Dolcy
D’Cruz
For Om Raut, returning back to India as a
filmmaker was a journey to being true to himself. His debut feature film,
‘Lokmanya’ is selected at the Indian Panorama and will be screened at IFFI Goa
today, November 26, 2014 at 6pm. Om Raut is a film school graduate from
Syracuse University, New York, where he started his career as a writer and
director for MTV Networks, New York. “I always thought that something in life
should be beneficiary and towards the betterment and development of the country
and as a filmmaker, entertainment was my tool. I wanted to do films in India
and unless you are popular in the lane you are residing, you are not satisfied
with the recognition. I wanted to be known in my own country,” says the young
director from Shivaji Park, Mumbai.
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Talking about his inspiration behind taking
up a topic like the life of Tilak, he says, “We live in a fractured state as
our country is divided and we don’t have a socio political leader to come up to
in any demographic region. At least one third of any division is not
represented by any leader. Lokmanya Tilak’s ideology was to bring the nation
together to fight against the British. I want to inspire the youth to unite
through this film.” Om has recreated the era from 1880 to 1940 through the film
focusing on the life of the leader.
To add authenticity to the entire film, Om
had many interactive sessions with Dr Deepak Tilak, the great grandson of
Lokmanya Tilak. “He gave me all the historical background and was very
supportive and I read many narrations to him which he approved of. There are so
many books written on Lokmanya Tilak which also added to the one and half year
research that went into the film.”
Subodh Bhave will be portraying the role of
the political great on screen. The film will be released in theatres on January
2, 2015. “Subodh is a genius actor and I was spellbound by his performance, his
sincerity and beliefs. He was like an elder brother to me and I could take
liberties with that and get what I wanted from him. He was extremely
supportive,” adds Om.
Being the son of a journalist, Om
worshipped Lokmanya Tilak as a god and for him this film is very close to his
heart. “This film is made especially for the youth and for me this was like
making a film about my god. It was so sacred to me. I hope people enjoy the
film about this larger than life character,” concludes Om.
