Cannes edition - Lights Film Magazine

Filmosphere
due to the geographical features of the area. The
authorities as well as the people in high places
underplayed the gravity of this humanitarian issue by
projecting it as a mere interstate water dispute.
As an inhabitant of the area, I could feel the fear, anxiety
and helplessness of the people living there. Hence my
feelings found the shape of words in my debut work
DAM999.
When the movie DAM999 is released,
do you expect a social rethinking
about constructing ecologically
challenging huge dams as a reaction
of the audience?
I am a story teller. I have observed people, their lives and
emotions. Some of those observations created deep,
indelible impressions in me. My fiction, the characters
and the sequence of events are the products of those
impressions.
Look at what is happening around us- indiscriminate use
of pesticides, massive deforestation and polluting the
rivers, sea and air. The global warming, scarcity for
drinking water and natural disasters are only symptoms-
Symptoms of great disasters to come!
I have raised a question mark against the wisdom of
building huge dams across rivers without proper eco
impact, seismic and geographical studies. If my work
creates a rethinking about this like any socially
responsible person; iam satisfied.
As a change from a normal Hollywood
movie, you have used your movie
THEME as the marketing tool instead
of showing 'stars'. Does it point
towards a new marketing trend in the
film industry?
DAM999 has 9 strong characters as its pillars and they
equally carry the movie forward. No one has more
importance that the other. It would have been difficult to
have 9 A-list actors and hence I thought why not make
the "concept and the story" the main star of the movie.
I don't think that it points towards a new marketing
strength as its mainly the stars who sell the film apart
from the story. At the end of the day you don't want your
film to be a well-intentioned experiment. You want it to be
a film that finds an enthusiastic supportive audience. But
yes innovative strategies do catch the attention.
What do you have in mind as your
next project?
My next movie is on pirates of Somalia, a very
controversial and politically debated issue.
As you would know the piracy and hijacking of ships are
on an increase in coast of Somalia and no one is able to
stop it, not even the naval powers of countries like US,
France etc.
Now the most influential people in the shipping industry
are literally these pirates who have influenced the trade
dropouts in the last few years.
But my movie will not just be an action packed adventure
but will also throw light on the lives of these pirates and
the emotional aspects of the issues which created these
pirates.
What is your message to the readers of
All Lights?
Cinema is a sublime blend of art, craft and technology
and is above all, a cultural artifact. Cinema has its own
language, which has the power to communicate
universally. A true lover of cinema owes a mighty deal to
the art form. Film magazines do their part to fulfill the
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ALL LIGHTS, MAY 2011