3 hours agoAuthor: Indresh Gupta
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Vinod Kapri’s film Pire, who was a filmmaker and journalist, has achieved 6 nominations at the Imagine India Festival. The film’s director Vinod had a conversation with the film’s inspiration, the selection of the cast and the exposure of the festival….
How did the idea of this film come?
I am a resident of Uttarakhand, migration in Uttarakhand and sad to see the vacant villages. Whenever he used to go to the village, he saw such a situation. These things used to bother me a lot, so once I went home in 2017, an elderly man was found on the mountains, whose trouble was that people were not left to take his ailing wife down. So I said that for how many days you take them like this, then now some people are here who help me and in return I give them my goat. He had 20-25 goats. I asked what will the goats end the day? So he said that we will end before the goats are over. When he said so, his story impressed me a lot. I felt that a story could be told by placing an elderly couple at the center. In which mountain pain can be shown.
Why did you not cast any professional artist in the film Pire?
I decided to take the people of the village as an artist. There are still many people in the village who are left in the mountain, they all call themselves children of the Himalayas and say that we will not leave this place. So I thought that this story should be told and the most important thing that I felt should be told through the people of the village. No professional actors should take it and then I cast two elders of the village in it.
How difficult was it to act with the elderly couple in the film?
It was a difficult task to find the artists, it took two and a half months. The film’s actress Heera Devi was found cutting wood in the forest. It was still easy to find men, because they were found in the fields or playing cards. It was difficult to find the women, as they used to go to the forest to graze goats and grass-wood after the morning after the morning. We needed a female artist over 70 years of age for the film. Our main actors had never faced the camera before, yet they did excellent acting. After talking to him, I felt that he could play the main character of the film. We also worked with him. His best thing was that he used to talk a lot. Veteran NSD veteran actor Anoop Trivedi also tested his talent and said that both artists are amazing. Both have lost their colleagues in their lives. Padam Singh is battling prostate cancer and getting chemotherapy, yet he is going to various film festivals and considers this experience as the biggest achievement of his 80 -year life.
Why did it decide to make it like a film, why not the documentary?
The documentary could also be done, but the practice of documents in our country is very less. Very few people see them and it is very difficult to find a platform. Even the studio is not available. So thought as a film. Why people would see the film with the actors of the village, this was a big struggle. Such art is understood in India only when international identity is found. Hence it was planned to take the film at the international level. Our editor in it is from Germany. Patricia Romela, who had received an Oscar for ‘The Life of Others’, asked her if she would edit it, she agreed. Then I contacted Michael Danna for music, he has also won the Oscar for ‘Life of Pi’. When these two on boards came, I felt that I am watching the route I am right for this film.
What response did it get at the international level?
Got very good response. European audiences gave standing ovation for 7-8 minutes. Belgium has a premiere in the coming week, then is then in Spain, in America. So there are big festivals from many places, which will be shown in good reputation. The rest of the filmmaker is my struggle that he got a 2 -year -old girl in ‘Pihu’ and then got two non -actors of 80 years in ‘Pire’. So this is a kind of risk that I took. Is there a position to go to the Oscor of this film too? It is not in our hands but we will try our best that the film Federation of India is towards India. Whether he chooses it or not. Our job is just to make a film. If they feel that this film is worth sending to the Oscars, then it will definitely go. It is a matter of comfort for me that the film is getting the love of the audience, it is no less than an award in itself.
What do commercial aspects think before making a film?
I want to say stories that are connected to the land and can show reality. Commercial or masala movies are not my talent. I think our films get less recognition at the international level, while Iran’s films are more appreciated. There is difficulty in telling our story. Regional cinema is doing a good job from Hindi cinema. Most remakes are being made in Hindi, original content is low. I want to make original content.
Is there a commercial film plan in the future?
Yes, I have just done with Jaideep Ahlawat in a crime thriller. It can be called commercial. That film is ready, at the moment I will not be able to share his name but it will be released this year.
You make a real life story, but is any biopic in the plan?
Not a biopic, but I definitely want to tell the story on a true incident. My story will be of a common man. One person is Vijender Singh who lives in Alwar, Rajasthan. When 10,000 people were trapped in Kedarnath, they also went there with their wife. His wife was then washed away in floods and was declared dead. For which compensation was also delivered to his house. However, still Vijender Singh had a question in his mind that my wife’s body has not been found yet, so how should I agree that she died and after that she started her journey again and he stayed in Uttarakhand for 19 months. After 19 months, he discovered his wife. So I want to tell such a story. Even if I have a story as a biopic, it will be a story that will be associated with a common man.