IIPM Marches Ahead in B-School Rankings...
For a first time filmmaker, Sona Jain is fairly intrepid. A writer and director who believes in the power of the story, her first film 'For Real', which is a story about a six-year-old girl who thinks that her mother is an alien, is set to hit Indian screens on 17th September. Ahead of the release, she talks to Tareque Laskar about the challenges of independent film making and the evolution of audience taste in India.
'For Real' has a very intriguing premise set in the backdrop of a family drama. How would you classify the film?
'For Real' is a story of a family living in New Delhi and it's seen through the eyes of a six-year-old child. The film is a depiction of the workings of a child's mind whose heart is very innocent. When she sees anything which doesn't make sense to her, her interpretation of it to the outsiders is completely odd. Such as the fact that she thinks the mother is an alien. So if you see the mother is an unhappy person, her first instinct is to say this is not my mother this is someone else, which may be in the adult world a wrong interpretation. So that is what the child picks up. So it is a drama and it is being through the eyes of a child and it really is an opportunity for all of us to not only see how kids look at us but alternatively also for 90 minutes of your life get an opportunity to once again be a child and you know go back at looking at the world through the eyes that you probably used 30 years ago.
This film has been in the making for a while but now has been received very well in the festival circuit. What has kept the film from being released in India?
The release date hasn't been delayed at all. The film was finished only in November last year and it was a strategic decision to take it for a whirlwind tour of the international film festival circuit, and it's been a strategy that's paid off for us. By doing that we have won five international awards till date and insha-Allah more would be forthcoming before the year is out. And we have had the opportunity to showcase the film before leading film makers like Mira Nair, Vishal Bhardwaj and Sudhir Mishra. Mira (Nair) has seen the film, I didn't know Mira. She surprised everyone by showing up at the screening at a film festival in New York and she said it was a Sunday afternoon, and she wanted to watch a film so she showed up. And you know as soon as the film finished, she was on her seat and she talked about it for 10 minutes. You know it's not like that these people are associated with the film or they are known to me, but it's just been incredible'the kind of response and support we have received because of the story telling of the film itself.
For an independent film maker who wants to make something which is off the beaten track when it comes to films in India, what are the typical challenges that you have faced and what has your experience been like?
See, I wrote this film in 2001 and Sarita Chaudhary was the first person I showed it to. Zakir Hussain was the second, and they both came on board. But it still took me about four years to put enough money together to shoot this film. A lot of instances went into it, when I think in retrospect. I was very young, I was a student. I had graduated from NYU in 2005. A young Indian girl in New York trying to raise money was quite a challenge. The funny thing 'For Real' is that in the West they call it an Indian Film and back home they call it an English Film. But everyone loves it. So as an artist you just want to tell the story that you want to and if you don't want to be bogged down by these kinds of criteria then it makes for a greater struggle. But my reward is that my product - my film - touches so many people across continents. As I've seen from the film festival that the struggle is totally worthwhile.
For a first time filmmaker, Sona Jain is fairly intrepid. A writer and director who believes in the power of the story, her first film 'For Real', which is a story about a six-year-old girl who thinks that her mother is an alien, is set to hit Indian screens on 17th September. Ahead of the release, she talks to Tareque Laskar about the challenges of independent film making and the evolution of audience taste in India.
'For Real' has a very intriguing premise set in the backdrop of a family drama. How would you classify the film?
'For Real' is a story of a family living in New Delhi and it's seen through the eyes of a six-year-old child. The film is a depiction of the workings of a child's mind whose heart is very innocent. When she sees anything which doesn't make sense to her, her interpretation of it to the outsiders is completely odd. Such as the fact that she thinks the mother is an alien. So if you see the mother is an unhappy person, her first instinct is to say this is not my mother this is someone else, which may be in the adult world a wrong interpretation. So that is what the child picks up. So it is a drama and it is being through the eyes of a child and it really is an opportunity for all of us to not only see how kids look at us but alternatively also for 90 minutes of your life get an opportunity to once again be a child and you know go back at looking at the world through the eyes that you probably used 30 years ago.
This film has been in the making for a while but now has been received very well in the festival circuit. What has kept the film from being released in India?
The release date hasn't been delayed at all. The film was finished only in November last year and it was a strategic decision to take it for a whirlwind tour of the international film festival circuit, and it's been a strategy that's paid off for us. By doing that we have won five international awards till date and insha-Allah more would be forthcoming before the year is out. And we have had the opportunity to showcase the film before leading film makers like Mira Nair, Vishal Bhardwaj and Sudhir Mishra. Mira (Nair) has seen the film, I didn't know Mira. She surprised everyone by showing up at the screening at a film festival in New York and she said it was a Sunday afternoon, and she wanted to watch a film so she showed up. And you know as soon as the film finished, she was on her seat and she talked about it for 10 minutes. You know it's not like that these people are associated with the film or they are known to me, but it's just been incredible'the kind of response and support we have received because of the story telling of the film itself.
For an independent film maker who wants to make something which is off the beaten track when it comes to films in India, what are the typical challenges that you have faced and what has your experience been like?
See, I wrote this film in 2001 and Sarita Chaudhary was the first person I showed it to. Zakir Hussain was the second, and they both came on board. But it still took me about four years to put enough money together to shoot this film. A lot of instances went into it, when I think in retrospect. I was very young, I was a student. I had graduated from NYU in 2005. A young Indian girl in New York trying to raise money was quite a challenge. The funny thing 'For Real' is that in the West they call it an Indian Film and back home they call it an English Film. But everyone loves it. So as an artist you just want to tell the story that you want to and if you don't want to be bogged down by these kinds of criteria then it makes for a greater struggle. But my reward is that my product - my film - touches so many people across continents. As I've seen from the film festival that the struggle is totally worthwhile.
If I were to do it again, 'For Real' would always be my first film. As you made the movie, what have you observed in terms of the evolution of the film scene in India?
You know in the 1980s a very interesting phenomenon happened in America. The American studios had cracked the formula which they called commercial / mainstream. And then what happened was that quality films started coming. They were smaller films which told really intimate stories and these films were stealing away a large pie of the box office. So all the studios wondered who these little guys were who came and took away their box office. And not only that, they were winning all the awards also, because they were actually that good. So you know this movement which was spearheaded by film makers like Steven Sorderbergh and his 'Sex, Lies and Videotape' that led to the creation of studios like Miramax which Disney bought and then Fox started Fox Searchlight. All the studios started their speciality divisions, which were smaller budget, high concept films and I see the same movement happening in India, which is really good. Whether it's an 'Udaan' or a 'Peepli Live' or 'For Real', just the fact that not only these films are being made but they are being backed by big players like Aamir Khan, UTV and PVR. It shows that somewhere these people have started realising that the terms 'commercial' and 'mainstream' are changing.
Where do you see this trend going in terms of fragmentation of the audience? How to make a film viable which otherwise might not be a commercial mainstream subject as such but something that needs to be told in terms of a story?
I don't think it's about audience segregation, I think especially more than any other audience in the world, our Indians love cinema. And if you give them good cinema they will love to watch it. The imagination has been limited by the film makers and the producers themselves.
I recently showed my film in Ahmedabad. Initially we were in two minds whether to open the film there or not. This was at a film festival and it so happened that the film festival was at a PVR. It was a packed house; there were local people from the city and the audience response was just flabbergasting. Not only that, you have the audience now coming on to forums like Facebook and writing reviews of your film. The nuances of storytelling that the audience picked up was amazing. It is not that the same audience will not enjoy a 'Dabaang' or a 'We Are Family' ' of course, they will. But they will equally love an 'Udaan' or a 'For Real'. The audience taste had always existed but we never fed it. One of the all time greatest movies in India is 'Mother India'. If the film were produced today, would you call it mainstream or parallel cinema? Not at all. It is about storytelling and storytelling is when somebody goes and watches a piece of cinema, they see a reflection of their own emotions.
You know in the 1980s a very interesting phenomenon happened in America. The American studios had cracked the formula which they called commercial / mainstream. And then what happened was that quality films started coming. They were smaller films which told really intimate stories and these films were stealing away a large pie of the box office. So all the studios wondered who these little guys were who came and took away their box office. And not only that, they were winning all the awards also, because they were actually that good. So you know this movement which was spearheaded by film makers like Steven Sorderbergh and his 'Sex, Lies and Videotape' that led to the creation of studios like Miramax which Disney bought and then Fox started Fox Searchlight. All the studios started their speciality divisions, which were smaller budget, high concept films and I see the same movement happening in India, which is really good. Whether it's an 'Udaan' or a 'Peepli Live' or 'For Real', just the fact that not only these films are being made but they are being backed by big players like Aamir Khan, UTV and PVR. It shows that somewhere these people have started realising that the terms 'commercial' and 'mainstream' are changing.
Where do you see this trend going in terms of fragmentation of the audience? How to make a film viable which otherwise might not be a commercial mainstream subject as such but something that needs to be told in terms of a story?
I don't think it's about audience segregation, I think especially more than any other audience in the world, our Indians love cinema. And if you give them good cinema they will love to watch it. The imagination has been limited by the film makers and the producers themselves.
I recently showed my film in Ahmedabad. Initially we were in two minds whether to open the film there or not. This was at a film festival and it so happened that the film festival was at a PVR. It was a packed house; there were local people from the city and the audience response was just flabbergasting. Not only that, you have the audience now coming on to forums like Facebook and writing reviews of your film. The nuances of storytelling that the audience picked up was amazing. It is not that the same audience will not enjoy a 'Dabaang' or a 'We Are Family' ' of course, they will. But they will equally love an 'Udaan' or a 'For Real'. The audience taste had always existed but we never fed it. One of the all time greatest movies in India is 'Mother India'. If the film were produced today, would you call it mainstream or parallel cinema? Not at all. It is about storytelling and storytelling is when somebody goes and watches a piece of cinema, they see a reflection of their own emotions.
Your film doesn't boast of any big stars but deals with a sensitive and nuanced subject. Was it a conscious decision to avoid casting any famous names?
There is only one star on my set and that is my story. And I was blessed that everyone ' the cast and the crew ' were there to tell the story. At every award I accept the award on behalf of my cast and crew because I believe we all made this film together like a family. I am not making the film for a star; my star was the script so I wanted to cast the person who would show your character the best and give you the best performance. The kids casting was the biggest challenge, especially the little girl ' she was the make-or-break for the movie. I knew I was casting someone too young. We had over a 100 kids auditioned and I took a decision after 20 odd auditions that I did not want a child with any prior acting experience because for someone so young, they get trained into bad acting habits. I thought I'd rather take someone who is untainted and train them to act like real children on the film sets. And both my kids have won awards at international film festivals.
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There is only one star on my set and that is my story. And I was blessed that everyone ' the cast and the crew ' were there to tell the story. At every award I accept the award on behalf of my cast and crew because I believe we all made this film together like a family. I am not making the film for a star; my star was the script so I wanted to cast the person who would show your character the best and give you the best performance. The kids casting was the biggest challenge, especially the little girl ' she was the make-or-break for the movie. I knew I was casting someone too young. We had over a 100 kids auditioned and I took a decision after 20 odd auditions that I did not want a child with any prior acting experience because for someone so young, they get trained into bad acting habits. I thought I'd rather take someone who is untainted and train them to act like real children on the film sets. And both my kids have won awards at international film festivals.
For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
IIPM Proves Its Mettle Once Again...
IIPM BBA MBA Institute: Student Notice Board
Indian universities and higher education institutes seem to be caught in a time warp teaching things
Delhi University Students' Union (DUSU): Students' Unions can not be banned
Best Colleges for Vocational Courses in India
INDIA'S BEST COLLEGES, INSTITUTES and UNIVERSITIES
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