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on record Every few years there is a shift in the kind of films that are made. Right now the most heartening thing is that while the studio system still exists, a whole lot of independent filmmakers have come up. This bodes well for the Indian film industry. CALL him thrice lucky or a man with a vision, Shankar Mohan has every reason to be proud. Chosen for the third time in a row as director of the prestigious International Film Festival of India (IFFI), Goa, Mohan has been credited with breathing new life into IFFI. Alumnus of FTII, Pune, Mohan’s understanding of cinema is not surface-deep.
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on record Every few years there is a shift in the kind of films that are made. Right now the most heartening thing is that while the studio system still exists, a whole lot of independent filmmakers have come up. This bodes well for the Indian film industry.
This is your third term as the director. Do you feel it’s an affirmation of your abilities? It has been a fruitful journey. My association with IFFI goes back to two decades. I consider myself fortunate as I have had the support of my colleagues, the film industry and the ministry. What are the highpoints of IFFI this year? There are many. In the Indian section the emphasis is on films from the Northeast while in the international section, the focus is on Japan. Then there is a six-film retrospective of the work of Agnieszka Holland, one of the most eminent and formidable directors of the Polish New Wave cinema. Master classes with experts are the key features. As for Konkani films, there is no section as such but many films made in Goa will be shown. The image and the feel of IFFI began to change in 2011 when we started concentrating more on the content and quality of the films. The lifetime achievement award given to international luminaries was reintroduced after 10 years. Last year the opening and concluding films had a strong Indian connect. Why not this year? There can’t be a prototype. If there is good international film with Indian leitmotif we will certainly screen it. But the spirit of the festival will always be in sync with its motto — the world is one big family. Are you satisfied with the international presence at IFFI? How can one be when sky is the limit? But in the given infrastructure it’s an optimum level that we have achieved. Last year, 10,000 delegates registered online. In the past few years many of the films screened here, including Life of Pi, have gone on to win the Oscar. Celebrities like Phillip Noyce, director of Salt, and Oscar-winning Susanne Bier of Denmark have graced the previous editions of the festival. Do you think Goa is the perfect place for IFFI? There is nothing called perfection, but yes we do get 100 per cent support from the Goa Government, be it in logistics or infrastructure. Still, there is a long way to go. Would you rather the festival returns to its earlier format of alternating between Goa and other cities? No, I doubt if there is any need for that. The purpose of holding IFFI, one year in Goa and another year elsewhere, was to create awareness in these places. That goal has been achieved as most of these cities have their own film festivals. IIFI has been able to spawn film festivals in various parts of the country. Is that its biggest achievement? I agree with that. IFFI’s mission has been two-fold: to create awareness about Indian cinema among foreign audiences and to expose Indian viewers to foreign films, an endeavour in which it has succeeded to a large extent. Is the West really looking at us? Yes, and in a big way. At Toronto Film Festival there are many Indian films and at Busan International Film Festival, Girish Malik’s Jal was in the competitive section. All these are healthy pointers. Do you live, eat and breathe cinema? (Laughs). Well, it certainly is in my system. I am a unique combination of a professional filmmaker and a bureaucrat. What is your take on Indian cinema? Every few years there is a shift in the kind of films that are made. Right now the most heartening thing is that while the studio system still exists, a whole lot of independent filmmakers have come up. This bodes well for the Indian film industry. At IFFI also we try to create a platform for young filmmakers. How do you take criticism? I take it in my stride. There will always be reactions, some objective, some constructive and some negative. The trick is to learn from valid criticism. What is you answer to those who thought the opening ceremony last year was Bollywoodised? Bollywood is an integral part of Indian cinema. Our goal always has been to represent Indian cinema but at times some regions will dominate more than the others. There have been accusations that money should not be spent on the temporary hangar where the opening ceremony takes place. It is a conscious, well-thought-out decision taken by the ministries involved. There will be individual voices of dissent. However, collective wisdom is always more important. What happens when your voice clashes with collective opinion? In a democracy collective wisdom prevails. Where do you think IFFI stands vis-a-vis other international film festivals? It’s not right or fair to compare. But while other festivals at Cannes, Venice or Berlin are market driven, we are content driven. Much was made out of your absence at Cannes Film Festival this year. No comments, except that I may not have been physically present at the Cannes, but was mentally attuned to what was happening there. How important is glamour for an international festival? It makes a difference and creates a buzz. This year we have actor Susan Sarandon as the chief guest. But I must say we are not on a glamour hunt. Where do you see IFFI few years from now? It is the oldest film festival of Asia and it’s our dream, vision and goal to transform it into a one-stop destination of cinema of Asia as well as one of the best destination festivals in Asia.
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Asked what prompted her to join politics, she says: “My desire to work for the betterment of the people, especially the youth, women and children while leading social campaigns.” Before taking the plunge, the 36-year-old threw away a lucrative job in the Railways where she worked as an officer for 11 years. In her, the Congress has found an answer to BJP’s sports celebrity Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore. Krishna says she would continue to pursue her career in sports. She is working hard for next year’s Commonwealth and Asian Games. She was awarded Padma Shri a few years ago. Hailing from Hisar, Krishna is married to Virendar Singh Poonia, a hammer throw champion. She wanted to give up sports after marriage but her husband persuaded her to continue and became her coach. “Whatever I am today, it is because of him,” she says. The couple has a son Lakshya. Krishna says it was not easy to return to sports after becoming a mother “but I never gave anyone a chance to question my dedication”. “I have to make a lot of sacrifice and work hard for long hours. At times, I don’t get to see my son for months. But I am fortunate to have a husband who looks after him in my absence,” she says. In the 2010 Commonwealth Games, Krishna led the historic clean sweep of the discus event by clearing 61.5 metres to become the first Indian woman to win the gold medal. She is not only the first Indian woman to win a gold medal in track and field events of Commonwealth Games, but also the first Indian to win a gold medal in such events after Milkha Singh, who won the gold in the 440 yards race in the 1958 Commonwealth Games. In the 2006 Doha Asian Games, she won the bronze medal with a throw of 61.53 metres in the second try, finishing behind China’s Aimin Sing (63.52 metres) and Ma Xuenjun (62.43 metres). While registering a career-best of 60.10 metres, Krishna fared better than favourites Seema Antil and Harwant Kaur to win the gold medal in the 46th Open National Athletics Championships.
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good news THESE are two of the many success stories of the initiative started from a single room on the IIT Kanpur campus more than 25 years ago. Vijaya Ramachandran, wife of a physics professor from the institute and an accomplished musician and innovative educationist, took up this enterprise to educate the marginalised who were contributing in setting up world-renowned educational institutions like the IIT Kanpur while remaining unlettered themselves. Growing in numbers Over the years, her hard labour has paid off. There are now 20 Apna Skools — 15 at brick-kiln sites and five at construction sites. A permanent residential campus is in the process of being established. About 600 students are enrolled in these schools every season.
Brick-kiln business is a seasonal labour-intensive activity, often involving entire families. The workers live on work sites between October 15 and June 15, when production is on and then return to their villages in Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and some districts in Uttar Pradesh during off-season months. Mostly belonging to Scheduled Castes, the children who attend the school are wards of landless labourers; almost all of them are illiterate. Despite exploitation, they return every year to work in pitiable conditions at brick-kilns. It was a challenge to design a course which would coincide with the brick production season. Apna Skools generally run from October 15 to June 15 every year, when brick-making activity takes place. The teaching methods and syllabus has been designed in such a way that during this six-month period, an illiterate child can acquire the skills to read and write in Hindi and learn the basic tools of mathematics such as addition and subtraction. Every brick-making season sees about 500 to 600 children (of which around 40 per cent are girls) getting an education. Sharing the story of her initiative Vijaya says living on the picturesque IIT campus as a young mother in the 70s she thought of starting a school for the ward of the class that made their lives simpler — drivers, maids and the milkman, but the administration did not agree. Determined to do something, she started the first school in her own house on the campus with 20 students. Children of migrant construction workers, mostly from Bilaspur, were also her students. Not easy In 1992, the first Apna Skool was set up outside the campus at brick-kiln sites at Deep and Pawan at Bhaunti. It was a very difficult phase as besides financial problems, there was hostility from brick-kiln owners and indifference of the district administration. “Students of the IIT and a host of well-wishers contributed in a big way. It brought positive energy to the initiative. Even now, IIT students come to teach and help in raising resources for the schools,” she says. With a solid foundation at Apna Skools, the students go on to join regular schools. There is now a long list of former students who have excelled in life and have managed to take themselves and their families out of the spiral of poverty. Going residential With the support of funding, a residential campus is coming up near the Kanpur campus. Students who want to continue their studies can stay here even after their parents leave for their villages every year. For the last few years such an initiative was being carried on in a rented building under the guidance of another like-minded person, Mahesh Pandey, but the new campus has instilled a sense of permanence in the lives of the children of migrant labourers who now understand the significance of education. As Halida, a class II student of Panki Padao Apna Skool, writes: Basta behad bhaari hai/ Kaisi yeh lachari hai/ Uthana isey majboori hai/ Padhna bahut zaruri hai. The brick-kiln owners have also welcomed the change as now the labourers, once reluctant to send their children to schools, prefer to work on sites where Apna Skools are run.
Set up by the wife of an IIT professor, Apna Skools are imparting education to children of construction workers and migrant labourers employed at brick-kilns.
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CALL him thrice lucky or a man with a vision, Shankar Mohan has every reason to be proud. Chosen for the third time in a row as director of the prestigious International Film Festival of India (IFFI), Goa, Mohan has been credited with breathing new life into IFFI. Alumnus of FTII, Pune, Mohan’s understanding of cinema is not surface-deep. Among his admirers is Adoor Gopalakrishnan, acclaimed director of Malayalam cinema. With vast experience in film programming, Mohan has worn several caps, besides being director of the Mumbai film festival and director of the Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute of India, Kolkata. Set to unveil the 44th edition of IFFI on November 20, he talks about what makes IFFI a cut above the rest. Excerpts:
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