Those three minutes!
OM GUPTA
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Ishaan Sharma, whose film “About the Promise” has been selected for the Short Film Fest in France.
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PHOTO: ANU PUSHKARNA
Animated ideas Ishaan Sharma feels India is ready for animation in a big way.
The film is over before it starts sinking in. But the filmmaker Ishaan Sharma slept over the idea for months before developing the story, lighting and production. This is the first film he has completed. He had tried three or four times earlier but gave up. He was pleasantly surprised when this film was selected as the only entry in the non-competitive section of the International Short Film Festival to be held in France next month. The film lasts for less than three min
utes. It is titled “About the Promise”.
“A similar day
In a world of mind-numbing homogeneity
Why I am circulating aimlessly
For this currency
As I sit here looking at this grey screen,
I understand, it’s not their lives, I spend
They are just a bunch of dresses I keep in the safe box
Bunch of fears I barter for goods
And a few weeks more of the apartment
Bunch of freedom”
It could be read as a blank verse but in fact these are the captions that come on visuals. The film is about money. The characters are currency notes. They move, dance and do all the talking. The only figure one can relate to is that of Gandhi imprinted on notes. But he also looks as helpless as everything else in the film, including, perhaps, the director. The film throws a few questions. Why do we chase money, why do we collect money, why do we aimlessly keep on circulating money?
The filmmaker speculates: perhaps to barter our fears, perhaps for some more weeks in the apartment. And then he gives the final verdict – for a bunch of freedom. Ishaan, who is in his early 20s, is a man of few words. He is conscious of the fact that people feel uncomfortable because he talks little. But his film and animation say a lot. He is an animator by training. After being trained at Xavier’s College, Mumbai, he worked for a few filmmakers like Romesh Sharma, but soon he was on his own and now provides computer generated animated inputs to documentary and advertisement films. Ishaan is very excited at the prospect of animation in India.
Serious films
Talking about the massive release of “Spiderman-3” in India, he feels India is ready for this genre. Though we are still biased towards mythological characters like Krishna and Hanuman, soon we shall have serious films in this category. There are many good schools producing animation filmmakers. Even print and electronic media are shifting to multimedia in their illustrations, making reading an interesting experience.
He feels shy when asked about his role models. “I liked the works of Ram Mohan who is known for his Ramayana that created much hype among both adults and young viewers. But my heart is after the biographical film on Ryan by Chris Lendreth. This unique work opened new horizons for animation filmmaking.” Ishaan finds a close resemblance in news cartoons, cartoon strips and comics. He feels this form opens immense possibilities for creative people. “In fact filmmaker Manmohan Desai made a bold statement that most of his Amitabh starrers were inspired by serial comic books.” Ishaan is looking forward to his France trip, and he already has grand plans for his first full-length animation feature film on his return.
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