A Potpourri of Vestiges Feature
A Potpourri of Vestiges recently caught up with writer-director Ruchi Joshi who recently co-directed a short film along with Sriram Ganapathy titled 'Murakh' aka 'The Idiot'. The film is a dark satire revolving around a man who is arrested for hijacking an airplane and the chaos that ensues.
Excerpts
How
the idea of ‘The Idiot’ originate and
why did you choose this subject for this feature? Was there any particular
incident or issue that prompted you to make this film?
Sriram
read about an Egyptian man hijacking a flight for some personal reasons and
immediately assumed a terrorist for being a Muslim. The perception and our
tendency to jump to conclusions painted a clear picture of the world plagued
with prejudice and paranoia. This triggered the idea for our film. With so much
turmoil all over the world with the Muslim ban, the refugee crisis and the beef
lynchings, it was becoming more and more important for us to express our
outrage. This story provided us with the perfect opportunity.
The
title seems inspired by the title of the Dostoevsky classic. Are there any
other similarities between your short and the novel?
There
is no connection at all between Dostoyevsky’s novel and the film. The title is
entirely coincidental. ‘The Idiot’ was the working title and we meant to change
it but could never come up with anything better. We did change it to ‘Murakh’
though which means ‘Idiot’ in Hindi/Punjabi because it felt more rooted. ‘The
Idiot’ is now the official English title.
Tell
us about your individual journeys and how did you end up collaborating on the
film?
I
was always fond of writing and knew at a very young age that I wanted to be
associated with films. I did my MA in cinema studies from La Trobe University,
Melbourne and after finishing that, I came to Bombay hoping to make films some
day. I started working as an assistant director with filmmakers like Navdeep
Singh, Bharat Bala and well-known ad film directors learning a lot in the
process. After that I decided to go independent and started writing. My feature
film script ‘All about Her’ was selected for NFDC Screenwriter’s Lab, Bosnia
& Herzegovina. Later the same film was in the coproduction market in Film
Bazaar, Goa where I met Katharina and Arfi. We have been friends and
collaborators since. We are now working towards making a feature film together.
Tell
us about your scripting process? How did you go about writing it? Are there any
real life references and incidences the script draws from?
Sriram
came across the newspaper article about the Egyptian man and shared it with me.
We immediately felt ourselves drawn to the idea and decided to write a feature
based on it. While we were still thinking about the feature, we thought why not
do a short version of it. Intrigued by the possibility of exploring a complex
subject in a concise manner, we put our heads together and started formulating
a storyline. Once we were happy with the skeleton and had the basic flow ready,
I started writing the first draft. Sriram wrote the second draft and then we
wrote the third draft together. We shared it with Katharina and Arfi and they
loved it.
What
are the challenges involved in writing a script and making a film that uses
real life incidents and references and delves into true incidents?
Reality
is indeed stranger than fiction. If you came up with a bizarre and outlandish
idea for a film from imagination, people would be quick to say that such an
incident is impossible and hence incredulous. But with a real event, however
strange, people have to believe it. Instead of questioning the event itself,
they start focusing on the characters and the intricacies of the story which
makes them connect with the film. Reference to real incidents also evoke more
sympathy and empathy since you know that there is a real person, a real victim
involved. In that sense, there are more advantages than drawbacks. The only
decision one must make right at the start is how much one wants to stick to the
real event and what is it that one wants to say through it. The idea was never
to be loyal to the real event, the idea was to study the relationship between
the society and the character who is clearly a misfit.
Ruchi,
you have co- written and directed ‘The Idiot’ with Sriram Ganapathy. We would
love to know how you went about collaborating with him. How does the creative
process vary when it is a collaborative effort vis-a-vis working on it
individually? What are the challenges usually involved in a creative
collaboration of such a kind?
Sriram
and I collaborate often and usually right from the conceptualization stage. I
am the one who actually does the writing part but we usually discuss the tone
and the storyline before I start writing. Once I have the first draft ready, we
once again come together and hone the script until we are both happy with it.
Even when I am working on my individual projects, I make it a point to take
advice, suggestions and creative inputs from Sriram.
What
were the other challenges you faced during the making of the film and how did
you overcome them?
The
biggest challenge during the making was shooting the whole film in one day. It
was crazy and chaotic and while we were a little behind time almost all the way
through, we did manage to finish. Another big challenge for me was to ensure that
everyone involved in the making of the film was on the same page in terms of
the tone of the film. We had to be careful about maintaining the balance
between the absurdist nature of the evening, the gravity of the issue and the
satirical tone of the telling.
Were
there any apprehensions in your mind about the film attracting any
controversies owing to the theme it deals with?
Not
at all. We never thought that there was anything particularly controversial
about the film. Perhaps due to the political atmosphere right now, it feels
like a brave film but there have been many films in the past exploring the same
theme and propagating the idea of living in peace and brotherhood and finding
within ourselves the ability to understand and empathise with one another. What
perhaps is different about this film is the story itself and the tone but certainly
not the theme. In today’s context, it is important to talk about the issue more
so than before. The whole point of making this film was to make my character
Abdul the face of every victim of prejudice around the world which would not be
possible without attracting attention, so fear and apprehension were out of the
question.
Internationally,
many short films have been adapted into acclaimed feature films. This however
has not been the case with India, barring a few? What do you think is the
reason for the same?
I
really can’t say why. Although I recently found out that there have been quite
a few of those in the South. Anyway, my theory is that there aren’t that many
short films in India in the first place. With hardly any encouragement,
difficulty in getting locations and permissions, making short films here is
extremely tough whereas abroad, it is easier due to government support and
subsidies. They also have several film festivals and online channels where
their short films can be showcased. With only a handful of short films in
India, the chances of them getting made into features are lesser.
Do
you think the film has the potential to be developed into a feature film? Would
you like to take up the challenge?
Like
I said earlier, when Sriram came up with the concept, it was for a feature. We
later decided to make a short instead but the moment we finished the film, we
knew that the subject and the story both deserved a more detailed, nuanced and
elaborate storytelling. We have since, finished writing the first draft of the
feature film version of ‘The Idiot’.
The
film will have its World Premiere soon at The 40th Asian American International
Film Festival. What are your expectations from it and which are the other
festivals it will be screened at? And what plans do you have regarding the
release and distribution of the film?
AAIFF
provides us with a great platform to present the film to an audience from
diverse backgrounds. This will be a great opportunity for me to express my worldview
as a writer-filmmaker and also talk about an issue that is extremely relevant
in the present context. I am looking forward to the festival. Beyond that, I
really don’t know, only time will tell.
Readers, please feel free to share your opinion by leaving your comments. As always your valuable thoughts are highly appreciated!
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