Prithvi Konanur about Railway children
Interview with Prithvi Konanur, the director of Railway children - Indian film in the international competition of films for youth.
How different was shooting of Alegalu and Railway Children?
Very different. Alegalu was a children's film and dealt with issues of spirituality, faith and children's issues that is faced by most children worldwide. But, Railway Children is the antithesis of Alegalu. While Railway Children is also centered around children, it is targeted towards youth and adults and not really children below 12. Their lives, their problems, their environment are completely different from the world we explored in Alegalu.
Here, we're dealing with sensitive themes such as substance abuse, drug abuse, violence, crime etc. Here we're dealing with a world that is unforgiving and relentless. Most importantly, we're dealing with subjects that are still kind of a taboo in India. However, to me personally, I have grown a lot since Alegalu. I can't even begin to count the mistakes I've made while making Alegalu and I have covered most of them while making Railway Children.
Can you please tell us the development of Railway Children. Did you come across obstacles making this strong film?
Railway Children developed rather quickly for a completely independent film that is also partially crowd-funded. Although crowd-funding was only partially successful, we received the support of Gangadhar N Birthi as the main producer (who will attend the film festival), Chetana Gokul and Don Thompson. My meet with the NGO Sathi was purely accidental. I did not know of such NGOs and certainly did not know of the extent of the problem of Railway Children.
When I learned about their work and the issues of the Railway Children, I knew instantly that there was an original story to be told. There have been many many films on Railway Children (including the recent Lion). However, I found that none of them dealt with issues of abuse, substance addiction, drug usage, crime among young children. Everything you see in Railway Children is derived from Sathi's experience and are based on true stories. Don Thompson of Nextpix saw the potential in the story and chose our film for Nextpix/Firstpix grant. More than the financial support, Don's moral support for our film was monumental. Regarding the obstacles, there were many. First, second and third were the money. Fourth was casting the non-actors. I visited about 30 schools/colleges in North Bengaluru to find the right talent for the roles and conducted workshop for more than 20 days in total. Fifth was cutting through the red-tape of Indian bureaucracy.
How was the film received in India?
Film has been received very well by people in India, although very few have watched the film given the very limited screenings. The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. Manohara, who plays Jollu in the film, won both National Film Award and the Karnataka State Film Award for his mind-blowing performance in the film. His fan club is growing and I'm one among them. Railway Children was adjudged the second best film at Karnataka State Film Awards. Although most connoisseurs of films have expressed their disappointment at the film being not named the best film.
You told us that most of the dialogues are improv. Was there any particular difficult scene for the children?
Yes, there was one particular scene that was difficult to shoot and believe it or not, it was the very climax of the film. In the original screenplay, the climax was supposed to be an emotional outburst of the child artiste who was coming out with an identity. But, the child actor who plays Raju kept laughing and couldn't emote the deep emotions that were written in the screenplay. In the end I had to change the climax completely on the spot (in 10 minutes) from an emotional outburst to a declaration. Guess, it worked. Those who watched film told me that it has come out very powerfully.
Do you have any new projects in your mind?
Yes. My next film deals with another set of issues faced by modern India. I believe that in terms of ideas, it is at least 10 times bigger than Railway Children. In terms of length and budget, it's slightly bigger than Railway Children. It's titled "17" and I am looking to collaborate with European co-producers also. So, producers interested are welcome to contact me through you.
Do you think your film can help in helping these kids?
I sincerely hope so. It actually hurts me when I see so many Indian Children not getting the opportunities to explore and achieve their full potential. Just a few days ago, we had a special screening of the film to the Ministry of Women and Child development in the presence of the minister Mrs. Maneka Gandhi. There were a lot of NGO's who were present there and they all appreciated the film. I really hope that it will reach most people across the globe and people will start seeing these children as a part of humanity and not as a part of a different, disconnected world.