It was December 2005, a team of five from Australia were busy working on a film project in the city of Kolkata. The story was about an eleven year old Muslim boy Mohammad, disguised as Hindu Hori, traveled all alone to the city of Kolkata, to find a job in order to support his family back in his village.
India produces more than a thousand films a year, and this particular medium has immense influence on the masses, and especially the newer generations.
Growing up in this rich visual culture, even those who can't read or write can still read the visual subtext, and visual cues very competently and accurately. The people in India are quite knowledgeable about this powerful medium of film. People with families and friends regularly go to the movies to be entertained. Like royal watchers in Britain and Australia, people follow film culture and lives of celebrities very closely and diligently. They know what elements make a film saleable, what makes it a commercial success, and I wasn't spared by anyone who knew the purpose of my trip to Kolkata in December of 2005. Every chance people got they would stop and advice me on my project. Many of them dismissed my idea straightaway saying, "Who would be interested in a film about a little kid?" and offered me their words of wisdom. "How about a romantic love story, a comedy, or, perhaps a remake of The Godfather in India? Can't you write a story about a romance between an Australian man and an Indian woman or vice versa?" and so on.
I knew that our film didn't have the required formula, the spice, a twist in the end. Swapan, my uncle's young chef, advised me quietly: "Didi, you still have time, make a few little changes, add some romance, a bit of violence, spice it up with some Bollywood dance and that's all you need to make your film a sure hit!" I thanked him and all the others for their genuine concerns, and tried to avoid any further debate or discussion on this subject.
We were working almost 18 hours a day, planning, auditioning hundreds of actors, mostly with acting experience in tele-films, rehearsing with the main cast, and our super efficient production manager was finalizing the dates with the crew, organizing the locations etc. To make the story more authentic, the Mike Leigh method of character improvisation was applied. I was introduced to this particular technique at the Australian Film, Television and Radio school (AFTRS) in Sydney by writer and director, Robert Merchand. This process allowed the actors to be more involved in the project.
The filming was to commence on the 1st of January 2006. But on the 26th of December 2005, the Indian subcontinent was hit by a devastating earthquake and subsequent tsunami, leaving us all in absolute shock. But to our surprise, the crew was determined to go ahead according to our schedule. Therefore, in a chilli winter New Years day early morning, my cast member Salim Bhai alias Ramji not only had to shave his very dear moustache, but had to pour buckets of ice cold water straight from a street tubewell onto his bare body, all in the name of Film, and we continued this for take after take. Not a word of complaint was heard. The actors, I must mention here, were not only enthusiastic but extremely professional in their attitude and approach. The 64 minute long film "Hori alone in Kolkata" was shot in 12 different locations, and principal Multicultural Women's Advocacy Newsletter Page 7 of 8 shooting was completed in four days time.
The outdoor shoots were extremely difficult as hundreds of people often crowded to watch the shooting, and there were individuals who at times got carried away and even called out "ACTION", startling the entire cast and crew. The moving of heavy tracks, lights and camera equipment were limiting us in many ways. Had we a smaller crew we could have experimented more and used more camera angles in the film. The first cut of the film was done in Kolkata, and the final cut of the film was made in Canberra.
The purpose of this film was to capture the plight of this lonely little boy, and tell his story. This film was not intended to merely entertain the audience, therefore surely it will disappoint many. But from a filmmaker's perspective, this experience had been a wonderful learning experience for all of us involved. Through this project we met many people, made many new friends, learnt new skills, new strategies, but most importantly we were deeply inspired by the people of Kolkata who live in such difficult conditions, yet are still so enthusiastic and passionate about any creative work and art.
The film "Hori alone in Kolkata" was shown in Canberra early this year, was shown in Cairns in October, and will be shown in India in December this year. You can read more about audience feedback and future screenings by visiting our website on
www.paramitaroy.com

CONTRIBUTOR: Paramita Roy, a local filmmaker. She has graduated with a bachelor
and master degree from Queensland University of Technology and attended Master classes at the Australian film, Television and Radio school (AFTRS) in Sydney. Paramita
has written and directed several short films, and presently working on her first feature film.