From interactive sessions with Rasika Dugal, Abhey Deol and Boman Irani, to screenings of international titles, Day 2 of Cinevesture kept Chandigarh audiences engaged in a delightful way

Sheetal & Gurnaaz Kaur

After a glittering start last evening, Day 2 of Cinevesture, Chandigarh’s first international film festival, saw the participation of B-town celebs through interactive sessions and masterclasses.

Life is good

A reflection at their journeys, a mention of their struggles, and enjoying the process… Rasika Dugal and Rajshri Deshpande had a lot to share with the audience. Rasika feels it’s the second best time to join the film industry and her reason is, “People have opened up to indie movies and more such projects are seeing the light of day. OTT too has given a push to content.”

Rajshri is comfortable when she says that she didn’t have the option to choose work in her initial days. “From the small vision of a family that wanted its kids to become doctors and engineers, I stepped into movies… that itself was big, so whatever came my way, be it one-scene roles in movies, saas-bahu serials, I did everything.” And then Angry Indian Goddesses happened and things changed for Rajshri. “My learning was on the job and I am proud to say that all my films have reached film festivals. I can say I am a festival baby.”

‘Believe in your work’

In an interactive session, Boman Irani opened up about life from his first film onwards. He also spoke about the first digital film to be made in India Let’s Talk that was not even released. “But one man noticed it and that later translated into my role in Munna BhaiM.B.B.S. I almost didn’t do the movie because of the initial one-line narration ‘Ek Gunda hai, woh doctor ban na chahta hai’.”

Thankfully Boman didn’t stop there and we got not alone an entertaining movie but a talent who is spontaneous and method actor at the same time. There’s an interesting encounter from of the earliest shows of Munna Bhai… that’s close to his heart. “A woman on footpath outside a theatre told me, ‘Mamu, picture hit hai’. She sold tickets in black. That was my first appreciation which I still cherish.”

“The movie had a subdued response in the first 7-8 days. And once it picked up, we are still celebrating it 20 years later. Believe in your work, it takes only one person to notice it and that can matter to you.”

We all believe in his talent and now when he has donned the director’s hat with The Mehta Boys, which he has co-written, hopes are high. “The movie is about a father-son duo who cannot stand each other but have to spend 48 hours together. I’ve just finished the last shoot schedule of this film and came straight here.”

Boman also gave insights into screenplay writing. “A movie is not a sequence of events. It has many elements to it and each holds equal importance. Be it the theme, the conflict, the climax, there are many questions you have to ask yourself before you get down to writing a script.”

Film circuit

Independent film producers Vivek Rangachari, Sanjay Gulati and Rucha Pathak talked about how to pitch an idea for a project. Sanjay Gulati, producer of Indo-French film Girl Will Be Girls, says it is possible to make a good film with a small budget. Appreciating movies like Laapataa Ladies and Madgaon Express, Rucha says, “I am excited about Laapataa Ladies’ release on OTT.” Talking of book adaptations, she says, “Adapting a book into a film or a series is a lengthy process. But the end result is rewarding.”

In a separate session, Swanand Kirkire emphasised on the changing language of songs and how that’s changing the music landscape in the film industry.

‘Don’t let success or failure define you’

Abhay Deol makes no bones about his choice of cinema. Call it away from mainstream movies, categorise it as parallel cinema or simply a risk he chose to take… he calls it an exploration. “I had the access to world cinema even as a child. While Hindi films were a means to escape the other world, I wanted to do films that explored the other world.” For those who want to pursue acting, Abhay says there are many opportunities today, but “don’t let success or failure define you.”

Kids’ zone

Another highlight of the Day 2 was screening of children films. It started with Aurora Gossé’s Dancing Queen. A package of two short films, Roads and Sing, was also screened.

Web series on Bhagat Singh

Best known for his Punjabi films Anhe Ghore Da Daan and Chauthi Koot, which premiered at Venice and Cannes Film Festivals respectively, filmmaker Gurvinder Singh is all set to make a web series on revolutionary Bhagat Singh. Stressing that he is still relevant and will continue to remain so, Gurvinder said, “The revolutionary’s character has always fascinated me owing to the multiple layers he boasted of. Not many people have explored him completely. Yes, he was a revolutionary but also had a great sense of humour.”

The series will dwell upon how Bhagat Singh and his comrades ‘used’ the trial to amplify their ideas of independence. While many other films have been made on Bhagat Singh, the filmmaker points out that in most films, the narrative was very linear.