PRINCE THAMPI
I set up Arowana Studios to make movies in English for the millions of city-dwelling Indians for whom communication of complex thoughts and feelings is easier in English than any other. This choice would allow me to explore themes and subjects that mainly urban dwellers can identify with, or are concerned about. Moving to English language Indian themed films made for global audience would allow me to go into areas that traditional movies have difficulty going into. The subjects are complex, nuanced, layered and may need more than a straight story line, song and dance. These are themes that we respond to in our daily urban lives but don’t see them often brought to artistic life on the screen. I wanted to make movies that are capable of investigating , exploring themes that the English speaking Indian specifically can respond to.
In producing Lessons in Forgetting, I have learned valuable lessons. My fascination with movies and movie-making grew a little bit more with each day of the film making process. I chose a critically well-received and successful novel by an established writer. Anita Nair’s book presented both an opportunity and a challenge. The opportunity was in the fact that many people have read or heard of the book. So the movie, retaining the title of the book, would be easily recognized. The challenge was in converting and transforming the main story and the sub-plots into a crisp, easy-flowing movie. A father, living in the US comes to India to investigate and discover what happened to his daughter in the days prior to a coma-causing accident. In the painful journey he has to make to know where his daughter had been and what she had been doing, he discovers not only her life, her passions and failings but the dark practice of female feticide. This book and the movie were also a journey into the heart of a new India- on one hand urbane, civilized, fun and funny but on the other stubborn, prejudiced and cruel.
We were blessed with a cast and crew who were motivated by the challenge. This project has revealed to me clearly what a complex and fascinating process movie-making is. And how rewarding it can be if the audience sees what the producer, director, and the actors wanted them to see and respond in a way they hoped the audience would.
I set up Arowana Studios to make movies in English for the millions of city-dwelling Indians for whom communication of complex thoughts and feelings is easier in English than any other. This choice would allow me to explore themes and subjects that mainly urban dwellers can identify with, or are concerned about. Moving to English language Indian themed films made for global audience would allow me to go into areas that traditional movies have difficulty going into.
It was the preproduction time, during scripting where everyone found the name 'Lessons in Forgetting' tedious and so came up the acronym LIF without an 'e'.
Preproduction was mostly done at the Bangalore office of Arowana Studios, where updates would be shared between the production and direction teams. We also met at our Producer; Mr. Prince Thampi's residence where meetings would be held alongside some delicious culinary preparations prepared by both Mr. Prince Thampi as well our Director of Photography (DOP) Mr. Viswamangal Kitsu.
Mr. Manoviraj Khosla and his team who designed costumes for the film had to deal with a restricted colour palette carefully set by our DOP and styles suggested by our director.
A majority of the crew were from the South Indian state of Kerala and often they communicated in their mother tongue Malayalam. This though unintentional did have its problems especially when the cast as well as some of the crew from Mumbai had no clue what was being said. By the end of the shoot most of them had picked up a bit of Malayalam, proving that, language was no barrier to creativity.
While most of the cast was finalised early, finding the right actor to essay the role of Smriti was turning into a challenge. The auditions threw up some beautiful faces but our pivotal character seemed to be elusive until Ms Maya Tideman was identified and she arrived with a lot of positive energy.
Once the production schedule was in place the actors arrived for a week's rehearsals. Mr. Adil Husain, the lead actor was very keen on having proper rehearsal with every cast member. Adil's approach had its effect on the rest of the cast and soon the cast was giving inputs into how to fine tune the dialogue as well as how to tackle complex scenes. While some cast members were apprehensive about losing their spontaneity due to excessive rehearsals soon they warmed up to the idea of being better prepared. One moment that stands out was when Ms Maya Tideman and Mr. Karan Nair's first rehearsal ended up being a pillow fight between the two of them. It worked as the perfect ice breaker.
The shoot began in Bangalore with a 21 day schedule that will remain unforgettable due to India's Cricket World Cup campaign that was running parallel to the shoot. The conversations amongst the cast and crew always tended to focus around India's performance and chances during their lunch hour and breaks. Both the cast and the crew ultimately had bonded over the matches as India progressed from one round to another, ultimately winning the World Cup.
The set up for the wine party and coordinating with Junior Artists for the scene was challenging and thus became a memorable shoot. Some of the staff members of Arowana Studios and the Parent Company Arowana Consulting also participated as extras in a few scenes.
The second schedule was in the South Indian State of Pondicherry, which used to be French Enclave, prior to India's independence from the British.
Finally the team assembled in Pondicherry. Pondicherry was like a furnace as it was the height of the summer season. New faces joined the direction team for this schedule. Unfortunately for the production team, a fiercely contested local election was in progress, clashing with our plans. We had to constantly reschedule till the last minute to ensure safety and convenience.
The song sequence as well as some very important moments in the screenplay was captured in some unexplored areas of Pondicherry. The day involving the foetus shoot was the most challenging for both the actors as well as the crew. It had rained all night and the day seemed gloomy but it was a blessing in disguise as the light stayed steady all day and the shoot went well.
One day a group of politically motivated local citizens even threatened to disrupt the shoot. It was sorted out before matters went out of hand. The beach scenes were shot under tough conditions due to soaring temperatures.
The schedule ended with a couple of day's shoot at a hill station called Coonoor in the South Indian State of Tamil Nadu, where the weather was refreshingly cooler.
It was the preproduction time, during scripting where everyone found the name 'Lessons in Forgetting' tedious and so came up the acronym LIF without an 'e'.
Preproduction was mostly done at the Bangalore office of Arowana Studios, where updates would be shared between the production and direction teams. We also met at our Producer; Mr. Prince Thampi's residence where meetings would be held alongside some delicious culinary preparations prepared by both Mr. Prince Thampi as well our Director of Photography (DOP) Mr. Viswamangal Kitsu.