Of ideas and informal addas
thehindu.com
Of ideas and informal addas November 17, 2016 00:00 IST Updated: December 02, 2016 15:56 IST
Next time you are in a café, keep your voice down. If there is tall man with a scribbling pad and an amused expression, he is probably listening to every word you are saying. He is interested in stories about you and me, our relationships and problems at work. Filmmaker Sandeep Mohan, who is coming out with his fourth feature titled Shreelancer , says he gets all his ideas from these informal addas. He says, “There is something about coffee that makes people open up. The conversations are so entertaining, even better than watching a film! You realise people are leading such interesting lives.” Like his previous film, Hola Venky , which was about a confused middle-aged man who did not know how to react to independent women, this one too deals with an urban matter. Shreelancer tries to understand the journey of a freelancer called Shreepadh, a guy in his mid-20s. “Twenties is when you are trying to cope with your life,” he says. “You are on the cusp of breaking out from youth and entering adulthood. Your friends are getting hitched and you are trying to settle down with a stable job. It was nice to go back to that time,” reflects Mohan. The independent filmmaker introduced the country to the concept of the Great Indian Travelling Cinema, where he took his films all over India to showcase them in cafés, corporate spaces and at other alternative venues. “The idea is to keep the buzz going. I am also planning a small theatre release this time,” says Mohan about his upcoming project. “And, after that I will try to sell it to Netflix or Amazon.” The 98-minute-long Shreelancer will have Mohan’s trademark humour. This time, he says, it is more situational and adds it was an exhausting affair. It involved a lot of public transport, bikes and taxis, he says. In this film, he’s working with five or six producers. This way, the pressure on each is much less, he explains. “That lets me enjoy my creative freedom,” he says. “They are not breathing
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Of ideas and informal addas
down my neck either and I don’t have to be answerable to them.” Up till now, Mohan has dodged the conventional festival circuits. “For me, life is good enough to draw inspiration from,” says the filmmaker who looks up to Woody Allen and Alexander Payne. “I do not want a film festival crowd to watch my films. I make it for the normal people.” Mohan is quite sure that he does not fall into the league of the film festival crowd or want to be that ‘genius filmmaker’ celebrated by the world. “I prefer to lead a normal life like any other guy, playing his badminton and once in a while making films of my kind,” he says. “I want to make sensible cinema which is relatable.” Nevertheless, film festivals are interested in Mohan who has been invited by Film Bazaar at the upcoming International Film Festival of India in Goa. He’s been asked to talk about the new trends in filmmaking and alternative models of film distribution for the ‘knowledge series’ of workshops. He also plans to send the film to a few festivals. “I will travel around so that there will be a good buzz around the film. I will try to release it in a multiplex. If possible, I will try alternative spaces such as offices, conference halls or even art galleries,” says Mohan. “And, then there are the co-working spaces, areas dedicated for freelancers to work. I do not mind screening my film anywhere with a screen. These unconventional spaces are lot more personal and intimate. This helps me interact with my audience as well.” Earlier this month, Mohan screened Shreelancer in New York at a private residence with an intimate crowd of 20 people. “They constituted my friends. I listened to their feedback so that I could make a few last-minute changes.” It’s evident that filmmaking is an inner journey for Mohan. “I make films when I am in doubt about myself, when I feel I am not good enough,” he says. “It helps me understand myself better. And, only independent cinema lets you be. You can use your own voice. My movie is my voice. I am not bound by any formula,” he concludes before adding that his stories are entirely personal and drawn from his own life experiences.
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