Director Geethu Mohandas, whose debut feature film is India's official entry to the Oscar Awards, chats with Divya Kaushik about her story that deals with the issue of migrant labourers and their exploitation
Elated, of course, she is with the news of liar’s Dice entering the ‘famed’ Oscars but as a director her concerns remain. First getting the film ready was no mean feat in a shoestring budget and now making it stand out among hundreds of best films from across the globe is another task at hand. “But thankfully we have good wishes from so many people and ever since the news of Oscar selection has come out, we have a lot of people connecting to us and supporting the film. I hope that will translate into something. Some people think that since the news is out, I am getting my gown ready to strut the red carpet. It is not the case. The film has been only selected from the basket full of hundreds of good films. We have to gear up further for the competition,” says Geethu Mohandas, an actor and director who has made the headlines with her film liar’s Dice.
The film received two national awards and is now India’s Official Entry for the Best Foreign language Film for the 87th Academy Awards. It was premiered in the ‘World Cinema Dramatic Competition’ category at the Sundance Film Festival in Utah and screened at several major fests across the world. It deals with the issue of migrant labourers and their exploitation. It tells the story of a young woman, played by Geentanjali Thapa, who embarks on a journey in search of her missing husband with her daughter. On her way, she meets Nawazuddin Siddiqui, who helps her for his own selfish motive. The film is majorly shot in Himachal Pradesh, near the Indo-Tibetan Border. The film was written by the director herself. Says Geethu, “We live with the issue that is discussed in the film. I am talking about issues of displacement, about people becoming statistical information. I want to address the issue of social value system of a man. What is the value of a man today in our societyIJ So that is the underlying idea of the story. The film is also a love story that is born while this woman is on her journey. The title of the film is used as the metaphor to the subject, how this woman is a catalyst in the game of defeat.”
Now when Geethu says that it was difficult for her to finance her film, it comes as a surprise, given that the story of the film sounds perfect to suit the ‘cutting-edge scenario’ we are facing in Bollywood today. Second, it stars an actor like Nawazuddin. “But I never approached with the film to the producers with actors in mind because I never wanted it be a star-driven film. It’s been quite a journey of couple of years in finding a producer. It is hard for independent filmmakers to raise money if you don’t have a big star attached to your project. I did go to a lot of production houses with the script. They said they liked the script but did not have a marketing strategy. They just did not know how to pitch the film to the audience,” shares the director and says that when she decided to cast Nawazuddin for her film, he was not a household name.
“He has been a phenomenal actor always but then Kahaani had not released and it was easy for us to shoot on the roads across the country with Nawaz. If we would have shot the film today, it would have got really difficult for us,” she quips.
The director has been a well-known actress in the South. The transition from being an actor to the director has been gradual. “I have been acting since my childhood but I wanted to do something more creative. I have been interested in cinema as a whole. I have been writing for a long time, so my transition has been gradual and something which was intended. I made a short film called Kelkkunnundo (Are You listeningIJ) and worked with many indie filmmakers. So I have been preparing myself over a period of time and learning nuances,” she says.