In March 2002, one morning we woke up to the name of Danis Tanovic as the guy who snatched our dream to bag an Oscar when his “No Man’s Land” took the wind out of the sails of “Lagaan”. Years later he comes to India with little idea of his unique status in our minds. “I realised people know me here. It may be for the wrong reasons but they do know me,” says Tanovic in a telephonic chat from Mumbai. Few know that he backed Ritesh Batra’s “The Lunchbox” and now the Bosnian filmmaker has quietly shot his next film in India. Called “Tigers” the film recently opened in Toronto Film Festival to rave reviews.
As always he has crossed boundaries to dig into an issue that concerns humanity. Earlier named “White Lies”, “Tigers” tackles the hideous agenda of multinational companies to introduce formula milk in developing countries. “My co-writer Andy Patterson found the story of this scam happening in Pakistan in 2006. We went to check and found that there is truth in what is being said. We developed a screenplay but the producers ditched us because nobody was ready to insure the film against the suits that the big companies might file against them. A couple of years back Guneet Monga and Prashita Choudhary showed interest in the subject and the project was finally green lit.”
The multinational companies’ agenda to wean the impressionable public from breast milk came to light in the 70s when a couple of big names started providing formula milk for free in government hospitals in what many call the Third World with headlines like ‘killing them sweetly’ clogging the news space. Tanovic abhors this classification. “Who is to decide what the First World is? The issue was as much relevant in the 70s as it is now because nobody speaks about these malpractices in public space. The film questions for how long we can be driven by profit motive alone. The window of my room opens to a magnificent beach in Mumbai. It is a great sight but I know that people can’t swim because the water is polluted. Who is responsible for it? It is not just the State, we as individuals are also as responsible. I don’t like to pass judgments through my films but I think the film will start a debate on how far we can go for profits.”
Quite active in the political sphere in his home country, Tanovic says, “I am a political creature. When you have seen war from close quarters you can’t remain naïve to its after effects. That’s what reflects from my tweets. How can both Israel and Hamas claim victory when thousands of innocent people have died?”
The film follows Ayan, a pharmaceutical agent in Pakistan who feels elated when he is selected by a multinational giant to sell formula milk but when he discovers the reality behind it he turns into a whistleblower to expose the racket. He is shot by a television crew to spill the beans but like the prospective producers of “Tigers”, they also develop cold feet putting Ayan’s life in danger. “Apart from the whistleblowing part it is also about the every day existence of this boy and his family in Pakistan,” says Tanovic, who has cast Emraan Hashmi as Ayan and Gitanjali Thapa as his wife. “I watched Emraan in ‘Shanghai’ and found him suitable for the character. Later I saw him in his more popular avatar and found that he could do quite a few things but “Tigers” required him to be understated and he understood the requirements.”
On changing the title, Tanovic says “Tigers” was the original title. “I want to work in the veil of secrecy. I don’t want to share what I am up to till I am done and in this case the past experience had taught us to use a working title.”
Shot in Indian side of Punjab because of the tension prevailing in Pakistan, the film is largely in Urdu but Tanovic says the lack of knowledge of the language doesn’t bother him. “I don’t understand the language but there was a team with me all through for checking the veracity of the lines. After a point you can make out from the performance that something has gone wrong. You might not be able to pin point the mistake but you can very well gauge that something has gone amiss.”
Tanovic says the crew members were as competent and professional as in any other part of the world. “I understand projects can get delayed here but not in this case.” He is aware of Bollywood’s presence. “There is no dance but yes Pritam has provided a stirring musical score.”
On comparisons with the film industry in Bosnia, Tanovic, “We don’t have an industry like Bollywood because we don’t have the numbers like you. I guess we have as much audience as you have on the Juhu beach on any given day.” But still the number of quality films here is dismal. “I think some of your credible independent filmmakers are more popular outside than in their own country,” says Tanovic showing his displeasure on not backing “The Lunchbox” as the official entry to the Academy Awards last year. “Like ‘Lagaan’ it was backed by Sony Pictures. Making a good film is not enough. You need the right backing to ensure that the jury members watch your film,” says Tanovic whose “An Episode In The Life Of An Iron Picker” had made it to the short list.
Have the numbers brought him to India? “Not really. I don’t work that way. My next film could be set in Thailand or England.”
