Rustic Revelry

The general impression is that today’s overwhelmingly young cinema-going audience wouldn’t identify with and patronise themes espousing rural causes. Puneet Sira,director of Kisaan,agrees,but states his reason for filming a movie in the interiors. “It was a huge risk financially,but a village was an obvious choice for me because that’s the homeland of our farmers and my story was about the problems they face,” says Sira,who believes he has made a ‘real’ film by portraying actual India. “After all 60 per cent of India is villages,isn’t it?”

While Chaubey laments the decay of rustic settings in films,he is happy that filmmakers are now exploring these forgotten venues. “The lives of locals and their wit offer scope for us to explore more stories and innovate with the script. Economic progress has resulted in more than just a digital divide,but Indian villages have a variety on offer,” says the filmmaker. Arbaaz Khan,who plays the main protagonist in Kisaan agrees,“Seated in our drawing rooms we only hear about farmer suicides. There are bigger problems—we have brought across a subtle message on how multinationals cheat farmers of their revenues and how educating them is critical.”

The authenticity that comes with a village backdrop cannot be recreated in the studios. Tigmanshu Dhulia,who is shooting for Paan Singh Tomar in the villages of Madhya Pradesh and the Chambal valley,loves the rural areas for the landscapes and the dialects they offer. “When you are making a movie on an athlete training in a village,you cannot recreate it at a studio. You need to show his life in the entirety,” says Dhulia. Sira,whose film is based in the fields of Chandigarh and Punjab,adds,“The biggest advantage — villagers go out of their way to help you with the shoot — lending equipment,tractors and bullock carts and also language.”

The themes,ambience,and language of urban-based films,is something village audiences are unfamiliar with. A film like Yash Raj Films’ Dil Bole Hadippa,set in a rural backdrop but looking vibrant brings mass appeal. “The

use of the farmlands of Punjab and the opulent Punjabi characters symbolise the archetypal rural India because the colour and vibrance of this belt lends to cinematic appeal,” says Rafiq Gangji,head of corporate communications,Yash Raj Films. The film is shot in farm lands around Bhatinda in Punjab.