DESPITE the sun mercilessly beating down,Sang-Eun Ahn cycles around the streets of villages on the outskirts of Pune,with giant bags and a GPS navigator strapped to his cycle. The Korean filmmaker is shooting a part of his mini-documentary Real Road Movie. In 2010,the tiny village of Sone Sangvi was the setting of another such film that was shot by Jacob Seigel-Boettner and his crew,called With My Own Two Wheels. For filmmakers like Ahn and Seigel-Boettner,it is the urge to tell interesting stories of people in India that has brought them here to explore the culture,physical challenges and the weather notwithstanding. Cycling on the Manegaon roads,Ahn stops near a small temple,speaks in Korean into a camcorder,while video shooting the scenic view. This documentary aims at understanding the experiences of a bicyclist in different cultures and countries, says Ahn. For him,it is the diversity of the country that gripped his attention. There is so much to see in Varanasi,Agra,Delhi,Jaipur,Mumbai,I could go on, he says. On the official website of With My Own Two Wheels,Seigel-Boettner,producer and co-director of the film,describes how in the West,a bicycle is a luxury equipment,whereas in rural India,it helps one live a better life. Something as simple as a bicycle can ensure that girls in rural India have a means to travel to school. Keeping them in school seems like the best way to prevent child marriage, he adds on the site. Seigel-Boettners team partnered with Pune-based NGO Ashta No Kai,that has initiated the Bicycle Bank Project in India. Armeen Modi,founder of the NGO,says,Jacobs team shot one of our girls,Bharati,who was able to go to high school and continue her studies after having received a bicycle through the project. Exploring India,hitherto unknown to them,is an adventure for these young filmmakers. Ahn has found a new-found love for spicy Indian food. But the communication is not easy for both the locals and for me. Also,the bicycle and equipments security worries me, he says. Seigel-Boettner describes how street-smart guides tried to take him and his crew for a ride. He adds,The film is a way of spreading the power of the two wheels to those who need it. While Seigel-Boettners film is being screened at festivals around the globe,Ahn is far from done. It will take me six years to finish the trip. From Pune,I will travel to Jammu and then to Pakistan, he says. I wanted to go to Africa too,but with the current political unrest there,it seems difficult. Pakistan,Iran,Armenia and Europe is the current plan, he adds.
