She gets personal!
Nonika Singh
Don’t let her youth befool you. Thirty-something Reema Maya is not only an internationally acclaimed filmmaker, but one who wears many hats. You may see contradiction in her artistic sensibilities steeped in socially relevant shorts and that of king of razzmatazz, Karan Johar. But this medium-agnostic creator, who is helming the digital version of KJo’s Student Of The Year 3, does not feel there is anything to reconcile between his vision and hers.
She says, “This is not a new turf for me. I have a long history of creating content like music videos for independent artistes. Besides, I have been in the advertising industry for 10 years.”
Moreover, she believes that story should dictate the form. Only like much of her work, Student Of The Year 3.0 is going to be a very personal story. At one level, the much acclaimed Nocturnal Burger, which created a stir during the world premiere at Sundance Film festival and has since gone on to win 40 awards, too took off from a personal space. She agrees that objectivity in art is an overrated virtue. “The more personal, the more honest you are, greater the universal resonance.”
Inspiring journey
Do we get to see her inspirational dream journey, which has been a fantastical rise from growing up in slums of Bombay to graduating from London leap, on the screen? She, who decided to be a filmmaker at a frightfully young nine years, attended creative workshops between the age of 12-15 and had her own company, Catnip, at 23.
As for her humble beginnings, at one point, “I used to be embarrassed about where I came from. But as I am getting older, I am grateful for the experiences.”
She navigates multiple realities in Nocturnal Burger with consummate ease. “Perhaps, but then this is my version of realism. In life, there are no clear-cut answers or conclusions. You have to piece everything and present it through your own inferences.” In fact, as she got down to discussing with her co-writer what kind of conversation they want with their young audiences for SOTY, she bared many of the insights she gained at various schools. You bet the fancy schools that you see in KJo movies ‘do exist’. She herself went to one of a kind!
Power of cinema
Cinema, she realised long back, is a very powerful medium. The reason why she chose to be a filmmaker was not because she was struck by the glamour of it, but, “How it makes you come closest to being another person, offers an immersive experience, can inculcate empathy, hence influence and shape thoughts.”
To those who care to tread her path and are struggling to do so, she advises, “Follow your rigour. Go inwards, be so unique, that they have no choice but to notice you.” Just as Karan has and given her carte blanche to let her decide and dictate what the digital avatar of SOTY will look or feel like!
The wide-eyed lovely-looking Reema might have taken her mother’s name Maya as a moniker, but she suffers from no delusions of grandeur or illusion.
She never had a plan B, ‘what if this does not work out has never bothered me’, and has not let the weight of success weigh down her young shoulders either. Her goals are not intangible or infinite but small and achievable. Working through an 18-20 hour day and a voice distinctively her own, she reaches her goals easily. Watch out for her and this space to learn how her dream of leaving behind many pieces of her bears fruition.
