Veggies as Aliens

However,in contrast to the futuristic-appearing aliens created by special effects that one sees in Hollywood films,the ones in Joker resemble fruit and vegetable-shaped costumes that children wear for their school’s annual days. This,however,says the film’s director Shirish Kunder,has been done deliberately. “They are simple villagers,making their own costumes from fruits,vegetables and leaves to take the form of something that is unknown to man,yet familiar,” he explains,referring to the aliens in his film,which seem to resemble pop culture icons,including a Pirates of the Caribbean character.

The material for these costumes was as simple as the appearance — tonnes of vegetables such as bitter gourd and pumpkin have been carved to make the costumes. Each day of the shoot required a fresh batch of costumes to be made since the vegetables would shrivel up by the end of the day.

The presence of aliens on the big screen has largely been limited to science fiction literature and films from the West. Therefore,the creatures have largely been distant from the Indian sensibilities. With Joker,the aliens will make their second appearance in Hindi cinema. Rakesh Roshan was the first to introduce them with Koi… Mil Gaya in 2003.

Unlike ‘Jadoo’ — the alien in Roshan’s film,which was remote-controlled — Joker’s “real” aliens have been created using computer graphics. “As the story progresses,‘real’ aliens — upset with the bad press owing to villagers’ creations — arrive in Paglapur. However,they have been created using special effects. The actors had to imagine the aliens while shooting,” says Kunder.

While the ‘aliens’ that appear in the publicity stills and trailers are actually men posing as aliens,the look of the ‘real’ aliens has been kept as a surprise,to be revealed only with the release of the film. And although the ones generated using technology — by Prime Focus,a visual effects and post-production studio — appear in a more sophisticated avatar,the approach is simple. “The aliens in my film are more in line with Satyajit Ray’s creations than the ones we see in Hollywood films. If you watch Ray’s Gupi Gayen Bagha Bayen,it is a lot of fun; the technical aspect is almost nil,” says Kunder,who made a directorial debut with Jaan-E-Mann in 2006 and Joker is his second film.

His film,Kunder claims,is in spirit closer to the human drama and fun element that people associate with aliens than their serious western counterparts.