My film is about the coming together of two boys from different walks of life, in Mumbai, using an object of daily use that may not occupy as important a space in our lives, but speaks volumes of the people we choose to be.
Two boys, Shahnu and Sunny, who have unresolved issues, while learning the concepts of familial expectations, understand the price one pays to live a “fulfilled” life in a time of increasing materialism in a growing metropolitan city. The circumstances of getting what each of these boys want becomes the central issue of the film and evolves into an encounter that changes their daily lives forever.
Since children are by far the most visible and obvious sufferers of political, cultural, economical and social disasters, my film focussed on and targeted children. Besides incorporating the use of non professional actors and actual locations, I collaborated with the NGO, Pratham, to further the hidden talent of children under the care of their shelters.
From concept to script, moving into casting, locations, costumes, rehearsals and production management, I went about trying to keep my vision exact while juggling multiple roles in the film making process. My film was an attempt to direct non professional children in a complex plot, and eventually felt that at some level each of them delivered to the final product of the film in their own unique ways.
This project has helped me to not only become aware of self made decisions and of others, but also of a positive awareness that can address and change larger social, political and environmental issues of a time. As a designer’s sensibilities can neither be bought nor taught, I can only hope to grow more, and learn with each new experience.
