It is undoubtedly one of the biggest hits of the year so
far. ‘Pathaan’ has caught the fancy of the general public. It marks the return
of superstar Shah Rukh Khan after a four year hiatus. Much has been written
about the movie but one important fact has remained unpublicized. The movie has
a Goa connection. Shubhankar Kundaikar, a young talented camera man is involved
in the entire process of documenting the making of the movie, the life that is
lived as a movie is being shot.
Shubhankar, a resident of Old Goa is now in the State as he
takes a short break from his hectic life behind the camera shooting movies. For
the 28-year-old, it has been quite a journey from the time he took the initial
steps in the world of the moving image. Every year, the photojournalists in Goa
conduct a competition to attract new talent. He took a photograph from his
point and shoot camera and sent it. That first photograph so to speak switched
his creative side on and the Mushtifund High School student was hooked for
life. He went to Pune to learn more about the moving image at the Seamedu film
school. He watched a lot of movies, learnt more about the art, developed his
skills and importantly made short films. He also met a lot of people who
expanded his knowledge and horizon. Once he was done with the course, he
shifted to Mumbai to search for work in the industry. The film industry
operates on systems that are different from the rest of the economy. It is
important to know people who can recommend you for an assignment. Shubhankar
had made such contacts during his time in Pune.
Shubhankar says, “It is important to have references
otherwise it is difficult to get access to sets or production houses. My friend
from Goa helped me get work. For ‘Pathaan’, I was told they needed a camera guy
to document life backstage. This movie helped me get work in other movies. I
worked on ‘Katputli’ which was screened on Hotstar. I also shot ‘Ganpat’ part 1
featuring Tiger Shroff which has not been released as yet and ‘Sada Bahar’ on
Netflix”. ‘Pathaan’ was shot in various locations across Mumbai and Dubai”.
Work on ‘Pathaan’ commenced in November 2020. He worked on the entire film and
then shifted to another assignment. All his work was used in the marketing of
the movie. The more one works and gains experience, the chances of being paid
more increases. He says he had worked on certain assignments for free to gain
experience.
It is, he says, a life which was creative but one that also
involved a need to understand logistics. The work is intense and involves long
shifts. It would not be unusual to work twelve hours at a stretch. It was, he
says, not a comfortable life and everyone had to be very good day in and day
out and the possibility of being replaced by someone better or willing to work
harder were real. The intense pressure, he smiled and says, could dissuade more
Goans from shifting to Mumbai to work in the industry. He says, “You have to
like it and be willing to find the best in every situation”.
Speaking about working with Shah Rukh Khan he said, “He is
someone who works very hard, is very humble with everyone. I am not a fan of
Shah Rukh Khan but he impressed me. He brings life to a set. He is on top of
his game from the moment he comes on set to the time he leaves it.”
He is presently working on his own script in Konkani and
says he is more interested in direction. He expresses his frustration at the
small size of the Konkani film market and hope he could one day return to Goa
and work on films in the State. Till then, he will hope to continue to do
interesting work in the Hindi film industry working on blockbusters, making a
name for himself.
