I wanted to tell a universal story rooted in my village: Jaishankar

Director of the widely acclaimed Kannada film ‘Shivamma’ tells Pranati A S his narrative was inspired by a conversation he overheard on a train

The much-awaited Kannada film, ‘Shivamma’, directed by Jaishankar Aryar, was screened at the Bengaluru International Film Festival (BIFFes) earlier this week. The film, which was showcased under the contemporary world cinema category, drew a full house for two of its shows. 

A social satire set in north Karnataka, it follows 44-year-old Shivamma who cooks mid-day meals at the village government school and parallelly also sells health supplements. She is the sole breadwinner of the family and also bears other household responsibilities like finding a groom for her daughter. Despite facing numerous obstacles, the vigour with which she does what she truly believes in makes the film a wonderful watch. 

A conversation between two co-passengers on a train gave Jaishankar the idea to set the narrative around the network marketing business. But he was truly moved when he saw a salesperson gather his courage to approach yet another customer despite being rejected multiple times. “I felt empathetic towards the hardships of salespersons who have to face continuous rejection. I was curious to find out what motivates them to keep going,” said Jaishankar in a conversation with Showtime.

Talking about why he set the film in his village, Jaishankar said, “Stories set in villages are more universally relatable than those set in cities. In cities, the conflicts are lesser in number because there are multiple opportunities.” 

Female perspective

Is there a reason he chose to narrate the film through the perspective of the female protagonist? “I’m very close to my mother, so most stories I want to narrate come to me from a woman’s perspective,” said Jaishankar, and added that he believes stories are more effective when told through the lens of a woman. 

For the 32-year-old, who counts Lars von Trier, Nagraj Manjule, Abbas Kiarostami and Satyajit Ray as his inspiration, authenticity and realism were top priorities. And that is why he chose to work with non-actors, he says. “When I set a story in a village, I want that village’s language and culture to be reflected in the film. When we cast actors, the authenticity gets diluted.”

Jaishankar was impressed with Sharanamma Chetti’s (who plays Shivamma) acting skills and ability to pick things up instantly. After watching the film here (at BIFFes), she was very emotional, shared Jaishankar. “After I die, my grandchildren will watch me on the screen, too,” Sharanamma told Jaishankar. “This was the first time she watched a film in a theatre. She wishes to act in more films,” he added. 

After donning the hat of director during the day, Jaishankar turns into an IT-engineer at night. The film was made in 2020 when he took a one-year sabbatical. 

“Rishab Shetty supported two of my earlier short films and he continues to support me. His belief in me gave me more confidence as a filmmaker,” said Jaishankar about the ‘Kantara’ fame actor who bankrolled ‘Shivamma’. 

Going international

‘Shivamma’ was selected for National Film Development Corporation’s (NFDC) work-in-progress lab in 2021. Jaishankar had submitted a rough cut. He got five mentors who guided him to fine-cut it. “Through their feedback, I started editing from a different perspective,” he said.

The film was later presented by NFDC at the market screenings in Cannes (‘Marché du Film’). “I got to see how networking happens and how small indie films get co-production opportunities. I showcased a 20-minute clip and a lot of filmmakers and production houses showed interest in the film,” he added. 

The film was then selected at the Busan International Film Festival and Jaishankar brought home the Kannada film industry’s first ‘New Currents’ award, which is presented to the winner of the ‘new currents’ competitive category for first and second feature films of an Asian director. Talking about his experience from his festival tour, Jaishankar said, “The festival audience in Busan have a deep understanding of cinema. Their feedback assured me about my film. I also got to see how Europeans, Asians and Iranians reacted to my film.”

‘Shivamma’ was screened in about 17 film festivals across the globe.

“Many jobs do not receive society’s support. A woman with strong will power chooses such a job and believes it will put her out of her misery. I wanted to show her resilience through the film,” says the award-winning filmmaker.