In the realm of reality

WORLD CINEMA

Film-makers Praveen Morchhale, Juris Poskus and Madara Melberga, shared their views on movie-making and the subjects of their movies at an interaction at the Information Department recently, as part of the ‘Bengaluru International Film Festival’ (BIFFes).

These talented film-makers are known for bringing their own sense of reality to the world. Talking about his film ‘Barefoot to Goa’, which is based on the loneliness of the elderly, Praveen Morchhale said that though many movies have explored the same subject, he tried to make it different by adding his own style to it. 

“While most directors try to present the context through the eyes of the first generation, that is the children, I’ve tried to bring out the views of the second generation. So the viewers see the film through the eyes of the grandchildren,” he said. 

He added the movie didn’t have a proper ending as he thought the “audience was intelligent” and would have had its own version. “I wanted to highlight the topic without giving a lesson,” he said.

There are often times when the audience’s reaction to the movie is something different than what the director has filmed and Praveen recollects one such response. “A visitor told me that the movie was a representation of life and death. Another person told me that it was like the Buddha’s journey,” he said. 

Director Juris Poskus and producer Madara Melberga, the makers of ‘Kolka Cool’, said that the films made in Latvia and other parts of Europe, are not actor-specific. “Our movie is a reflection of the place we come from, where people stay in their parents’ house, exploring life whether they are working or not, till they are sure they want to move out. The movie depicts a conflict of egos in such a scenario,” said Juris. 

While trying to keep away from social realism in ‘Kolka Cool’, which is a dark comedy, Juris said that European films are often about “social sadness”.

“In India, most films are family-oriented and have just recently progressed to social causes and themes. I see a great future for Indian movies — maybe not so much for the dance-sequence filled films,” he added.

Joy Roy wanted to know more about his father — film-maker Bimal Roy — who passed away when he was ten. Thus began his journey of making ‘Remembering Bimal Roy’. “For a film like this, it was essential for me to bring the real Bimal Roy out. I had to share a personal connection with the film at the same time as it was about my father,” said Bimal. 

“And there were many things I learnt about him in the process — one being that he had immense respect for women, which one could see in most movies he made,” he added. Joy also learnt what a perfectionist Bimal Roy was, while preparing for the movie, from the experiences that Bimal’s accomplices shared with him.