For director Gyan Correa,The Good Road marks the culmination of his own journey,after travelling for months on Indias highways. A Goan,the veteran in ad films chose to make his debut feature film in Gujarati. The film was shot with Kutch as the backdrop in two months straight. He speaks to Lakshmi Ajay on the controversy surrounding his films selection for the Oscars,and his Gujarat connection. Tell us about your journey ? I was born in Kolkata,grew up in Mumbai and went to St Xaviers College where I studied communication. Having worked for several years in Grey Advertising,I left the firm to start my own production house and started making ad films for leading brands including Amul,Johnson Baby and Everyuth. You have a Gujarat connection in your family? Yes,my uncle Charles Correa is closely linked to the state because of his work there (he designed the Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad in 1963). My wife Sabin is a Gujarati who grew up in Mumbai but has her grandparents still staying in Ahmedabad. What is your reaction to the controversy raked up by your film in Gujarat and in the Hindi film industry? I have not made a documentary but a fictional film so its my interpretation and that doesnt make my film bad. I dont know if people hate me because it is much more than mine or your opinion. The jury has taken a unanimous decision and we must accept that. How is the feeling of your first feature film getting rave reviews? When I got the news about my film being the Oscar pick,I thought my friends were playing a prank on me. The feeling sunk in only after I called up my producer and confirmed the news. But I was shocked at the controversy that broke out after the films selection. It is very lonely being a filmmaker and I can understand that even Ritesh Batra (maker of The Lunchbox) is going through the same thing. While The Lunchbox is a good film,I have realised that there is a lot in my film that merits a chance at the Oscars. There is a debate about you portraying children using Gujarati cuss words and showing instances of child prostitution? The reality of life on the highway in India is much more stark than that. Essentially,the movie uses the highway as a metaphor for life and the central characters find home at the end of their journey in different ways. While the little boy (Aditya) finds home with his parents in the trunk of a truck,the girl (Poonam) finds it by choosing to leave a situation rather than surrender to it. So it is about small people and their voices. How did the film evolve from script to screen for a debutant director like you? I have travelled extensively on highways in India and found that although truck drivers perform a very vital function even with so much of their life at stake,their stories are never heard. Hence the story and then I worked on the script at NFDC Script Lab where it was chosen. NFDC came on board as the producer,which was a happy occurrence for me as I knew I wouldnt have to deal with too many producers. How do you plan to drum up support for your film? We are in the process of finding collaborators to finance the promotions and take it to Los Angeles. We may even contact Aamir Khan or his production house as he may know the process,like he did for Lagaan. You have said that you like Narendra Modi. Is it for your film? I think it was dignified the way the Gujarat CM tweeted a congratulatory message. I think there is an optimism in the air in Gujarat and if he has anything to do with the optimistic streak then more power to him. We will try and show the film to as many Gujaratis as possible.
