‘Funding is still a big hurdle for short filmmakers and I too faced it for Jai Hind’, says Director Vinay Jaiswal

Q. With more than 1 million views on You Tube, Jai Hind is the news buzz in the industry. Did you expect this kind of response?

Vinay: (Laughs) Absolutely not. I knew that what I was approaching was sensible with a noble intent and it will be appreciated, but never thought that it will trend on social media all over and even the media organizations will give it so much of prominence. I am humbled and this has given me a push as a creative person to do more to my society. Even with ‘Jai Hind’, my idea was not to earn money, but to thank those souls who were passionate enough to gift us the free air to survive on this land.

Q. How did this idea strike you?

Vinay: I wrote the script on 22nd July and within 20 days this short film was made. With independence day around the corner, I was thinking that we all keep talking about freedom. But did we ever thought what would have been the scenario, if we were not blessed with this freedom? So there I got stuck and then this story took birth. And once I was done, my motive was to portray it through some brilliant actors who had strong sensibilities and could contest against injustice, then manoj Bajpai came to my mind.

Q. Raveena Tandon and Manoj Bajpai, both of them come from different school of film in terms of work they have done. How did this paring happen?

Vinay: The casting director of the film and also a close friend of mine from NSD helped me to connect with Manoj Bajpai. I narrated him the story over phone, he found it interesting and agreed to work on the project. After our first meeting, it was Manoj who proposed Raveena’s name for the female character and asked me if I would like to cast her. I meet Raveena, narrated her the screenplay and she gained to do the film.

Q. In India, short films still face funding and marketing issues. How difficult it was for you to get the things on floor?

Vinay: That is extremely difficult when it comes to short film making. For this project, I was very much determined with ‘no money making and no money taking’ formula. I wanted only those who were willing to work with same dedication.I discussed the film with Boring Brand, a creative agency owned by Anshul, Sushil and Akriti Bhargav and based in Gurgaon. I was of strong opinion that there should be no brand connect in the film and that’s why we wanted someone with same passion to join us and then OYO Room, a client of Boring Brand came on board and Abhinav from the team understood my thought and we were able to produce the film. Strangely, on the first day of the shoot, there was fire and it was pack-up time. I am thankful to the entire crew who took the call and few of them did not even charge for the loss. I think the intent was correct, so things kept falling in place and today I am getting calls for bigger projects.

Q. The social media is filed with comments like melodrama, jingoism and unpleasant. What is your take on such response?
Vinay: I welcome it all with open arms. I have been tracking the response on social media and I too read few comments filed with anger. As an artist I am open to criticism. The film is my way of expressing gratitude to those brave soldiers and if a particular section feels it is not correct, I apologize to them, but at the same time who feels it’s a good attempt, I am thankful to them for recognizing my efforts. In both the cases I have learnt as an artist and it will help me to grow.