Tags:
Journalism of Courage
Somewhat restlessly comfortable in his unkempt, reel-stacked office, Ashim Ahluwalia could pass off as a typical, America-returned young film-maker, yet to unravel the nitty-gritty of the quot;businessquot; of Indian filmmaking. Well, the image is not exactly true. You could call it an illusion, in fact. He might be fresh out of film school in New York, but Ashim has already completed his first film 8212; a documentary called Thin Air8212; and now, he claims to be as certain about an audience as he is about his own conviction as a filmmaker.
In fact, they did not cast a spell on Ashim and his crew either. Before they set out to shoot, they didn8217;t have any of the three in mind. They started recording candid interviews with magicians across the city. quot;The most difficult part of the film was to be with them all the time 8212; wherever they performed, whatever they did. We virtually invaded their private space. But that was the only way we could make them comfortable with the camera. Initially most of what they said was contrived. Shailendra painted a very rosy picture of his profession. Before we shot his first show, he convinced us about his popularity. When we started rolling, we captured the contrary. The few kids who were in the party gave him only half-hearted attention. Their parents were just not bothered. The story of Niranjan Mathur was very disturbing. At times, he did not know what he was saying. In fact, he expired before we completed the film. Kruti8217;s story was again different. There are moments in the film when you can see her parentsgoading her into doing and saying things. It was above all, a rich, yet depressing experience.quot; No wonder the film has a tragi-comic tone 8212; quot;by turns darkly comic and unsettlingquot;. Thin Air bagged the Best Film Award in the South Asian Film Festival at Kathmandu, which also acted as an impetus for the film to go places. quot;We8217;ve screened the film in many cities including Hyderabad and Guwahati.quot; Ashim attributes its appeal to the treatment. quot;It does not make any statements. We decided on the subject off hand. It was not out of any fascination with magicians. That way, we had an open mind. We started shooting randomly and later arrived at the angle the film finally takes.quot;
Thin Air at Little Theatre, NCPA. On March 1. Time: 6.30 pm.
Visit: kilima.com/thinair.
