DNA (November 14, 2017)

Amole Gupte hates the word kids. “I have an allergy to that word. I prefer to call them children. In the attitude itself the adult world doesn’t know how to respect children that’s the starting point for me.” Amole was the brain behind Taare Zameen Par before he handed the reigns of the film to Aamir Khan. He went on to make films like Stanley Ka Dabba, Hawaa Hawaai, and Sniff!!! He says, “My comfort zone is children. I have seen they are brutally honest and transparent, therefore I can retain my sanity in their world. In the adult world, people have huge egos. With children, I manage to create content with their help. It’s not a one-way street. It’s a two-way workshop mode. We have never used a single school day for our activity. And what comes out of our activities is the film. They have kept me sane. The children’s world and the cinema world; not Bollywood. I try to bring out the issues I have. Sadly, the adult world doesn’t want to pay attention to it.”

Here the filmmaker-actor talks about the world that he feels comfortable in, and why Hindi cinema hasn’t been able to do justice to them.

You said you had lot of issues with the way children are dealt with...
I have issues about respecting children, about the communication system, about listening to them. The entire adult world seems to be such a one-way street, the anguish of the child doesn’t reach their ears. So you have to bring it out, you have to talk about the educational system, the financial system. You have to talk about inequality. There are so many things that need to be brought out, it can’t follow the ridiculous entertainment programme, as it is made out to be.

What do you think about reality shows that focus on kids?
I think some children have the talent and they need a platform. There’s nothing wrong with that, but it should not be burlesque. Imagine a little girl or boy dancing in that way or creating laughter which is not tasteful for that age. You have to be careful of their age, or you can spoil their childhood by creating these little geniuses who are burlesque to watch. Many shows the adult judges and people who are running the show they seem to be praising the ability and quality that the kids are dancing like a grown up man or woman. They don’t realise ke usko time hai abhi. Let them grow, let them become trees from plants. We just need to see to it that the pace doesn’t become awful.

There doesn’t seem to be enough cinema for children...
Sniff !!! was taken off the theatre in a week, there was no audience because it wasn’t promoted well. Nobody actually gave it value. There seems to be an audience waiting somewhere that goes to see films like Harry Potter and The Jungle Book, but they are not aware that an Indian film was made. I actually have many people coming and asking me when is the film coming. There was no promotion, the theatres didn’t support it neither did the distributors. I can’t blame the audience because it did not reach them. The same audience received Stanley Ka Dabba and Hawaa Hawaai very well. So, for such movies its about the level of awareness created and the faith that the studio puts behind children’s content. Everytime you don’t get lucky and get an Aamir Khan in your film to get more eyeballs. People didn’t know any actor in Harry Potter, The Jungle Book is an animation film, but there were so many people who lapped it up. That kind of awareness and marketing nobody is talking about. People only wake up on November 14 and talk about it. That’s the unfortunate place I am in because I am fully wedded to children’s cause, but it is a fight for me to survive.

Do you think our industry doesn’t take the children audience very seriously?
Of course. Not just in Hollywood, even in Europe, children’s films do more business than movies made for adults. That happens because for films made for adults only that age group goes to the theatres, whereas for the films for children, the entire family sees it. The eyeballs multiply. That’s the reason they make it an event. Here you go to a U/A film with little kids, there will be an item song in it, it’ll have sex comedy...

Do you keep in touch with the children you work with?
Of course. Khushmeet (Gill from Sniff!!!) has been with me since Stanley Ka Dabba. I think about what can I do for a child like that so then I give him a cycle as a birthday present.

Your son Partho has stayed away from films or ads...
After Stanley Ka Dabba and Hawa Hawaai, you can imagine the endorsements and offers that must’ve didn’t take a single one because we shoot only on a Saturday. Will they do it? No, because they don’t plan for children. Because I am his parent I can control that. But I am not Darsheel’s (Safary’s) father or Khushmeet’s father, so I can’t control their movements. I can only advise the parents. I can only tell them to not take their children out of the system, else he or she will lose their childhood. But they may or may not listen, so it’s difficult.

Vickey Lalwani (MUMBAI MIRROR; April 18, 2014)

On the sets of Singham 2, Amole Gupte is prepping for his turn as the menacing baddie when his son Partho joins him. The two have just wrapped up Hawaa Hawaai, their second collaboration after Stanley Ka Dabba. The film once again sees Partho taking directions from his father. Mirror caught up with the two. Excerpts:

Partho has acted in two films which had him in major roles. Didn’t it affect his studies?
Amole: He won 11 awards for Stanley Ka Dabba but no, it didn't affect his studies. Several advertisements came his way, but he was not tempted to take them up. He believes in the journey and not the goal. Such people are never swayed. Ask him? (Gestures at his son).
Partho: We shot Hawaa Hawaai only during the holidays. So it didn't affect academics. I never undermine the importance of going to school.


We believe Hawaa Hawaai was written with Partho in mind?
Amole: Yes, and did you know that Partho was a cue master in Taare Zameen Par? He was too young then else he could have played the role which went to Darsheel Safary. I didn’t do the casting of TZP alone. We zeroed down on four kids and then decided on Darsheel through a ballot that involved Aamir, along with our friends and family.
Partho: I am a nocturnal child. Dad still tells me stories at night. He introduced Arjun of Hawaa Hawaai to me in one of these stories. I had got into the character even before the workshops began.

Was the switch from Stanley to Arjun difficult?
Amole: It was an effortless transformation which I don’t see in adults. They should learn from kids.
Partho: I began from scratch. The film revolves around skating and I used to skate till a few years ago. When dad told me Arjun’s story, I knew that he had a film in mind so I started skating again. It wasn’t easy. Skating is not cycling. You forget.

One thing you want to change about each other?
Amole: Partho finds himself in whatever he explores. He is dedicated and when he pursues any hobby, he masters it. I'm blessed to have a child like him.
Partho: I like dad the way he is. He is awesome! He tells me stories and is an excellent cook. He makes my favourite chicken and crab preparations and we watch good movies together.

Sridevi was supposed to be a part of the film, right?
Amole: No, I didn't approach her with a role but but I am thankful to her for attending the trailer launch. Partho: At a certain point, there was a thought of casting her. She is a superb actress. I haven’t seen Mr India but I have seen her in the Hawa Hawai song.

Do's and don’ts for each other?
Amole: I always insist he calls me and lets me know wherever he is, otherwise his mom Deepa gets anxious. Partho: No drinking or smoking for dad.

Don't you want another kid?
Amole: Zaroorat kya hai?
Partho: I wanted an elder brother but my friends say that I would have been bullied by him. Now that I am 13, I think I can take care of myself quite well. (Smiles)

Amole Gupte (BOMBAY TIMES; March 31, 2014)

There are dreams that come to you when you sleep and then there are those that just don’t let you sleep. Hawaa Hawaai is a dream, an idea that has haunted me for over eight years now.

The inspiration came on a deserted sodium-lit, BKC backstreet on a summer night — squatting on the pavement, pushing little son Partho’s four-year-old foot into the shoe of a gleaming skate, surrounded by speeding skaters, habituated to hitting tar and harvesting gold medals. It was Formula 1 on two feet and I was overcome by the idea of filming the sport. And so in 2007, I kick-started the research and writing of Hawaa Hawaai. This was the film I planned to make after Taare Zameen Par. John Lennon wisely wrote, ‘Life is what happens to you when you’re busy making other plans’.

Hawaa Hawaai didn’t take off then, but Stanley Ka Dabba did. Thankfully. Because it set up for me the prototype of working with children, ensuring limited shooting hours, no school missed and a free flowing performance environment, ideas that I follow to this day while filming children.

But some dreams don’t let you be. And post Stanley Ka Dabba, I was drawn back to the tale. Every dreamer needs a believer. Vijay Singh of Fox Star Studios stepped in for a second association and finally, the dream was turning into reality. In the meantime, the foot of my boy Partho had grown nearly to my size. After Stanley..., Partho began living the role of Arjun Harishchandra Waghmare — zipping on two Ferraris for Hawaa Hawaai…

Saqib Saleem, playing Lucky sir, Arjun’s coach, wheeled in to give flight to Arjun’s dreams and mine. Joining him are ‘The band of boys’ — Salman, Ashfaque, Maaman and Tirupathi, students of a quiet cinema and theatre study class I have been running for years now and they are nothing short of diamonds in a coalmine.

So, Hawaa Hawaai is not my dream alone. It belongs as much to Partho, Saqib, the band of boys, and every crew member that has shared my dream and generously made it their own. It’s when dreamers meet believers that impossible dreams come true.

Mehul S Thakkar (MUMBAI MIRROR; January 31, 2014)

When Mirror met Amole Gupte at a municipal school in Pali, he was the centre of attention in a room full of children. The filmmaker who is also the Chairperson of the Children’s Film Society of India (CFSI) holds a weekly film appreciation class for under privileged children in the school. In a candid conversation he speaks out against ‘child labour’ in showbiz.
 
As the CFSI chairperson, what are your biggest peeves?
Child artistes are the last priority for producers when planning a schedule. So, the children are called before noon for a reality show and kept waiting till 2.30 am. By then they're sleepy and to wake them up, ice is rubbed on their faces and they are given fizzy drinks. This is a punishable crime and completely unnecessary. While filming Stanley Ka Dabba I shot only on Saturday for four hours. No child missed a school day or a Sunday.
 
How can we stop this from happening?
I want the rules of the animal welfare board to apply to children. Child artistes here are treated worse than animals. Other countries have a rule book, why can’t we have one too so we can ensure that children are not subject to such cruelty? For six years I’ve been campaigning for rules, that if you break, your film will not be certified.
 
What’s the hurdle?
I wrote a letter to Shanta Sinha when she was the chairperson of the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights to take up the initiative. She replied only after she retired and then directed me to the Broadcasting Content Complaints Council. I’m only asking that kids should not be pulled out of school and made to work for longer than six hours. Twelve-hour shifts amount to child labour.
 
Your next film Hawaa Hawaai, is a children’s film with your son Partho in the lead…
I don’t make children’s films but films about children. Like Taare Zameen Par and Stanley Ka Dabba which address their concerns but are for universal viewing. Hawaa Hawaai is a film about roller skating, which Partho has been learning since he was six. It's a story I wanted to make after TZP.
 
Why did it take seven years for Hawaa Hawaai to roll?
I was made to write 22 drafts, I had spoken to Farhan Akhtar and Excel was to produce it. But then he got cold feet, so did UTV. It should have started in 2008 but didn’t. Don’t ask me why? So, then I shot Stanley Ka Dabaa, guerrilla style so no one knew I was making a film till it was done. Hawaa Hawaai is the dream that hasn’t allowed me to sleep a wink since 2008. After Lagaan, Chak De! India and Bhaag Milkha Bhaag it will raise the bar for go-getting films.
 
What do you have to show for teaching cinema to underprivileged kids for so many years?
Ashish Gaikwad lost his father, a municipal sweeper, when he was in the 4th standard. He started cleaning with the mother, but also made a short film, Tahaan, which I took as a master class to many fests. Subhash Ghai saw it and Tahaan was the closing film of 100 years of cinema. Subhashji gave him a scholarship to Whistling Woods Institute and last month he passed out. These kids have so many stories to tell. They can give you long lectures on Charlie Chaplin, Italian cinema, and Majid Majidi.