Making this one wasn't easy
N. VENKATESWARAN
|
K.N.T. Sastry has completed `Kamli' after four long years of struggle.
|
LAYERED STORY: "Kamli."
K.N.T. Sastry is a bitter man. "There is no future for parallel cinema in Telugu. I am the only fool making such movies in Andhra Pradesh now," says the seven-time national award winner. After winning the Indira Gandhi Award for Best First Film in 2002 for `Tiladaanam,' he was on the top of the world. He took his movie to over 18 countries and film festivals, winning the New Currents Award at the Pusan International Film Festival in South Korea.
But the four long years of struggle to make his next movie, `Kamli,' has changed him. "A big Telugu producer went to Kerala to meet directors of serious cinema and discuss projects. They recommended me, but when I went to meet the producer in Hyderabad he told me that people would call him crazy if he put money into my film, he says.
`Kamli' was to have been produced by actor Soundarya, but her untimely death in a helicopter crash during an election campaign put paid to those plans. "Soundarya wanted to make meaningful cinema, as Dweepa, in which she acted, got the National Award. I told her more than 100 stories but she liked only `Kamli,'" says the director.
A trying phase followed as Sastry started his hunt for a producer who believed in the project and its message. After numerous rejections and frustrations, good fortune came from a rather unlikely quarter. "A U.S.-based real estate agent, Haricharan Prasad, wanted to know where he could buy a DVD of `Tiladaanam.' He was interested in offbeat cinema, and we kept e-mailing each other. He asked why I had not made a film after Tiladaanam."
Sastry told him about the non-starter that `Kamli' had become, as nobody wanted to invest in it. "Prasad said he would back the project," says Sastry, who has finished shooting the film and is busy with post-production.
"`Kamli' is dedicated to the girl children of the world, he says." It tells the story of Lambada women who sell their girl children for as little as Rs. 20 to adoption agencies and others.
Dramatic shots
`Kamli' is a simple but layered story, with dramatic shots and unusual composition adding to the strength of its message. Sastry has not used a typical, straight narrative style to tell his story. An ardent admirer of Hong Kong based-filmmaker Wong Kar Wai, he says, "The movie does not respect the time factor. It keeps going back and forth, much like `Wai's 2046' or `In the mood for love.'"
K.N.T.Sastry.
To give the movie an authentic feel, he shot it in a lambada "tanda," or settlement, near Hyderabad. "We also roped in the tribals living in the settlement."
Having found a producer, Sastry began his hunt for the heroine. The search ended with Nandita Das, who agreed to do the project. The cast includes National School of Drama graduate Shafi, Tanikella Bharani and Roopa Devi. The camera has been handled by Sunny Joseph. Bina Paul is in charge of editing and Isaac Thomas Kottukapally is taking care of the music. `Kamli' has already been invited to the Pusan Film Festival and the Asian Film Festival, Mumbai. The completion of this film, one hopes, will end the trying phase in the career of the filmmaker, who can move on to his next project — `Digantam,' based on a famous Telugu novel.
Printer friendly
page
Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail
Friday Review
Bangalore
Chennai and Tamil Nadu
Delhi
Hyderabad
Thiruvananthapuram
