Journalism of Courage
Pallavi Pundir
Sometime in 2010,a brief encounter on the streets of Delhi left 34-year-old Richie Mehta shaken. The Canadian filmmaker of Indian origin was on one of his many trips to Delhi when a rickshawpuller came up to him and said that hed lost his son. With the inability to even spell his sons name and no photo proof,the man spoke for good ten minutes before dispersing for his search of over a year. It wasnt just the tragedy of the situation that haunted me. I was moved by the fact that in his mind,he had come to terms with his limitations. He said,bhagwaan ki marzi hai, says Mehta. A year later,Mehta used that 10-minute conversation as broad strokes for his 96-minute feature film,Siddharth.
Slated to have a North American premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival next month,along with a world release next week at the Venice Days Film Festival,Siddharth will have its first Indian screening at MAMI festival in Mumbai,in October. Featuring National School of Drama actors Rajesh Tailang and Tanishtha Chatterjee in the lead,the film aptly saves just a five-minute screen time for Siddharth. Theres just one shot of the child saying bye in the beginning,and then he disappears. He doesnt reappear and there is no photograph. I wanted the audience to feel the boys presence and memory fading,just like in real life, says the filmmaker.
Mehta,whose ancestral roots belong in Ludhiana and Jalandhar,frequents Delhi and Mumbai for writing and research. His debut film was the critically acclaimed Amal (2007,featuring Naseeruddin Shah and Seema Biswas),and was shot in the heart of Delhi. While Amal is the story of an honest rickshawpuller whose life turns upside-down when an eccentric millionaire leaves his fortune to him,in Siddharth,Mehta brings,yet again,the common man who lives an extraordinary life. I want to take a common denominator and show how the global economic system affects him. Yet,I dont show him as victim but as an exceptionally intelligent person. Siddharth has a similar character as in Amal,but in a different situation, says the filmmaker.
Mehtas constant interaction with the city of Delhi is evident. While Mumbai is very quick to come together in a state of adversary,much like New York,in Delhi,people are alienated. Yet,its visually picturesque,with the greenery,the architecture and history coming together. I love to work with so many layers, says Mehta. While the filmmaker is set to release his next,a science fiction titled Ill Follow You Down,next year,he is already working on a project based in Delhi,provoked by the 2012 December gang rape incident.
Other Indian entries at TIFF
Qissa by Anoop Singh: A sweeping drama starring Irrfan,the film is set against the backdrop of the Partition in 1947
The Lunchbox by Ritesh Batra: Stars Irrfan again,about a mistaken dabba delivery that brings two strangers together
The World of Goopi and Bagha by Shilpa Ranade: First directed by Satyajit Ray and based on a story by his grandfather Upendra Kishore Roychowdhury,in 1969,The World of Goopi and Bagha recreates the popular
Bengali folklore in animation for TIFF Kids category
Mount Song by Shambhavi Kaul: A nine-minute abstract film,it will be a part of Wavelengths 4: Elysium category
Faith Connections by Pan Nalin: The documentary explores the spiritual journey and encounters at the Kumbh Mela
Shuddh Desi Romance by Maneesh Sharma: Actors Parineeti Chopra and Sushant Singh Rajput come together for an
unconventional take on classic Bollywood love stories
