Debut director Ashwini Iyer Tiwari and producer Anand l Rai of Nil Battey Sannata tell S Mallik why the story needed to be told, how hundreds of people dream of completing their education and why Rai agreed to finance the movie
A story about a parent child relationship and also about issues like education has been tried and tested in the industry. Then why should you go and see Nil Battey Sannata, you may askIJ Well, for one, the title is catchy, meaning ‘good for nothing.’ “That was the whole point, we wanted a quirky name. The The subject was serious so we had to present it in a commercial and entertaining way. And in India the lingo just spreads and it’s easy to get across when that happens,” said director Ashwini Iyer Tiwari.
The movie, which marks Iyer’s debut in Bollywood, is about the relationship between a parent and a child. It is also about education and its importance, set against the backdrop of Agra, which is a representation of 70 per cent of the country.
“Plenty of time we see people around us who were unable to finish their education for some reason or the other — irrespective of the class they belong to. They think of what life would have been if they finished their education. The idea actually came from Nitesh (husband and director, Nitesh Tiwari). He said that we needed to talk about this subject,” she said.
According to her, we are in the best phase of storytelling in Bollywood. “The audience are changing. They are mostly the young generation who know their cinema and who understand films. Even older audience, who have gone through the phase and are accepting new challenges and new content. So for the storytellers, it is a whole new place to be. Moreover there are new storytellers coming into the industry with a mindset which is not pre-occupied. They are fearless to tell stories, producers are fearless to back then up and audiences are more than ready to accept it. That’s how it is and that’s why we are seeing so many content driven stories coming up,” she pointed out.
The movie also marks Anand l Rai’s debut as a producer. “It is my first time as only a producer, I have been a director producer before,” he said.
Extracts from an interaction with him:
What was it about the story that attracted youIJ
The simplicity of the story and the intension of the maker was very important for me. And after listening to the script I realised that it was an important story. Entertaining, yes, but at the same time very important and that it should be told. And it has got its own issues to deal with but what was exciting about the movie was the mother daughter bonding which, I felt, was dealt beautifully in the script. I hope the audience will enjoy it. It has got a very Indianness in it.
It speaks about the journey of a mother and daughter and also about education. How important do you think it is in our society, to tell a story like thisIJ
The problem is that if we will not take a step ahead, we will not reach anywhere. And that is what we have been doing to ourselves, we are limiting ourselves thinking whether or not a particular story will find acceptance with the audience. If we do not make them, how will we know whether the audience will enjoy it or not. So, that trust you have to have in your audience and you have to make it in a certain way so that they get the worth of the money they are spending to watch it. The greatest part what I feel about the story and why I think my audience will like is because it is rooted. At the same time it is an original content and it is very Indian at heart which I think is the need of the hour. Our audience have always enjoyed something coming from the roots and from real characters around them.
How difficult was it to present Swara as a mother in a convincing wayIJ
She is a very talented actor and I know that an actor, specially a female actor, has apprehensions playing a certain age. But then you have actors like Swara who loves to play challenges. She has been a very gutsy actress from day one whether it be on her language or the look — she loves to play characters rather than playing a glam doll. And we have been fortunate, from time to time, to get such actors who deliver certain kind of films and she belongs to that category. She is a confident, sure-shot young girl who does not mind playing a mother to a 15 year old girl.
In the past few years content based movies have taken a front seat. What do you perceive of this slow shift in the paradigm of an industry largely dependent on masala flicksIJ
As a maker, I think that what is paying off whether you make a typical Bollywood masala film or a content-driven one, what is very important is staying unpretentious. What kills you or detaches you from your audience is the pretense in the film. You have to be honest with your audience. I have been enjoying telling stories which are very me — with very middle-class values, because I know that because I come from that world. I am not trying to impress my audience, I am trying to talk to them. I am trying to tell them a story rather than telling them how good I am as a director. I am trying to entertain them for those two hours and I will never take credit that I am a maker or that I am superior to you so come and listen to my story. That is not my stance. My stance is I am one of you, a fortunate one because I am the son of a teacher who is being allowed to make a film. Once you are in sync with your audience, they will listen to you.
What do you enjoy most, directing, producing or bothIJ
By heart I am a director, but this was a very nice exercise and I feel healthy and proud. If I can take another creative person on a journey and I can be a support system, it is a brilliant feeling and I will involve myself in a film where I can contribute rather than just produce it. I can support it.
I have been in the industry for some time now so I understand the studio-director game better than many. So people who are taking their first steps, if I can guide them through that, I will feel like I have contributed something in the industry.
photos Dev Mathews