Alternate Reality

Today,Bhatia is a content person. Not only is she one of the more respected and revered film editors in tinseltown,she has also directed her first independent project—a documentary called Nero’s Guests addressing the issue of farmer suicides. It’s surprising to find someone,who’s lived in an urban environment,to be sensitive to what is perceived to be a grassroot problem. “I have always had a passion for alternate cinema. Editing films provides me with my livelihood,” she explains as she sips her tea.

Documentaries are rare in India,but Bhatia was sure about her choice of genre and subject. “It was a very sensitive topic. Hence,the thought of fictionalising it did not occur to me. One needed a well-written script in order not to trivialise the issue,” she says. For the 36-year-old,the inspiration to make this documentary film came from P Sainath,her professor at Sophia College,Mumbai,who was involved with the agricultural crisis in India. “Sainath,who is the protagonist in the film,was a little hesitant initially because filmmakers are known to make a mess of these subjects. But I started off by attending his talks and filming them. I sometimes visited him on certain Sundays where we carried forward the discussion,” says Bhatia,who believes that the flexible approach she took made filmmaking an even more enriching experience.

Major portions of the documentary are shot in Maharashtra’s Vidarbha region. “We frequented the place and visited the same families again and again. During the course of our filming,there were three suicides in the area,” sighs the editor,who took five years to complete the project. “As a filmmaker,there are times when we forget the humanitarian aspect of the issue. But for me,their personal loss always comes ahead of their film. The film can always wait,” she says.

There were,however,a few positive moments that she brought back along with her. “I was humbled by the strength and power displayed by certain people I met there. We always think of documentaries as boring. But I have got encouraging feedback from students,whose perspective is valuable,” explains the filmmaker,who has also launched DVDs of the same and also plans to show it on a news channel. “When we wrote Taare Zameen Par,most people told us that it wouldn’t work. Somebody needs to break the rules,” she says.

For now,it is back to the editing table for Bhatia,who has just finished editing We Are Family. Next up is Zoya Akhtar’s Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara. “I always read the script before I choose the film. I don’t like doing films which are too commercial,” she says. Once she is through with Akhtar’s film,she plans to begin work on her first fiction film. “I have an outline ready. Amole and I have discussed it. I just hope it does not take another five years,” she smiles.