<p>The wish of a 10-year-old aspiring magician to watch a fantasy film on the day of release clashes with her mother’s work commitment in the film Little Magician, directed by Neha Sharma.<br /><br /> And, as a city-bred boy travels to his ancestral village in Odisha, he witnesses developments that cut through the heart of a natural resource in the film The Waterfall, directed by Lipika Singh Darai. At the National Awards this year, the former story has been marked as the best film based on family values and the latter story has been recognised as the best educational film, both belonging to the non-feature category. These films come as a collaboration between the directors and a film-based module called School Cinema of an educational firm in Bengaluru.<br /><br />Neha Sharma says she moved to Mumbai to tell visual stories, but first assisted directors in Bollywood on mega projects and learnt a lot from them. And now is the time to tell her own stories. And for Lipika Singh Darai, who comes from Odisha, this is her fourth national award. She remembers that her film-making journey began with a vocal tribute to her music teacher in Odisha, which later became a film. The directors share their experiences...<br /><br />What inspired you to make this film?<br /><br />Neha Sharma (NS): No one is making films specifically for children. It’s this gap that School Cinema hopes to bridge. So the firm sends out topics every year to writers and film-makers, and I just connected with this particular topic (understanding your parents — for Class 5 students) and wrote a story for it.<br /><br />Lipika Singh Darai (LSD): Millions of school children, the audience of this project, were my main inspiration. I have been hearing about people’s resistance around the Khandadhar Falls (in the district of Sundergarh, Odisha). I visited the place a number of times and was deeply saddened by the situation created by the big mining companies in the area. The day-to-day struggle of the people living there to safeguard the forests and the waterfall inspired me to initiate this discussion among school children. It would be interesting to screen the film among fresh minds who aren’t prejudiced yet.<br /><br />What message did you want to bring out through this film?<br /><br />NS: The message was always clear — that young kids sometimes get so caught up in their own worlds that they forget to think of their parents as people. People who have dreams, desires, obligations, and are doing their best to provide and be there for their children. So, the message is about empathy. About being able to see the world and a situation from the parents’ point of view.<br /><br />LSD: I was conscious of the fact that I was constructing a story for fresh young minds about real issues, the present scenario of the ruthless destruction of nature around a waterfall in the name of development. I wanted to make a point that many waterfalls, rivers and forests that are being destroyed are innately connected to each of us. To reconfirm that connection, I thought I needed to tell this story.<br /><br />They say children’s attention is the hardest to get... your thoughts on it as a director?<br /><br />NS: My father used to teach briefly as a young man. He still gets messages from his students thanking him for what he did for them. What I have imbibed from him is that there are no bad or difficult students, it’s only our inability to get through to them and to engage them. I had a pretty similar experience while directing this film. I had to constantly engage the youngest one - a six-year-old boy... He had so much energy that he couldn’t sit still for more than 30 seconds!<br /><br />How was the experience of directing a film for children?<br /><br />NS: It was fantastic... I wish we make more and more engaging content for children in India. I’m sick and tired of watching young children dance to ‘Munni Badnaam Hui’, ‘Gandi Baat’, etc, on national TV and in their homes. It’s quite pathetic. But that’s only because they don’t have any alternatives.<br /><br />What did you have to keep in mind while directing this film for children?<br /><br />LSD: I wanted the film to be evocative, the story to be humble at its core, yet powerful in its depiction. In 20 minutes, how could I show children a different side of reality and get them involved with characters they could relate to, and then simply put my point forward? I always had in mind that the young audience would look for constant engagement with the subject while seeing the film, otherwise the film would fall flat.<br /><br />What’s your favourite takeaway from the film?<br /><br />NS: Magic happens only and only when you work hard for it... For me personally, magic happened with this film after years of hard work and passion. So, the best takeaway for me would be to keep believing in myself and to keep working hard. And never to compromise on what I want to say as a film-maker.<br /><br />LSD: The waterfall in the film, which is a natural-spring waterfall, is actually drying up. During our recce, the falls was thin. So, our team could go till the foot of it and plan our shots. Ten days later, we went back to the place and were stunned to witness that the waterfall had become gigantic. We could listen to the sound of the force of water, as if the entire forest was roaring through this falls, letting us realise the sovereignty of nature.<br /><br /> What are you working on next?<br /><br />NS: I’m writing a feature film.<br /><br />LSD: A feature-length documentary on the puppeteers of Odisha... and I’m editing a feature-length documentary on a sound recordist, the late Mangesh Desai.<br /><br /><br /></p>
<p>The wish of a 10-year-old aspiring magician to watch a fantasy film on the day of release clashes with her mother’s work commitment in the film Little Magician, directed by Neha Sharma.<br /><br /> And, as a city-bred boy travels to his ancestral village in Odisha, he witnesses developments that cut through the heart of a natural resource in the film The Waterfall, directed by Lipika Singh Darai. At the National Awards this year, the former story has been marked as the best film based on family values and the latter story has been recognised as the best educational film, both belonging to the non-feature category. These films come as a collaboration between the directors and a film-based module called School Cinema of an educational firm in Bengaluru.<br /><br />Neha Sharma says she moved to Mumbai to tell visual stories, but first assisted directors in Bollywood on mega projects and learnt a lot from them. And now is the time to tell her own stories. And for Lipika Singh Darai, who comes from Odisha, this is her fourth national award. She remembers that her film-making journey began with a vocal tribute to her music teacher in Odisha, which later became a film. The directors share their experiences...<br /><br />What inspired you to make this film?<br /><br />Neha Sharma (NS): No one is making films specifically for children. It’s this gap that School Cinema hopes to bridge. So the firm sends out topics every year to writers and film-makers, and I just connected with this particular topic (understanding your parents — for Class 5 students) and wrote a story for it.<br /><br />Lipika Singh Darai (LSD): Millions of school children, the audience of this project, were my main inspiration. I have been hearing about people’s resistance around the Khandadhar Falls (in the district of Sundergarh, Odisha). I visited the place a number of times and was deeply saddened by the situation created by the big mining companies in the area. The day-to-day struggle of the people living there to safeguard the forests and the waterfall inspired me to initiate this discussion among school children. It would be interesting to screen the film among fresh minds who aren’t prejudiced yet.<br /><br />What message did you want to bring out through this film?<br /><br />NS: The message was always clear — that young kids sometimes get so caught up in their own worlds that they forget to think of their parents as people. People who have dreams, desires, obligations, and are doing their best to provide and be there for their children. So, the message is about empathy. About being able to see the world and a situation from the parents’ point of view.<br /><br />LSD: I was conscious of the fact that I was constructing a story for fresh young minds about real issues, the present scenario of the ruthless destruction of nature around a waterfall in the name of development. I wanted to make a point that many waterfalls, rivers and forests that are being destroyed are innately connected to each of us. To reconfirm that connection, I thought I needed to tell this story.<br /><br />They say children’s attention is the hardest to get... your thoughts on it as a director?<br /><br />NS: My father used to teach briefly as a young man. He still gets messages from his students thanking him for what he did for them. What I have imbibed from him is that there are no bad or difficult students, it’s only our inability to get through to them and to engage them. I had a pretty similar experience while directing this film. I had to constantly engage the youngest one - a six-year-old boy... He had so much energy that he couldn’t sit still for more than 30 seconds!<br /><br />How was the experience of directing a film for children?<br /><br />NS: It was fantastic... I wish we make more and more engaging content for children in India. I’m sick and tired of watching young children dance to ‘Munni Badnaam Hui’, ‘Gandi Baat’, etc, on national TV and in their homes. It’s quite pathetic. But that’s only because they don’t have any alternatives.<br /><br />What did you have to keep in mind while directing this film for children?<br /><br />LSD: I wanted the film to be evocative, the story to be humble at its core, yet powerful in its depiction. In 20 minutes, how could I show children a different side of reality and get them involved with characters they could relate to, and then simply put my point forward? I always had in mind that the young audience would look for constant engagement with the subject while seeing the film, otherwise the film would fall flat.<br /><br />What’s your favourite takeaway from the film?<br /><br />NS: Magic happens only and only when you work hard for it... For me personally, magic happened with this film after years of hard work and passion. So, the best takeaway for me would be to keep believing in myself and to keep working hard. And never to compromise on what I want to say as a film-maker.<br /><br />LSD: The waterfall in the film, which is a natural-spring waterfall, is actually drying up. During our recce, the falls was thin. So, our team could go till the foot of it and plan our shots. Ten days later, we went back to the place and were stunned to witness that the waterfall had become gigantic. We could listen to the sound of the force of water, as if the entire forest was roaring through this falls, letting us realise the sovereignty of nature.<br /><br /> What are you working on next?<br /><br />NS: I’m writing a feature film.<br /><br />LSD: A feature-length documentary on the puppeteers of Odisha... and I’m editing a feature-length documentary on a sound recordist, the late Mangesh Desai.<br /><br /><br /></p>
