We all have stories to tell, whether they are stories that
inspire us, give us hope or even showing a mirror to society. There are
different mediums to get these stories out but the real challenge is to make
the story crisp and heart touching. For Barkha Naik and Suyash Kamat, they had
to tell stories that showcased the true meaning of home. What they felt was
home and the feeling and bonding over not just a physical abode but more with
the people around you. After weeks of nerve-wrecking and brain storming, they
were finally ready to tell their stories through the films, ‘Salt’ and
‘Sadabahar’.
Ten months ago, Netflix India announced
the launch of ‘Take Ten’, a short film workshop and competition, which aimed at
discovering and supporting emerging filmmakers from diverse backgrounds in
India. “Around 1500 filmmakers sent in their entries for the competition.
Within a few days, the top 200 applicants were shortlisted which was further
cut down to 50, when we had to again pitch our ideas. When the final ten
applicants were announced, we had to submit a full-fledged script and were
informed about the workshop, which was held online. It was conducted by a group
of people from different departments involved in the film making and how to
create these beautiful stories that can be translated on screen,” says Suyash,
who directed the 13 minute short film, ‘Sadabahar’.
The finalists of ‘TakeTen’ are Barkha Naik and Suyash Kamat from
Goa, Hitarth Rakesh Desai, Ria Nalavade and Sameeha Sabnis from Mumbai, Murali
Krishnan from Thiruvananthapuram, Manasvini Boovarahan and Sandip Kishan
Anbuselvan from Chennai, Rohan Shyam Chowdhury from Kolkata and Aditi Sharma
from Noida. Each of the filmmakers were given an opportunity to make a
fully-funded short film with a USD 10,000 grant.
‘Sadabahar’ showcases a wedding brass band of musicians from
Uttar Pradesh living in Goa, who are displaced from their rented room and have
to search for a livelihood as well as a home in a different state. “The cast
and crew are very talented Goans. Within a short period of time, we had to
interpret the meaning of home. As our livelihood depends on the kind of job one
does, accordingly they have to be on the move and leave their home behind. But
what really defines home is what I have shown through a different perspective
in the film,” says Suyash from Merces.
The film is written and directed by Suyash and the cast includes
Satish Gaonkar, Mahadev Krishna Sawant, Shravan Fondekar, Vijaykumar Kamat and
Jayesh Bagkar. The casting was by Kaustubh Naik and Siddhesh Naik. “The actors
have played their parts brilliantly and I would like to give them a huge thank
you for their acting,” says Suyash, who is currently completing his
postgraduate in cinematography at the Satyajit Ray Film & Television
Institute, Kolkata.
Suyash has been a part of the film industry in Goa for over 8
years and his short film, ‘Marisoul’ was also screened at the International
Film Festival of India in 2017. “Netflix has been constantly overseeing
everything that we were doing in terms of production as there was a structured
deadline set for the completion of the film. We would present to them what we
had done and get approval. Their team members would even visit Goa,” adds
Suyash, about his Konkani and Hindi language film.
Barkha Naik was excited to see her film being showcased to
personalities from the film fraternity in Mumbai. She has admired the work done
by these artists and didn’t expect her own film, ‘Salt’, to get praises from
her idols. The Konkani film, ‘Salt’ has a very small cast with the main focus
on the father and son and their relationship after the passing of the mother,
the maternal bond in between the father and son.
“They film was completed on a very tight deadline and it was
complete energy and focus on the film during those month pf production. Netflix
India wanted authenticity and diversity and we had to submit a ten page
complete script. Everyone was very supportive and cooperative,” says Barkha
Naik, who has worked on films like ‘Home Without Her’, ‘Layover’ and ‘In
Another Life’.
Defining what she feels is home, Barkha says, “Home is the
people that make it. I watched an instance of loss where somebody who holds the
family together had passed away. It brings in a sense of loneliness where
relationships have lost their anchor. There is a lot of pressure on parents as
they have to be role models and yet we forget that they too are human beings
with desires and flaws,” says Barkha. The 11 minute Konkani film includes the
cast of Rushikesh Naik and Radhakant Divkar. The film is written and directed
by Barkha Naik and Konkani actress Samiksha Desai, worked on the costumes of
the film.
The
ten short films are made by the finalists in eight languages and are available
for viewing on the Netflix India YouTube channel.
