Journalism of Courage
I am working on several new projects after a long time seven years. I would say a new phase has begun for me, says renowned filmmaker Govind Nihalani who makes his comeback with the soon-to-be released Marathi film Anumati. Nihalani,who wrote and directed critically-acclaimed films such as Dev,Tamas,Aakrosh and Ardh Satya originally began his career as a cinematographer and cameraman.
With Anumati,he begins his return to the industry with cinematography again. This is a project I have taken on as the cameraman after a long gap. When Gajendra (Ahire) asked me whether I would photograph his film,I said yes a little tentatively. But when he read me the story,I told him Id do it on the spot, says Nihalani. What I liked about the film was that its script is not plot-heavy or designed to entertain. Theres no element of glamour in it; the lead character is a middle aged man and there are no songs. Making such a film is an act of courage.
Cinema,according to Nihalani,is never static and is always in a state of change. Our stories change,the techniques and styles change. Ive been in the industry for fifty years,why should I make the same films I made fifteen years ago? I dont want to be stereotyped, says Nihalani.
The current generation is not a product of the Partition or Emergency,he says. They are a liberated generation who are open to ideas from all over the world. So films today are made with a completely different sensibility and this is a positive thing, he says.
Besides Anumati,Nihalani is also ending his sabbatical with an animated film that he has written,directed and produced. The film,Kamlu Happy Happy is about a baby camel who dreams of flying. I love animation and graphic art. Long ago,I had met Ram Mohan,the father of Indian animation and I was inspired to make this film. In fact he created the basic concept of the characters. This film has
taken a long time to make but hopefully by this year,we will release it, he says. Nihalani mentions that there are a couple of projects in the pipeline,including one Marathi film and another Hindi movie.
The animated film took a lot of my time and resources over the past seven years. It was a huge investment and because I was the producer I could not help it. But now that this film is almost over,I am going to do everything I did before write,direct,produce and photograph, he says.
