Journalism of Courage
There are so many stories around us that can inspire us to make movies. Why would anyone go through the trouble of making a film on a fictional story? says Anant Mahadevan,while in the city at the Film & Television Institute of India (FTII) for the screening of his National Award winning film,Mee Sindhutai Sapkal,on Wednesday. After having made commercial films,Mahadevan wants to further explore his creative side.
In fact,Mee Sindhutai Sapkal happened after he had made commercial films of every possible genre,he says. I did comedies,a remake,action and thrillers. Virtually everything that constitutes the commercial film industry. And after I made Staying Alive and Red Alert,both of which dealt with offbeat,sensitive issues,I came across the story of Sindhutai, he shares.
A lot went into the research and the making of the film – from getting the Marathi accent right to effective portrayal of the story on screen. He says,Sindhutai is a simple woman who came to Pune from Wardha. To be honest,I was very nervous when I screened the film for her. I didnt know how she would react. However after the film,one of the producers,Bindya Khanolkar,showed me her wrist which had nail marks on it as Sindhutai had held onto her while the camera unfolded each and every page of her life.
Mahadevan is now working on two films,one in Hindi and the other in Marathi. He has also recently finished shooting for Nagesh Kukunoor’s Mod. I am making a film on Appa Korpe,who started Pune’s first labour union movement. The other is on freedom fighter Gaur Hari Das,who fought for four years in the freedom struggle,and then for 30 years to get a freedom fighter’s certificate from the government, he says.
