story spans over three decades from the late '80s to 2020. Mumbai, as a backdrop, is integral to the proceedings as the protagonist's journey runs parallel to the city's evolution."
The source adds that the Disney+ Hotstar show was slated to go on floors in July. However, with the recent turn of events, the schedule of the project will have to be re-worked. "After zeroing in on Madhuri for the lead role, the team had only begun the principal casting when the lockdown was announced and will resume pending pre-production work when the restrictions are relaxed."
mid-day reached out to Dixit, who did not wish to comment.
Irrfan Khan would have been in my next film-Anand Gandhi
8:18 AM
Anand Gandhi to kickstart the big-budget project in 2021 with a Hollywood studio; the script revolves around a pandemic
Ankita Chaurasia (MUMBAI MIRROR; May 6, 2020)
Stock scenes of Indians praying in front of the Taj Mahal for redemption in superhero and apocalyptic films, like Independence Day and Armageddon, irked a 15-year-old Anand Gandhi so much that he vowed to change the narrative. For the last five years, the filmmaker has been developing a script that revolves around four frontline women scientists, superheroes in their own way, fighting a contagion. Titled Emergence, it explores the impact of microbiomes on the psyche.“The idea came while working on Ship Of Theseus that tried to answer whether free will exists. I was intrigued to learn that microbiomes (bacteria in our body) play a significant role in our behaviour,” says Anand, whose next film Tumbbad was about how greed can possess and transform a person, much like a pathogen. “With Emergence, I’m taking the parasite-host relationship further.” He cites a parasitic fungus, Ophiocordyceps Unilateralis, that takes over an ant’s body, controls its mind and turns it into a puppet to perpetuate. Trying to focus more on science than fiction, Anand has roped in epidemiologist Larry Brilliant as Executive Producer, and host-parasite relationship scientist Shelley Adamo as advisor. “Larry spearheaded the team that eradicated smallpox and controlled polio.
Like a detective, he figures out the epicentre of a pandemic and calculates the R-naught of the contagion, which is a measure of how many people it can infect,” Anand says, adding that with Adamo’s advice, he has created a fictional microbe, which is a prion.
The script seems eerily prescient, now that a pandemic has brought the world to a standstill. “I started writing it five years ago, with the working title 2020. My script predicted the rise of right-wing politics, storage crisis for scientific data, paleomicrobe releasing from thawing of the Arctic and behavioral changes brought on by a pandemic. But there was so much research required that by 2017, the office joked that the film would have to be re-titled 2025,” Anand laughs, pointing out that futurists Anders Sandberg and Nick Bostrom, in their 2008 survey, had predicted a 60 per cent chance of over a million dying from a pandemic in this century. “The social implications and subsequent changes in the human species are a part of the narrative.” Has the outbreak changed his life? “I’m too privileged to complain. Besides, my team has been working out of our Goa office since two years.”
Anand is putting out video interviews, the latest one with Irrfan Khan, whom he met soon after Maqbool released. “My short film, Right Here Right Now, came around the same time. We drove to Pune once, and became friends over the years. That video is cathartic,” he says, adding that they had an unspoken pact that Irrfan would be in all his projects. “We explored possibility of his presence in Tumbbad before the final script and schedule changed things. He’d have been in Emergence too. I wish I had created something with him.”
Now, Anand will rework his script slightly as there is no need to define a contagion anymore. He plans to take Emergence on the floors next year. “The idea is not to make the first but the most well-researched film about a pandemic. It will be a big-budget project, we are collaborating with an American studio,” he says. How does he plan to shoot it amid restrictions? “A pandemic is the flipside of global mobility, but it won’t stop air travel. After studying the challenges, every industry will make its own social and physical rule-book to work around the situation, till a vaccine and a cure are found,” he concludes.
Both my posts on Photograph were shared on her stories by Sanya Malhotra-Basundhara Ghosh
8:13 AM
Sometimes, the essence of a film can be boiled down to a single scene. And, that's the scene Basundhara Ghosh highlights on her Insta page
Ekta Mohta (MID-DAY; June 9, 2019)
When Basundhara Ghosh moved away from home, she became more attached to it. It's a stereotype from every emigrant movie, from Swades to the second half of K3G, but stereotypes are based on truths. Currently pursuing her PhD in theoretical physics from the University of Geneva, Ghosh, 27, runs a passion project called Gangs Of Cinepur. It's an Instagram page, launched in November last year, on which she freeze-frames one scene from a movie with its subtitled dialogue, and offers her take on it.
"My day involves trying to understand the cosmos a little better, so movies are my biggest mode of relaxation," she says, over email. Her captions are quite lengthy. Because Murad's feelings for Safeena (in Gully Boy) can be as hard to understand as the mysteries of the universe. "When I write a caption, I often get to revisit and ponder over valuable life lessons. For example, a dialogue from the Malayalam movie Njan Prakashan reminded me about the importance of gratitude and not taking life for granted."
In fact, it is south Indian cinema that inspired her to start this account. "I grew up watching Hrishikesh Mukherjee and William Wyler films. Over the years, I have developed a wide interest in cinema. I had just started exploring Malayalam cinema, when I was blown away by its content. I had not been to south India until very recently, but through the movies, I already [felt a sense of belonging]."
Ghosh watches nearly one movie a day, and her taste is quite diverse, as reflected in her posts. She treats the original Golmaal with the same respect as Break Ke Baad (2010); finds similarities between Apu from Apur Sansar (1959) and Murad from Gully Boy; her post on Ship of Theseus (2013) followed her post on Kuch Naa Kaho (2003). "While it is important that we appreciate quality cinema, there are always some films that we go back to because of nostalgia. I value sentimental attachment to films, which go beyond technical brilliance. Apart from highlighting critically-acclaimed films, I also include those that hold a special place in my heart because of unexplained reasons: be it a touching story, a memorable soundtrack, or an actor I love."
Her analyses are appreciated by 7.3K readers, and have found an audience in the makers as well. "Both my posts on Photograph were shared on her stories by Sanya Malhotra, and director Vasan Bala shared my post on Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota. Even Srishti Behl Arya, [from Netflix India], personally messaged me." If films can teach you about life, film criticism has taught her about film. "My respect for actors, filmmakers, writers and cinematographers has grown immensely, and I have started watching more cinema-related videos. There is a lot of talent in India waiting to be tapped by the right people."
The page is her way of maintaining ties with India. As she says, "After I moved abroad, I started re-exploring my roots and my culture, especially beyond my own state. For an amazingly diverse country like India, there can never be a shortage of novelty that cinema offers. I would like to request any cinema lover who is reading this to allow their interests to go beyond popular Bollywood movies. There are gems out there that will take your breath away." Her page has a few recommendations to get you started.
Sohum Shah's journey: From selling edible oil to coaching with Nawazuddin Siddiqui
8:59 AM
A booming real estate business back in Rajasthan notwithstanding, Tumbbad's lead actor Sohum Shah and producer talks of what compels him to push the envelope in a creative and volatile field
Jane Borges (MID-DAY; November 4, 2018)
There's an incident from the making of the recently-released fantasy-horror film Tumbbad that director Rahi Anil Barve recounts with part amusement, part reverence. Since rain is an important trope in the movie - shot in nine different locations across rural Maharashtra - Barve had insisted on shooting certain scenes during the monsoon, when the sky was overcast. "But, the region was hit by drought, so rain was often playing truant," he says, over a telephonic interview.
"For days, our set of 200-odd people would wait on top of a cliff, where we had constructed a hill house [for the film], wondering when it would pour. Had it been any other producer, he'd have said, 'F**k these clouds, and let's get on with the shoot. You're wasting my time and money'. But, Sohum [Shah] would sit with us, and watch for those rain clouds."
When we meet Shah, Tumbbad's producer and greedy protagonist Vinayak Rao, we realise that patience is second nature for him. Dressed in distressed jeans and a black shirt over a white tee, Shah doesn't protest when we ask him to move between sofas and rooms, in an attempt for a decent shot at his Versova office. Instead, like a true producer, we overhear him telling the mid-day photographer why he should be watching Tumbbad on the big screen.
For Shah, 37, the last few weeks have been surreal. There's no other word to describe what the critical success of his new production, which has been six years in the making, means to him. Despite essaying central characters in Ship of Theseus (2012) as stock-broker Navin, Talvar (2015) where he played mean ACP Vedant Mishra, and the boy-next-door in Simran (2107), Shah's body of work has gone fairly unnoticed. Tumbbad lifts the veil on another brilliant actor in an industry that is otherwise, star-struck. Shah admits, however, he too, is guilty of venerating icons, and Shah Rukh Khan in particular.
Love for Bollywood
Having grown up in the small Rajasthani town of Sri Ganganagar, 400 km from Jaipur and with a population of 2.5 lakh, Shah, like most kids from the 90s, remembers repeatedly watching Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge and Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (KKHH). "The kind of positivity and energy that Shah Rukh brought to the screen, it could fill your life with a lot of happiness," he says. "I remember a doctor friend, who felt that she was going crazy while studying medicine. She told me that KKHH helped her snap out of depression. He has contributed a lot to our culture. To me, he's not just an actor, he is way above. I wanted to be exactly like him."
It's these starry dreams that vacuously occupied most of his teenage years. But hailing from a family, where money was hard to come by - his father was a commodity broker - he decided to assist him in his business, at the age of 14. "As much as I wanted to become an actor, I also wanted to contribute to the family, and improve our financial condition," he says. Two years later, he took over the business. "I went on to dabble in different kinds of commodity trade, including edible oil. Bahut papad bele."
Finally, Shah found success in real estate, and within eight years, he managed to establish himself as a businessman to reckon with, at least in Sri Ganganagar. "When I knew I could run my business on auto-pilot, I decided it was time to make the shift to Mumbai," he says. This was in 2008. Shah hasn't looked back.
Making movies happen
Before Shah moved lock, stock and barrel he had visited Mumbai briefly, somewhere in 2006. "At the time, I thought, I'd make a music video featuring myself and people would take notice of me. That way, I'd get some work. I was so naïve," he laughs. "On a common friend's suggestion, I enrolled in an acting school, but couldn't commit to it, because a lot of work was still stuck back home," he says.
He even befriended Nawazuddin Siddiqui, who hadn't yet tasted success with Kahaani and Gangs of Wasseypur, and took him to Sri Ganganagar for a month, where he trained with him for three hours daily, in between meeting work commitments. When he returned, Shah decided to give himself completely to the movies. "I came from a place, where I had achieved immense success. So, having to start again from scratch, was tough. But, I was not someone who'd live on the streets and survive on vada pav. Yes, Mumbai was a different landscape and initially, I did feel alienated, but I was crazy about the movies and determined to get a hang of it."
Shah first produced and acted in a gangster drama titled Baabarr (2009), which tanked at the box office. A year later, he met filmmaker Anand Gandhi, whom he credits for exposing him to good cinema. He went on to play Navin in the massive cast of Ship of Theseus, which Shah and Gandhi produced under the Recyclewala Films banner.
During the same time, Rahi, who wanted a non-star to play lead in Tumbbad, approached him with the film. "When I heard the script, I jumped. It felt like a grandmother's tale, which was very rooted and Indian," remembers Shah. But Rahi was struggling to get a producer on board. "After seven months of not hearing from me, Shah came back and said he'd produce the film himself," Rahi says.
Even as Tumbbad was in the making, Shah took on side roles in other films. He was last seen in Simran as Kangana Ranaut's love interest Sameer. "Sohum, if cast correctly, comes without baggage. He can easily slip into character and become the person, you imagined. He played the boy-next-door and convincingly," says Hansal Mehta, who directed the film.
That Tumbbad took so long to make, was also because Shah ensured that every aspect of the film, right from the storytelling to cinematography, the writing and the demon god, Hastar, that was first shot in prosthetics before they opted for VFX, was perfected to the last detail. On screen, Shah stands out as the gluttonous Vinayak, and is able to compellingly portray the character's grey shades. That he had to maintain his physique through the many years of shooting the film - he used traditional wooden weights to get the chiselled look - and changed over four coaches to learn Marathi, is reflection of his dedication. "Sohum believed in Tumbbad when nobody else did. It was my baby, but he nurtured it like his own," says Rahi.
Even after my National Award winning film, the kind of roles I was offered were terrible-Neeraj Kabi
7:49 AM
Neeraj Kabi, who returns to stage in a Naseeruddin Shah play, on why he is still an aspiring artist
Anuka Roy (MUMBAI MIRROR; August 27, 2017)
On a rainy Sunday afternoon, the first thing you notice as you enter Neeraj Kabi’s quaint Mira Road apartment is a poster of Ship of Theseus. The film directed by Anand Gandhi, not only won Kabi huge critical acclaim — the actor shed close to 18 kilos for the role of the monk — but also marked start of his entry into Hindi films.
The 49-year-old made his debut in the 1997 National Award winning Odia movie by A K Bir, Shesha Drushti (The Last Vision). Kabi will be shortly seen in a new play The Father, directed by thespian Naseeruddin Shah, which opens next month. “My last play was Marguerite Duras’s Gates to India Song, directed by Eric Vigner, in 2013. Films took up most of my time and theatre requires time. I wouldn’t have come back to theatre so soon, but I have, only because Naseerudin Shah is directing this play,” says Kabi with a smile.
His desire to work with Shah made Kabi say “yes” for his comeback play, almost instantly. “To watch Naseeruddin Shah at the rehearsal is such a joy. He is a man who will inspire anyone. The way he would come on stage and work tirelessly and continuously at the age he is at right now, is truly an inspiration to any actor,” he says. “The words actor and artiste are important to me. Charlie Chaplin was an artiste; Naseeruddin Shah is an artiste, which is beyond the actor. It takes the hell out of you to become an actor and then an artist.”
Hailing from Jamshedpur, Kabi had no plans of becoming an actor, or an artist for that matter. His initial plans entailed receiving a commerce degree from Symbiosis College of Arts and Commerce, Pune and then pursue an MBA. “I was very close to my teachers but I was not happy with the subjects. That’s when the sudden passion of acting came into my life,” says the actor.
It was a play — Ek Refugee Camp Mein — which he performed with his college team at IIT Bombay’s Mood Indigo fest in 1989, which marked his foray into acting. “We were adjudged the second best production and I won the best actor prize in that fest,” Kabi recalls. “It was this competition and the movies he watched while gate-crashing Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), which made him respect and think seriously about the craft. In fact, when I used to visit FTII, people used to encourage me. They used to say ‘You are a good actor, why are you pursuing commerce’. I was young and I think I got influenced.”
Incidentally, Kabi, though known for intensive acting workshops, has never undergone formal training in the art of performance. “I was determined that this is what I want to do. So, I started training myself. I used to go for acting and dance workshops. But mostly it was about inventing. I would come back and invent. Then I began teaching privately. I taught kids elocution, speech and drama. I was teaching myself as I was teaching others,” he says.
Kabi was clear that he didn’t want to follow anyone’s style of acting. “I know there’s something called method acting, but in my subconscious mind I wanted to create or invent. Like in a play, Hamlet, which I directed, I used Yakshagana and Dhrupad. One is a traditional dance form; the other is classical music, and then blending it with Shakespeare and interpreting that. That’s my style of work,” he elucidates.
Like many other actors of his ilk, Kabi’s acting journey was not a smooth one. Even after his National Award winning film, the kind of roles he was offered were “terrible”. However, the actor was determined that he was not going to compromise by taking up roles just for the sake of acting. Even though he was actively pursuing theatre and conducting workshops, “being adamant and arrogant about the kind of characters I want to essay in movies helped me focus and kept me going,” he says. “When you are saying no to work, you have to be ready to face the consequences. Until the Ship Of Theseus, those 22 years of struggle really shaped me as a person.”
Kabi shrugs when asked about his struggling days. “It’s too personal,” he says. “The only person who encouraged me and stood by me to follow this love and passion for acting was my then girlfriend and now wife (Deepali Kosta Kabi).”
Ship Of Theseus director Anand Gandhi scripts Kajol's next, produced by Ajay Devgn
7:54 AM
Ship of Theseus director's mother is the muse for the actress's next role
Avinash Lohana (MUMBAI MIRROR; November 18, 2016)
In a recent interview to Mirror (October 25) Ajay Devgn had revealed that he will be producing a film for his wife Kajol which will roll in January. "The script is locked, it's a humorous, emotional, slice-of-life film," he had informed.
Now,
Mirror has learnt that after Rohit Shetty's Dilwale opposite Shah Rukh
Khan in December 2015, Kajol's next has been written by Ship of Theseus
filmmaker Anand Gandhi and is likely to be directed by Rajesh Saathi. It
is a screen adaptation of Anand's Gujarati play, Beta Kaagdo, and
revolves around a mother-son relationship with the actress playing a
single parent.Anand who has written and directed well-received plays like Sugandhi, Pratyancha, Kshanotsav, Na and Janashtaru and one more in Gujarati, Chal Reverse Ma Jaiye, shared, "I had written Beta Kaagdo 15 years ago and it is inspired, in part, by my mother's life and her eccentricities. My mother has been my muse for the story. Kajol is a wonderful actress and I can't wait to see her render the part. I believe Ajay Devgn will produce a well-crafted film, which will work for audiences across the board."
Ask him if Ajay will be involved in other aspects of the film and he retorts, "He is producing the film, and he really enjoys the creative process. He brings very surprising and exciting ideas on the script."
Ship of Theseus, Anand's feature film debut, released three years ago. What's kept him away from direction? "I was busy with the documentary, An Insignificant Man, which I produced and Tumbad for which I was the creative director and executive producer. I also produced a couple of shorts and virtual reality documentaries and have spent the last year building Memesys, India's first virtual reality studio," he points out, adding that he will return to the director's chair the moment he writes a screenplay that will be "worth dying for".
While Anand's directorial debut went on to become the toast of the festival circuit while also receiving acclaim amongst cinegoers, his soon-to-be leading lady was recently asked at an event in Mumbai if she was crossing over to "art films" with her next. Kajol shot back saying, "I don't agree with this thinking, nothing can be called a mainstream or art film. There are only good films and bad films. We make films so that the audience can enjoy them, leaving their troubles behind to lose themselves in the story and the characters. I believe I am going to make good films." Touche!
I am not indulgent; maybe others are not giving it all they have-Sanjay Leela Bhansali
8:11 AM
Madhureeta Mukherjee (BOMBAY TIMES; December 17, 2015)
He paints pictures on
celluloid, history on film and magic on cinemascope. Leaving footprints
on the tinsel sands of an industry that weaves stories for eternity.
This enigma called Sanjay Leela Bhansali lives only so that he can
capture one more shot, and make one more film. With a stellar cast he
unfolds another epic love story, Bajirao Mastani, which has been a
12-year long dream. In this in-depth conversation, he talks about
passion and perfection, his fancies and flaws, and reveals the “slightly
strange world“ he lives in. And trust me, all this is laced with a
sense of humour, far from the intense, brooding man he is known to
be. Find out...
You take your obsession for filmmaking to another level. Is it true that during Bajirao Mastani you stopped living a normal life...like watching movies and going to restaurants?
I know nothing other than this. I can't drive a car, I can't even open emails and computers crash around me. I have worked for two years, every day. I run through the whole film in my head each day. It is not just about telling a story, my movies are a summation of all that I have become over the years. Good or bad, I don't know. My movies are personal notes of my whole life. I want to live so that I can capture one more shot, make one more film. I have totally surrendered myself to this.
Would you ever go back and change anything about any of your films?
I would change Khamoshi I was unhappy with a particular person in the cast (not Salman Khan, Manisha Koirala or Seema Biswas); I was quite traumatised and harassed. However, a lot of people think that was my best work as it was pure and not corrupt. I wasn't anybody back then, so they thought I wasn't indulging, but I was terribly upset. I think I didn't make any mistake in Black. There was one mistake in Devdas, but I won't ever tell anyone what it was.
Since Khamoshi, you stopped answering calls on the Friday of your movie release. Has that changed?
I came from nowhere and I struggled to put together a huge star cast for my first film. On the day of the release, I was informed, “Picture baith gayi hai.“ At first I didn't know what that meant, then it hit me and I was devastated. Those words have stayed with me. They came back to haunt me with Saawariya. But by then I was tougher, and I realised that your film can collapse, but your idea can't collapse, based on others' opinions. From Guzaarish onwards, I have started answering calls. But on such Fridays I tell people, “Don't call me.“ The scars still remain.
Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone say that you push them to the edge, sometimes even causing a breakdown. Yet, they want to work with you.
I believe that when you are pursuing that moment of magic on celluloid, you have to find something more and give it everything you have. If you don't want to give that to yourself and the audience...then you should not be working at all, leave alone with me. I cast people like them who are searching for excellence. If you don't search, you will have nothing to give. If one shot of walking across the room can take a whole day, I am ready to do it, even if the producers panic.
This is exactly my next question. A grand vision comes with massive budgets. Do numbers put pressure on your creativity?
I believe that I have spent every rupee deservingly, on every inch of my frame. When a film deserves the budget, we give it that much. Black didn't need the scale of Devdas or Bajirao Mastani. My team doesn't splurge, or go to fancy hotels to write. Every paisa goes into the film. Why do we say itne paise mein mat banao, log kya dekhenge? Our viewers are far more evolved than any producer or director in the country, who think that they have made the best film. My films might not be the biggest blockbusters, but I realise that my audience connects with me.
You are considered one of the most indulgent filmmakers in the industry. How do you react to it?
I am not indulgent. I think constructing a scene elaborately - with art, costume and visual drama - is not indulgence. Other people should do it too. Maybe others are not giving it all they have. If you say that creating the Taj Mahal is indulgence, then it is - in the eyes of the world. If you say he loved her and so he created a monument - then it is a monument. It is the way you look at it. What others call indulgence, I call commitment; the two should not be confused.
Do you feel jealous after seeing other filmmakers' work?
I liked Anand Gandhi's work in Ship of Theseus. I thought why didn't I make a film like this? I am capable of making this because I know which zone it is coming from. I like Anurag Basu's work, and Shoojit Sircar's Piku. I don't see too many films made by my contemporaries, but I get jealous when I see a good one. The genre is different and I can't compare, but I'm competitive. So I feel I have to go beyond it. I think to myself...this film is good but I hope the director's mind doesn't work in his next (laughs!).
Talking about competitiveness, Priyanka and Deepika said that you sulked because the two of them were bonding too much?
I was expecting their chairs to be back-to-back, making catty remarks about each other. I wanted some drama to unfold. Instead, they were like giggly schoolgirls. I wanted them to be competitive in the song Pinga. I know both of them are competitive in their minds. I told them...it's not that you both are really all plain Jane and simple, so show me that. But they didn't budge. Sigh! So, I said... go ahead and gossip about your shopping.
Bajirao Mastani has been caught in a string of controversies. Isn't it frustrating?
A film on a Maratha warrior on such a canvas has never been made. Leaving a handful of people, the rest will understand the spirit of this film. My films are like musicals, so there will be song and dance, but they are not meant to hurt anybody's sentiments. We are not being insensitive or writing off the greatness of the warrior. I have seen footage of Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi dancing in some place with locals, and the purpose is to reassure people that as leaders they are also like one of them. Bajirao was a great warrior (he was not a King); he lived with the soldiers and celebrated their victory. And if the celebration is shown through dance and music, why are people objecting to it? Why is it being looked upon strangely? It doesn't take away from the history.
Sanjay, there is this perception of you being intense and angry all the time. It's far from the real you, right?
I love humour and I can laugh at myself. After the whole day, I need to detox all my intensity. I don't know why I am portrayed as someone who is a little off in the head. I am aware that I don't have good social skills, I don't meet any directors. I don't interact much. I don't call them. When I meet people I don't know what to say, and they think I am dull, boring or simply disinterested. I live in a slightly strange world. When I am talking to you my perspective is different. I am thinking if you were sitting somewhere else, the setting could be different and I could have seen you more clearly. I can't ever stop being a filmmaker. I am seen less, I talk less, and I hardly interact with the media, so people outside the industry form their opinion based on the movies I make. They don't know that I can laugh at myself. I know how funny I can be and how funny I can look at times. I am tired of this image, and I want people's perception of me to change soon.
You take your obsession for filmmaking to another level. Is it true that during Bajirao Mastani you stopped living a normal life...like watching movies and going to restaurants?
I know nothing other than this. I can't drive a car, I can't even open emails and computers crash around me. I have worked for two years, every day. I run through the whole film in my head each day. It is not just about telling a story, my movies are a summation of all that I have become over the years. Good or bad, I don't know. My movies are personal notes of my whole life. I want to live so that I can capture one more shot, make one more film. I have totally surrendered myself to this.
Would you ever go back and change anything about any of your films?
I would change Khamoshi I was unhappy with a particular person in the cast (not Salman Khan, Manisha Koirala or Seema Biswas); I was quite traumatised and harassed. However, a lot of people think that was my best work as it was pure and not corrupt. I wasn't anybody back then, so they thought I wasn't indulging, but I was terribly upset. I think I didn't make any mistake in Black. There was one mistake in Devdas, but I won't ever tell anyone what it was.
Since Khamoshi, you stopped answering calls on the Friday of your movie release. Has that changed?
I came from nowhere and I struggled to put together a huge star cast for my first film. On the day of the release, I was informed, “Picture baith gayi hai.“ At first I didn't know what that meant, then it hit me and I was devastated. Those words have stayed with me. They came back to haunt me with Saawariya. But by then I was tougher, and I realised that your film can collapse, but your idea can't collapse, based on others' opinions. From Guzaarish onwards, I have started answering calls. But on such Fridays I tell people, “Don't call me.“ The scars still remain.
Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone say that you push them to the edge, sometimes even causing a breakdown. Yet, they want to work with you.
I believe that when you are pursuing that moment of magic on celluloid, you have to find something more and give it everything you have. If you don't want to give that to yourself and the audience...then you should not be working at all, leave alone with me. I cast people like them who are searching for excellence. If you don't search, you will have nothing to give. If one shot of walking across the room can take a whole day, I am ready to do it, even if the producers panic.
This is exactly my next question. A grand vision comes with massive budgets. Do numbers put pressure on your creativity?
I believe that I have spent every rupee deservingly, on every inch of my frame. When a film deserves the budget, we give it that much. Black didn't need the scale of Devdas or Bajirao Mastani. My team doesn't splurge, or go to fancy hotels to write. Every paisa goes into the film. Why do we say itne paise mein mat banao, log kya dekhenge? Our viewers are far more evolved than any producer or director in the country, who think that they have made the best film. My films might not be the biggest blockbusters, but I realise that my audience connects with me.
You are considered one of the most indulgent filmmakers in the industry. How do you react to it?
I am not indulgent. I think constructing a scene elaborately - with art, costume and visual drama - is not indulgence. Other people should do it too. Maybe others are not giving it all they have. If you say that creating the Taj Mahal is indulgence, then it is - in the eyes of the world. If you say he loved her and so he created a monument - then it is a monument. It is the way you look at it. What others call indulgence, I call commitment; the two should not be confused.
Do you feel jealous after seeing other filmmakers' work?
I liked Anand Gandhi's work in Ship of Theseus. I thought why didn't I make a film like this? I am capable of making this because I know which zone it is coming from. I like Anurag Basu's work, and Shoojit Sircar's Piku. I don't see too many films made by my contemporaries, but I get jealous when I see a good one. The genre is different and I can't compare, but I'm competitive. So I feel I have to go beyond it. I think to myself...this film is good but I hope the director's mind doesn't work in his next (laughs!).
Talking about competitiveness, Priyanka and Deepika said that you sulked because the two of them were bonding too much?
I was expecting their chairs to be back-to-back, making catty remarks about each other. I wanted some drama to unfold. Instead, they were like giggly schoolgirls. I wanted them to be competitive in the song Pinga. I know both of them are competitive in their minds. I told them...it's not that you both are really all plain Jane and simple, so show me that. But they didn't budge. Sigh! So, I said... go ahead and gossip about your shopping.
Bajirao Mastani has been caught in a string of controversies. Isn't it frustrating?
A film on a Maratha warrior on such a canvas has never been made. Leaving a handful of people, the rest will understand the spirit of this film. My films are like musicals, so there will be song and dance, but they are not meant to hurt anybody's sentiments. We are not being insensitive or writing off the greatness of the warrior. I have seen footage of Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi dancing in some place with locals, and the purpose is to reassure people that as leaders they are also like one of them. Bajirao was a great warrior (he was not a King); he lived with the soldiers and celebrated their victory. And if the celebration is shown through dance and music, why are people objecting to it? Why is it being looked upon strangely? It doesn't take away from the history.
Sanjay, there is this perception of you being intense and angry all the time. It's far from the real you, right?
I love humour and I can laugh at myself. After the whole day, I need to detox all my intensity. I don't know why I am portrayed as someone who is a little off in the head. I am aware that I don't have good social skills, I don't meet any directors. I don't interact much. I don't call them. When I meet people I don't know what to say, and they think I am dull, boring or simply disinterested. I live in a slightly strange world. When I am talking to you my perspective is different. I am thinking if you were sitting somewhere else, the setting could be different and I could have seen you more clearly. I can't ever stop being a filmmaker. I am seen less, I talk less, and I hardly interact with the media, so people outside the industry form their opinion based on the movies I make. They don't know that I can laugh at myself. I know how funny I can be and how funny I can look at times. I am tired of this image, and I want people's perception of me to change soon.
Great that people have noticed my work in Talvar despite Irrfan Khan's presence-Sohum Shah
7:53 AM
Sohum Shah, enthused by the overwhelming response to his character in the film, now extends boundaries
Avinash Lohana (MUMBAI MIRROR; October 22, 2015)
Sohum Shah has got rave
reviews for his turn as the rogue cop, ACP Vedant Mishra, in Meghna
Gulzar's
Talvar. The 32-year-old actor is understandably elated with the
feedback. “It was a grey character, I was surprised when I was offered
the role since it was quite different from the subtle character I'd done
in my previous film, Ship Of Theseus (SoT),“ he admits, saying he
signed the film because he felt it was thought-provoking.
He is happy it has renewed interest in the Aarushi Talwar-Hemraj Banjade
twin murders; the case Talvar is based on, saying it has had the 'desired impact.' Of course, there was the bonus of getting to work with
Irrfan Khan (who plays his superior Ashwin Kumar) Vishal Bhardwaj
(writer and co-producer) and Meghna Gulzar (director). “It's great that people
have
noticed my work despite the presence of an extraordinary actor like
Irrfan,“ he exults.
As part of his elaborate prep for the character, Sohum weaved a back-story for his character to understand him better. “I studied about the CBI structure and the different aspects of their functionalities. I mailed the entire back-story to Meghna,“ he adds.
Meanwhile, the actor has initiated a 'story search' online campaign across India to encourage new writing talent. “Ship Of Theseus began as an idea and was later converted into a script. We will short-list the entries and mentor the winner to develop a script that will be made into a film,“ Sohum reveals.
Is he writing a script too? “I can't write but I want to encourage those who can. We have so many talented people around who are unable to realise their potential due to various constraints. We want to give them a platform,“ he signs off.
As part of his elaborate prep for the character, Sohum weaved a back-story for his character to understand him better. “I studied about the CBI structure and the different aspects of their functionalities. I mailed the entire back-story to Meghna,“ he adds.
Meanwhile, the actor has initiated a 'story search' online campaign across India to encourage new writing talent. “Ship Of Theseus began as an idea and was later converted into a script. We will short-list the entries and mentor the winner to develop a script that will be made into a film,“ Sohum reveals.
Is he writing a script too? “I can't write but I want to encourage those who can. We have so many talented people around who are unable to realise their potential due to various constraints. We want to give them a platform,“ he signs off.
Ship of Theseus assistant director Maxima Basu sails into Aamir Khan's Dangal?
8:05 AM
Maxima Basu was a better choice for the biopic than Manoshi Nath and Rushi Sharma who were a little pricey
Sanyukta Iyer (MUMBAI MIRROR; June 24, 2015)
Maxima Basu who was an assistant director on Danny Boyle's Oscar
winning Slumdog Millionaire and Ship of Theseus, and who designed the
costumes for Peepli (Live) and Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Goliyon Ki
Raasleela: Ram-Leela, has now bagged another much-coveted project. She
will style Aamir Khan for his upcoming production, Dangal, which has him
playing a retired wrestler who coaches his two daughters to glory. The Nitesh Tiwari directorial had earlier roped in Manoshi Nath and Rushi Sharma who had done the costumes for two of 2015's biggest hits, PK and Queen. Manu-Rushi, as they are fondly called, have had a long association with Aamir, having worked with him in Talaash, Dhoom 3, Satyamev Jayate and more recently PK.
"The duo had started work on the film but Aamir who is also the film's coproducer was not happy with the remuneration they quoted which didn't fit the financial framework of the project," says a source close to the production.
He wanted someone who was easy on the film's budget and also had a more realistic touch. "Maxima who had worked extensively on Peepli (Live), which was also an Aamir Khan production, and Ship of Theseus presented by wife Kiran Rao has now been roped in. And Dangal which is in pre-production, is sailing smoothly," adds the source.
Ship Of Theseus now goes digital for film lovers
9:00 AM
Seema Sinha (BOMBAY TIMES; June 7, 2015)
Actor-producer Sohum Shah,
who won acclaim for the role of a young stockbroker in
the film Ship Of Theseus, is excited about a new initiative from his
production outfit. The National Award-winning film (2013) is entering a
new phase of existence, as it has been made free to watch and will be
available for cinema lovers across the world. The film's raw footage and
soundtrack spanning 34 hours have been put up online. Anyone can
download all the source material from their website, edit the clips and
make their own version of the film.
“I hope this will be a great resource for film students everywhere. This is our contribution towards keeping ideas free for everyone to use,“ said Sohum, who heads Recyclewala Films, with director Anand Gandhi.
He further elaborated, “Once a film completes its process of getting made and reaching out to audiences, it becomes part of the culture. It can't be owned by anyone. It's for all of us to share in. In almost all cases, the footage just lies there in the archive. Our idea is to give public access to it, for free, and see what comes out of this.“
Sohum is currently wrapping up the final schedule of his production's next feature, the fantasy period epic, Tumbad, and will soon be seen in Vishal Bhardwaj's next production.
“I hope this will be a great resource for film students everywhere. This is our contribution towards keeping ideas free for everyone to use,“ said Sohum, who heads Recyclewala Films, with director Anand Gandhi.
He further elaborated, “Once a film completes its process of getting made and reaching out to audiences, it becomes part of the culture. It can't be owned by anyone. It's for all of us to share in. In almost all cases, the footage just lies there in the archive. Our idea is to give public access to it, for free, and see what comes out of this.“
Sohum is currently wrapping up the final schedule of his production's next feature, the fantasy period epic, Tumbad, and will soon be seen in Vishal Bhardwaj's next production.
Me & Anupama got a chance to head MAMI because we can do the job & not due to gender-Kiran Rao
7:54 AM
Kiran Rao, the new chairperson of the Mumbai film festival, shares her plans and expectations
Roshmilla Bhattacharya (MUMBAI MIRROR; November 29, 2014)
In yesterday's Mirror, Shyam Benegal, former chairperson of MAMI, lamented about the lack of funds and is putting his faith on you to make it a cash rich fest.
I'm grateful to Shyam babu for investing so much trust in me. We've started our quest to get the right partners on board and we intend to scale up the scope of the festival.
Will you partner with Reliance, which pulled out at the nth hour this year, putting the festival in jeopardy?
Reliance has put their support behind the festival for five years. It's time to look for other options. But if they show interest, we are open to talks.
Some of the winners of the festival's competition section are yet to receive their cash prizes...
We'll make sure they get their prize. Earlier too, it was given in stages depending on when the pledged money came through. Raising funds was a real struggle this year.
This year, the audience was limited to members of the film fraternity and journalists, how do you intend to involve the aam janta?
MAMI was never restricted to an elite few. It's open to anyone interested in good cinema. This year, because of the uncertainty over the venue, issuing of passes to public started late. And that is why there were fewer footfalls. We'll rectify that.
How will you pacify SoBo regulars who are upset because the venue moved to the suburbs this year?
We have to increase screening venues and ensure that people across the city can enjoy the fest. This year, because of financial constraints, we had to stick to just three venues, all of which were in Andheri-Juhu. Eventually, we'd like one easily accessible hub, which will make the fest a 360-degree-experience. I want MAMI to move beyond cinema and theatre.
Are you looking to rope in big international names next year?
In the last 17 years, MAMI has roped in good international talents as filmmakers and jury members. That will continue. We want to make MAMI the most important festival for Indian filmmakers. We want to premiere and screen regional films from across the country.
Any lessons learnt from IFFI?
I only attended IFFI while studying in Delhi. It has an excellent film bazaar. There are 40-odd festivals in India and the bedrock of any fest is not the stars or the studios, but the quality of programming.
With you as chairperson and Anupama Chopra as festival director, its women power on show.
I don't believe we got this opportunity for our gender but because we can do the job. Women bring in their perspective to everything they do. We are looking for programmers and volunteers who have the right skill set, gender is hardly a factor.
Do you have a mentor's role planned for Mr Benegal?
He's a founding member, how can we do without him as an advisor and inspiration? It's because of him that I got involved last year. I'd warned him that with such a young child at home, I wouldn't be able to spare much time. But with the festival in choppy waters, I had to take on a bigger responsibility. I got my education in cinema from watching films at such festivals. We complain that we're not getting to see the kind of cinema we want to. It was time to put words into action. All of us are in this for our passion for cinema.
Ship of Theseus, which you presented, won awards and accolades globally. Will you collaborate with Anand Gandhi on his next?
I know what the film is about but I haven't read the script and we haven't spoken about any collaboration yet. I've seen a lot of good films this year but none have affected me enough to extend my support. Although Fandry (Marathi) was an exception. But by the time I saw it, it had released.
Buzz is, your next directorial will be set in Kolkata.
I have to first finish one of the many half-complete scripts lying around.
Is Azad interested in films?
No, the cinema bug hasn't bitten him yet. As of now he has to be content with a few cartoons. He spends most of his time outside with his friends.
Is the renovation on your old house complete?
There was talk about redevelopment; I'm clueless about what's happening. We are happy in our rented apartment.
Sohum to work with Irrfan Khan in Meghna Gulzar-Vishal Bhardwaj's next
8:35 AM
Garima Sharma (BOMBAY TIMES; June 15, 2014)
After making his mark with Ship Of Theseus,
Sohum Shah will now be seen in Meghna Gulzar's next. The intense
thriller, written and produced by Vishal Bhardwaj, will go on floor
soon. Sohum will be seen playing an investigating officer along with
Irrfan. Says Sohum, “It's an honour to share space with Irrfan. It will
be an opportunity to learn from someone who is one of the finest actors
today."Working with Vishal and Irrfan had been on the young actor's wishlist, especially since his skills have been compared to the latter. As a rank outsider, he couldn't have asked for better as his second film is now with the two. He says, “I'd like work that gives me sleepless nights and demands complete submission to my craft. I deeply admire how Vishal Bhardwaj does exactly that to his actors with his films."
Post this, the actor will work on his home production Tumbad.
Siddharth Roy Kapur has the most fun at success bash of Shahid-Ship Of Theseus
7:54 AM
Ankur Pathak (MUMBAI MIRROR; May 15, 2014)
Late Tuesday, the cast and crew of two National Award-winning films, Hansal Mehta's Shahid and Anand Gandhi's Ship Of Theseus, gathered at a Bandra watering hole to celebrate the honours. The party began at 10 pm and continued till 2 am, with everybody from Shahid's leading man, Rajkummar Rao, to SoT's presenter, Kiran Rao, dancing to the tunes of Tune Mari Entriyan, Lungi Dance and Besharmi Ki Heights.
"It's ironical that we're celebrating the success of two Indie films with chartbusters from masala movies," Anand laughed, adding that his next instalment, the Sohum Shah-starring Tumbad will make its way to the theatres only in 2015. He brought his 79-year-old grandma along who was seen cheering his moves sitting at one corner.
Rajkummar arrived at the stroke of midnight and hit the dance floor as soon as the DJ turned the London Thumkada track and ladylove and Citylights co-star Patralekkha kept him company.
But the show stealer of the evening was Siddharth Roy Kapur. The Disney MD's enthusiastic dancing took everyone by surprise. As soon as Rowdy Rathore's Chinta Ta Ta came on, Vidya Balan's husband hijacked the dance floor with killer moves that would have given the film's director-cum-choreographer Prabhu Dheva a run for his money.
"Now if only Vidya Balan was here to catch Sid go ballistic like this," laughed a guest.
Do films, acclaimed at prestigious festivals, make a recovery for it's makers?
8:30 AM
Shakti Shetty (MID-DAY; May 1, 2014)
67th Cannes Film Festival is slated to commence from May 14 onwards and as has been the case over the past few years, the presence of Indian films — even if not Bollywood — will be duly noted this time too.
Last year, Ritesh Batra’s The Lunchbox won the Grand Rail d'Or before winning rave reviews in other film festivals and releasing in India. In fact, it went on to become the highest grossing foreign language film in the US in 2014. Here was a rather rare case of an Indian film not only earning recognition on an international platform but also successfully translating it into commercial gains.
This begs the question: What happens to the majority of films from India that do the rounds of film festivals? Do the filmmakers earn much in the long run? Not really, says Vikramjit Roy, general manager, National Film Development Corporation of India (NFDC). He says, “A film like The Lunchbox created a new benchmark because it had the potential to engage audiences at film festivals. But in the international market, a film’s success depends entirely on its quality. If a film has universal charm, then it’s going to get eyeballs even in non-NRI areas. What else can explain The Lunchbox’s screening and subsequent popularity in so many countries?” It’s worth noting that The Lunchbox released in India much after its festival run.
Hansal Mehta’s Shahid, Anand Gandhi’s Ship of Theseus and Ashim Ahluwalia’s Miss Lovely too tasted fame in the festival circuit before winning favour among the masses. Vasan Bala’s Peddlers, however, hasn’t been so fortunate. After premiering at Cannes in 2012, the crime thriller is yet to release in India.
Reach over profit?
On being asked whether the festival circuit helped him financially, Bala shrugs saying that it’s a matter of perception more than statistics. “A film sent to a film festival may or may not make considerable amount of profit but the primary idea is to seek an audience. If my country doesn’t want my film, I’ll search for eyeballs somewhere else. And all this while, I can’t keep looking at the accounts. I will keep moving ahead.”
Ahluwalia takes a more holistic approach though. “You don’t send a movie to a film festival with the sole objective of reaping profits. Sometimes, it’s solely about prestige.”
Win-win for everyone
However, that is not to say that producers don’t seek a proper Friday release. In fact, thanks to increasing awareness about film festivals, these challenges are being met head on by filmmakers.
For instance, Ship of Theseus, which recently won the National Award for Best Feature Film, began its journey at the Toronto Film Festival in 2012. Gandhi is grateful to the festival machinery as it helped him build the momentum. But he points out that there’s much more to overseas screenings than instant commercial advantage. “Film festivals give us access to international markets. The idea is to make audiences watch a different kind of cinema. A film festival also lends a film much needed visibility that might just help in making more money,” says the 33-year-old filmmaker.
Meenakshi Shedde, film critic and film festival curator, states that film festivals are all about the profit. “Sadly, in our country, we think every festival-hopping film is non-commercial. This mentality is the reason why we are left behind in the global markets, especially in the non-diaspora countries. All over the world, film fests help increase box returns. After all, film festivals are meant to benefit both sides — the festival organisers as well as the filmmakers,” she says.
67th Cannes Film Festival is slated to commence from May 14 onwards and as has been the case over the past few years, the presence of Indian films — even if not Bollywood — will be duly noted this time too.
Last year, Ritesh Batra’s The Lunchbox won the Grand Rail d'Or before winning rave reviews in other film festivals and releasing in India. In fact, it went on to become the highest grossing foreign language film in the US in 2014. Here was a rather rare case of an Indian film not only earning recognition on an international platform but also successfully translating it into commercial gains.
This begs the question: What happens to the majority of films from India that do the rounds of film festivals? Do the filmmakers earn much in the long run? Not really, says Vikramjit Roy, general manager, National Film Development Corporation of India (NFDC). He says, “A film like The Lunchbox created a new benchmark because it had the potential to engage audiences at film festivals. But in the international market, a film’s success depends entirely on its quality. If a film has universal charm, then it’s going to get eyeballs even in non-NRI areas. What else can explain The Lunchbox’s screening and subsequent popularity in so many countries?” It’s worth noting that The Lunchbox released in India much after its festival run.
Hansal Mehta’s Shahid, Anand Gandhi’s Ship of Theseus and Ashim Ahluwalia’s Miss Lovely too tasted fame in the festival circuit before winning favour among the masses. Vasan Bala’s Peddlers, however, hasn’t been so fortunate. After premiering at Cannes in 2012, the crime thriller is yet to release in India.
Reach over profit?
On being asked whether the festival circuit helped him financially, Bala shrugs saying that it’s a matter of perception more than statistics. “A film sent to a film festival may or may not make considerable amount of profit but the primary idea is to seek an audience. If my country doesn’t want my film, I’ll search for eyeballs somewhere else. And all this while, I can’t keep looking at the accounts. I will keep moving ahead.”
Ahluwalia takes a more holistic approach though. “You don’t send a movie to a film festival with the sole objective of reaping profits. Sometimes, it’s solely about prestige.”
Win-win for everyone
However, that is not to say that producers don’t seek a proper Friday release. In fact, thanks to increasing awareness about film festivals, these challenges are being met head on by filmmakers.
For instance, Ship of Theseus, which recently won the National Award for Best Feature Film, began its journey at the Toronto Film Festival in 2012. Gandhi is grateful to the festival machinery as it helped him build the momentum. But he points out that there’s much more to overseas screenings than instant commercial advantage. “Film festivals give us access to international markets. The idea is to make audiences watch a different kind of cinema. A film festival also lends a film much needed visibility that might just help in making more money,” says the 33-year-old filmmaker.
Meenakshi Shedde, film critic and film festival curator, states that film festivals are all about the profit. “Sadly, in our country, we think every festival-hopping film is non-commercial. This mentality is the reason why we are left behind in the global markets, especially in the non-diaspora countries. All over the world, film fests help increase box returns. After all, film festivals are meant to benefit both sides — the festival organisers as well as the filmmakers,” she says.
I am not very keen on getting married; that’s why I do characters like these-Kangana Ranaut
9:29 AM
Aanchal Tuli & Kashika Saxena (BOMBAY TIMES; April 21, 2014)
Kangana Ranaut and Vir Das on their outrageous characters in Revolver Rani, the ephemeral love of the audience and the tussle between critical acclaim and mass popularity. Excerpts:
Queen attracted a lot of family audiences and made you a household name. Are you worried that that crowd is going to go for Revolver Rani and come out quite surprised?
Kangana: I am. It feels nice to be in a place where you have nothing to lose and you can just keep saying yes to films. After Queen, it’s been overwhelming, how people would call me from the theatre and say, ‘This theatre is full of people over 60. We can only see grey hair or no hair. And they’re laughing, cheering, crying.’It was overwhelming how these people connected with me. With Revolver Rani, I didn’t think like that. It’s an outrageous film, and you can’t relate to this character. It’s a completely dark character, and the film is darker than that. But I think they might just like this too.
You had also said that no one is going to marry you after they watch Revolver Rani? Do you really feel that way?
Kangana: See, I myself am not very keen on getting married and that’s why I do characters like these (laughs), and also, I was asked if I would like to get married at the Taj Mahal and that’s where this came from. But I do believe that our country is not as evolved as the audience in the West. There is a lot of vyakti pooja in this country. And they really think you’re that character. After Queen, girls used to come and hug me, and I was like, ‘No, you can’t touch me like that’, and they would be like, ‘No, but we love you’, and I was like so what! So, you can’t be like Anthony Hopkins and play a baby meat eater and still be loved for that, for doing those courageous roles or like Nicholas Cage, be a real baddie and be loved. I do understand that and I really don’t care. It’s all right.
A lot of actors use the words warmth and love. There’s this perception that the people who come to see them in droves actually love them. But then, when Yuvraj Singh comes back from surgery, the world loves him. And then he can’t score in a match and people throw stones at his house. Actors tend to use the word love, when sometimes people are just the flavour of the season. Actors don’t owe it to their fans, that just because they love me I should do it. Fans outgrow you in two days.
Kangana: It’s very hard to come to terms with that. I never felt like this before Queen, but once in a while such films come, when people connect to the actor on a higher level, and that is overwhelming. And that is, in a way, a spiritual sort of experience. You can get addicted to that experience. For it to slowly dissolve is one thing, but for you to lose it, that’s a difficult thing to deal with. As opposed to when everyone just says bad things about you, so then you also make these cool statements and be the b***h. It’s easier to be like that, as opposed to when you’re loved.
Is love opposed to critical acclaim? The National Awards list came out recently, and the five movies that made the least money in the whole year were all there. If tomorrow you get a film offer from those directors, they are unlikely to get you too much love because no one sees those films. So, public acclaim versus critical appreciation?
Vir: I learnt something very cool from Aamir (Khan) once. He said that it’s more important for your fans to trust you than to flatter you. It’s about a relationship of credibility with the audience, that’s the only thing that leads to longevity. You know an Aamir film comes once a year. You are going to go see that film because there is a trust. You may not want to know what he’s wearing, where he lives, but you’re going to go see the film because of his immense credibility. Actors like Rajkummar (Rao), films like Shahid or Ship Of Theseus — I think credibility has more longevity than flattery. Queen is one of those films that got both.
Will you sign a movie like Ship Of Theseus, Kangana, which might not run for too long?
Kangana: Yes. This is how I see it. Everyone values that human being who is more concerned about others than his own personal goals. That person is more valuable to everyone.I think few makers go beyond just entertainment and pleasing people by sensual pleasures. Films like Ship Of Theseus are so great and one must watch them. I know no one would like to sit through them again and again but they must be watched. Cinema should have that sort of responsibility. If these people aren’t thinking about money and commercials, how difficult it must have been for them.They should be respected and felicitated. If tomorrow I get such an opportunity, and I am in my senses, I should definitely be doing such work. As individuals, there are things that we do as our personal goals, but if one can go beyond that, it’s a nice thing to do. I have done Revolver Rani. I mean, that’s such an act of selflessness (laughs). I mean,who could have done Revolver Rani? Kabir (the director) was going crazy. Every actress who was hearing the script was like, ‘What?!’ So, they finally decided that they should take Irrfan Khan, make him a woman and then make this film.
Vir: No chance I would have done the film then. I am a good actor but I am not that good an actor.
Kangana: Tishu sir (Tigmanshu Dhulia) knew me, so he said, ‘Let me talk to Kangana’. Kabir said, ‘Why are you bothering’. When I heard this narration with my sister and came out, her face was pale, because she knew I was going to do it. She told me, ‘You are not doing it’. I said I will. She said, ‘How will you play a chaalis saal ki baanjh who has a toyboy and who throws money to sleep around? You can’t do this!’ I was like, yes!
Vir, you play a toyboy in the film, so how was that experience?
Vir: The first time I heard this script, I instantly looked at Kabir, and said, ‘I am not your guy. I am wrong for this, please, why me’. My character is this alpha male, always had his way with women, morally vacant, used people and left them, doesn’t take his eyes of the ball, power, fame, success, money, willing to sleep with anybody, kill anybody, be violent, abuse anybody to get what he wants. My reference for him was a Roadies contestant. You know those Roadies candidates, ‘Main kar ke dikhaunga, kuch bhi’, they have that. I think, in my head, he’s a cross between a Roadies contestant and a victim of 80s Bollywood. He’s very like, ‘Main kar ke dikhaunga and baba ka sandwich kahan hai?’ He’s that guy where if you had a conversation with him, in under two minutes, the muscle he worked up that day would be part of the conversation. If a girl sent him an SMS, he would show it to six other testosterone-filled boys. The strange thing with him is that he is very filmi and is very wannabe and he overacts. I am acting like somebody who is overacting. The dichotomy here was, and I was telling Kabir also, how do I play a bad actor without acting badly? How do you overact without overacting? How do you play filmi without being filmi yourself?
In the promos, there are so many scenes where Kangana or someone else is directly talking about your masculinity or the lack of it. Did that bother you?
Vir: It bothered the hell out of me, but it helped with the role. This character has a certain arch and a certain frustration that explodes, and Kabir shot it in a way where I genuinely felt that way to get into the character. It was one of those films where I put too much pressure on myself because I was with these amazing actors. So, I felt as genuinely frustrated as I could feel so that it could help with the film.
When you’re acting as a team, how important is it that you personally like your co-star? Like, if you look at his face and you hate him, can you still do the scene together?
Kangana: That’s how it’s been for me, most of the times, but not with him (laughs). But that’s all right. It shouldn’t change anything. For me, somehow, I really do envy the older actors who say, ‘We used to have a party on the sets. There were no vanities, no phones,a nd we used to share books and meals and have picnics under the trees and all of that. That’s not how it is. These days, people don’t talk to each other and it’s just like who will say hi first. No one talks to each other, especially me. And that’s also because I do these very intense characters where I can’t afford to be exercising my sense of humour. So, I have to stick to business. But I don’t know about him. He must be one of those jolly, happy-go-lucky kinds.
Vir: Ya. This film was tough because everybody in this film is so gritty; even the caterer is gritty in this film. I showed up with my guitar, you know, happy and enthu. But like I said, this is a different university of cinema where you know not to be boisterous, and to give actors their space is something that I’ve also learned on this film.
There are so many crazy accessories in Revolver Rani, Kangana, if you get a chance to take back something from the sets, what will you take?
Kangana: Honestly, her style is not something that I aspire for because everything she wears is so crazy — those vintage shades or those metallic bras.
Vir: I’ve taken those.
Kangana: What?
Vir: The metallic bras.
Kangana: (laughs) Now those are gone too. I think I’ll take the combat boots, those were really cool.
Documentary that 'inspired' Gulaab Gang to release before the film, on Feb 21?
7:51 AM
Sonali Joshi Pitale (MID-DAY; February 4, 2014)
Sohum Shah and Anand Gandhi are backing the release of the documentary Gulabi Gang that will release just before Soumik Sen’s film Gulaab Gang. Directed by Nishtha Jain, the documentary is set to release on February 21 and it is said that Sen’s film has drawn inspiration from this documentary.
A source says, “Soumik and his team have referenced this documentary extensively as it was shot two years ago and has already been to many film festivals. But ironically, the documentary was not getting much support here. Moreover, Gulaab Gang’s makers have not taken permission to make a film on the life of Sampat Pal, who leads this group of pink sari clad women in real-life.” Seeing the lack of support for the documentary, Sohum and Anand decided to present the same.
“Documentaries often do not get a proper platform. Our own film, Ship Of Theseus, saw a theatrical release because of Kiran Rao’s support. Now we are taking the opportunity to help Nishtha. However, I am not sure if Soumik has copied anything from the documentary as I haven’t seen his film,” says Sohum, adding that there is no hidden agenda behind releasing the documentary ahead of Sen’s film that releases on March 7.
Sen’s film stars Madhuri Dixit in the lead role and Juhi Chawla as the antagonist. Upon being contacted, the filmmaker denied drawing inspiration from the documentary. “My film is a work of fiction,” Sen said. However, another source insists, “There are a few incidents in the film which are rooted in reality and are strikingly similar to Sampat’s story.”
Star can be bigger than film but they bring change by backing a project-Kiran Rao
7:44 AM
Yolande D'Mello (MUMBAI MIRROR; February 4, 2014)
The good people at Good Pitch 2 are in Mumbai to help six documentary filmmakers form alliances that will fund, distribute and promote their craft. Kiran Rao on coaching talented minds.
Was your decision to present Anand Gandhi’s Ship Of Theseus a way to cement your stand on promoting independent filmmakers.
It wasn’t a statement. That was the first time I decided to present a film because I was moved by it. Before that I didn’t believe that I could do much. But Aamir (Khan) and Anand believed in me and made me see that I could bring a certain appeal and take a film to the theatres and the audience.
How did you get involved with Good Pitch 2?
I love watching documentary films. Sophy Vsivaraman brought Good Pitch 2 to India. We met a couple of times to discuss the panelists. I bounced off some names and made some connections for the event.
How does it work?
Filmmakers apply for the event through the website. They have to upload a video of themselves. Once they are selected for a particular venue (previous sessions have been in New York, Chicago, Taipei), they invite panelists to sit in for a session. The films are at various stages of production. Some filmmaker who have put in their own money need funding partners to complete the shooting. Others need distribution channels. We hope to build these bridges through the pitch.
Who can be a panelist?
Amnesty International, Ernest and Young, Ford Foundation as well as independents make up the panel which changes for each film. There are panelists who have been invited because they have a direct connect to the cause mentioned in the documentary and some who are simply interested in good cinema. At previous Pitch meets, we had audience members walk up to the microphone and say "I’d like to share my contact with the filmmakers. Hope they help"
What was the biggest challenge you faced?
Public speaking, each filmmaker has seven minutes to sell his idea to the audience and the panellists. This includes playing the trailer. While filmmakers are able to communicate with a large audience through their films, speaking in front of 200 guests can be daunting. We met at my house for three days to finetune their ideas.
You called yourself a catalyst. What is your role?
In the case of Ship Of Theseus, the catalyst was an enabler. Here she is the pivot around which we can connect different spokes just by being involved. As a moderator, my job is to protect the filmmakers and suggest connections for him.
Are our audience ready for indie films?
Definitely! They are smaller in numbers but they exist and are proactive. The films are essentially human stories. A newspaper might report an incident but I only feel connected when I see a face or a name. That is what these documentaries offer. We need a space to access these films as well.
Could mainstream star power help?
Stars could become bigger than the film but they could bring about a change by backing the project.
Are multiplexes possible venues?
We need a cultural space that we can work in. Nandan used to be that space in Kolkata. Maybe have a café attached to the theatre because you should be able to meet and converse with the filmmaker. I wanted to catch Kamal Swaroop's Om Dar-Ba-Dar in the theatre but it was there for only a week in an afternoon show. Since I have a baby I missed it. Urban audiences spend a large chunk of their time commuting, sitting at work or at home near a computer. Pay Per View is catching on.
So you think we are moving online?
I don’t think we can ever replace a theatre. Every film aker dreams of a darkened theatre where the curtain draws and the credits roll. I would want to start 10 such culture centres. Let's look at Mumbai’s real estate realistically and move forward steadily.
SELLING CELLULOID
17 NOT REQUIRED INDIANS: (Soniya Kirpalani) 17 Indians were sentenced to death for murdering a man. They would have ended up as statistics, but for a family members and well wishers pressuring for a a fair trial
BORDER WITHIN BORDER: (Debanjan Sengupta and Subhadeep Ghosh) Both India and Bangladesh deny Kofur, an illiterate brickmaker the fundamental right of citizenship
LOVE COMMANDOS: (Miriam Lyons and John Stack) The Love Commandos rescue young women from being murdered by their families and help them marry the men they love
FIREFLIES IN THE ABYSS: (Chandrasekhar
Reddy) Ten-year-old Sooraj, works in a ‘rat-hole’ mine, burrowing into
narrow tunnels to scratch coal out of hard rock ROOTING FOR ROONA: (Pavitra Chalam, Akshay Shankar, Jyolsna Balakrishnan, Ananya Roy and Ashwin Chalam) Roona is a one-anda-half year-old girl in Tripura who suffers from Hydrocephalus, a birth defect caused by a build-up of fluid in the brain
Growing tribe of filmmakers, photographers choosing to share their work for free
9:43 AM
Sandhya Soman and Lubna Kably | TNN (THE TIMES OF INDIA; January 26, 2014)
It
took wildlife photographer and filmmaker Amoghavarsha long hours and
some fancy high-speed photography to capture the graceful river terns
flying down to snap up minnows from the waters of Bhadra. But despite
all the effort that went into its making, he chose to make his
documentary, River Terns of Bhadra, freely available in the public
domain. It has been released under a Creative Commons (CC) Licence. “As
a student, I was part of the Free and Open Source Software movement.
Opting for CC was a natural progression,” says the filmmaker.
“Sharing”, under a CC Licence, resonates with the free knowledge movement. A growing tribe of publishers, musicians, photographers and academics is choosing to share their work for free. Amoghavarsha points out that his photograph of a rare freshwater jellyfish was useful to a scientific researcher submitting a white paper.
In view of this trend, the India chapter of Creative Commons was relaunched two months ago by the Centre for Internet and Society (CIS), in collaboration with Wikimedia India and Acharya Narendra Dev College.
In 2007, filmmaker CV Sathyan, perhaps one of the earliest adopters of the CC movement, released his painstakingly created documentary to the public. It had taken him two years to capture the rebel spirit of noted Malayalam poet A Ayyappan to create Ithrayum Yathabhagom (The Journey Thus Far). The film is freely available in the archives of a website. “I made it not for money but to raise the humaneness of people,” says Sathyan.
Every CC license ensures that creators get the credit for their work. But it need not be a free-for-all situation – there are six variations of licensing permutations possiblesuch as ‘share-alike’, ‘non-commercial’, and ‘no derivatives’.
“Releasing one’s work under a CC licence doesn’t imply that you are letting go of the right to earn money. It merely helps you to reach a larger audience,” says Moksh Juneja, head, Wikimedia India.
But advocate Gowree Gokhale, partner at law firm Nishith Desai Associates, cautions: “Those who opt for the CC license need to have a clear understanding of its implications, especially because it is worldwide, perpetual and irrevocable (unless the license terms are breached).”
That perhaps is why award-winning filmmaker Anand Gandhi did not opt for a CC licence. But last week he did make his acclaimed Ship Of Theseus freely available online. “We have about 18,000 downloads. We are planning to further upload 25 hours of raw sync footage that can be downloaded, edited and reshared, especially by young film-makers,” says Gandhi. However, free sharing has its limits. “Films are incredibly expensive to make and some money should be directed back to the makers,” adds Gandhi.
Pratham Books, a Bangalore-based publisher, continues to use CC licences for its children books. “Traditional publishers thought we were crazy,” says Gautam John, adviser, Pratham Books. But use of CC licences has surpassed Pratham’s expectations of reaching out to children. “We are getting new readers with every book in the public domain,” says John. The 500 titles with CC licences, in fact, outsell the rest.
“Sharing”, under a CC Licence, resonates with the free knowledge movement. A growing tribe of publishers, musicians, photographers and academics is choosing to share their work for free. Amoghavarsha points out that his photograph of a rare freshwater jellyfish was useful to a scientific researcher submitting a white paper.
In view of this trend, the India chapter of Creative Commons was relaunched two months ago by the Centre for Internet and Society (CIS), in collaboration with Wikimedia India and Acharya Narendra Dev College.
In 2007, filmmaker CV Sathyan, perhaps one of the earliest adopters of the CC movement, released his painstakingly created documentary to the public. It had taken him two years to capture the rebel spirit of noted Malayalam poet A Ayyappan to create Ithrayum Yathabhagom (The Journey Thus Far). The film is freely available in the archives of a website. “I made it not for money but to raise the humaneness of people,” says Sathyan.
Every CC license ensures that creators get the credit for their work. But it need not be a free-for-all situation – there are six variations of licensing permutations possiblesuch as ‘share-alike’, ‘non-commercial’, and ‘no derivatives’.
“Releasing one’s work under a CC licence doesn’t imply that you are letting go of the right to earn money. It merely helps you to reach a larger audience,” says Moksh Juneja, head, Wikimedia India.
But advocate Gowree Gokhale, partner at law firm Nishith Desai Associates, cautions: “Those who opt for the CC license need to have a clear understanding of its implications, especially because it is worldwide, perpetual and irrevocable (unless the license terms are breached).”
That perhaps is why award-winning filmmaker Anand Gandhi did not opt for a CC licence. But last week he did make his acclaimed Ship Of Theseus freely available online. “We have about 18,000 downloads. We are planning to further upload 25 hours of raw sync footage that can be downloaded, edited and reshared, especially by young film-makers,” says Gandhi. However, free sharing has its limits. “Films are incredibly expensive to make and some money should be directed back to the makers,” adds Gandhi.
Pratham Books, a Bangalore-based publisher, continues to use CC licences for its children books. “Traditional publishers thought we were crazy,” says Gautam John, adviser, Pratham Books. But use of CC licences has surpassed Pratham’s expectations of reaching out to children. “We are getting new readers with every book in the public domain,” says John. The 500 titles with CC licences, in fact, outsell the rest.
Anand Gandhi's next is documentary on lives of acid attack survivors
7:59 AM
Ankur Pathak (MUMBAI MIRROR; January 20, 2014)
After receiving worldwide critical acclaim for his debut feature, Ship of Theseus, Anand Gandhi is producing an experimental documentary. The film is directed by one of the creative producers at Gandhi’s Recyclewala Labs, Megha Ramaswamy.
Titled Newborns, it focuses on the lives of real-life acid attack survivors from across the country. When contacted, Gandhi confirmed the news, saying, “The film features people who have been victims of such heinous crimes. However, we do not intend to recreate the tragedy, but instead focus on the celebration of hope and life.”
Newborns stars the survivors, who will be talking about everything else, but their misfortune. “So you will see them dabble in poetry, dance, painting and experiment with several other art forms,” Gandhi says, adding, “The film cannot be categorised as a docudrama as a lot of the stuff that you see has been written and acted out by the survivors themselves, including certain monologues.”
The shooting has already begun in Delhi and the film is expected to hit the theatres in the latter half of this year.
“What inspired this documentary was the lack of support from the general public. Many just stood and watched these atrocities, without protesting or doing anything to stop them. With this film, we hope to bring about an attitudinal shift and focus on looking ahead rather than behind.”
To spread awareness about such crimes, Gandhi has also planned to launch a campaign. It will be titled Spot of Shame.
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