One thing led to another in Nitesh Batra's life. Illness led to yoga, yoga led to films and films are now taking him to his life's goal. But what that goal is, the young yoga practitioner and upcoming film producer doesn't want to reveal yet. Born and brought up in Delhi and then the US, now Bengaluru is home. In the plush neighbourhood of J.P.Nagar, Nitesh has just started a yoga studio; Ashtanga Yoga Sadhna. A web-series Achche din aane waale hain and a film Rainbow Fields are on their way.
In fact, Rainbow Fields is being sent to various film festivals right now. A children's film in Assamese dealing with violence draws from the personal story of its director Vidyut Kotaki. The producer could also relate to it. “I was five when Sikh massacre happened and we lived in trans-Yamuna where the situation was worse. People were being killed and their bodies dumped in drains. I saw all this with my eyes and it has left me scarred for life. That's why this script appealed to me. It is about kids and hope,”says Nitesh.
The film boasts an amazing line-up of actors like Victor Bannerjee, Naved Aslam, Nakul Vaid and has been shot in the interiors of Assam . The music is powerful too. With so many recent gems like Naanu Avanalla Avalu , Court , Sairaat , Tithi , U-Turn , Ottal having emerged on the horizon, can't this moment be qualified to be called fortuitous time for independent cinema and regional films? “Yes, there is a new clutch of good filmmakers. And filmmaking is a tough task and the ecosystem around it isn't good enough. There is no infrastructure for independent cinema. There is so much of risk a young producer takes to make a film. Maybe we could have inexpensive screens available at low-priced tickets to the viewers. Imagine for more than one billion people, there are just 11000 screens in India,” remarks Nitesh.
Achche Din Aane Waale Hain is going to see the light of day after one year. The black comedy about godmen in India didn't get released as it did not get distributors. It will be released though in November, initially as a web-series divided into four episodes of 15 minutes each. Eventually, it will be released as a full-fledged film. “Two unemployed youth see that despite their educational qualifications, they are unable to find a job whereas these godmen by conning people make so much of money so they turn into one and claim to make dead people alive,” says the filmmaker about the project.
Filmmaking is the route, Nitesh has taken to achieve his dream but the vision and clarity for it came through yoga. He discovered it in the US in 2006. “I was never exposed to yoga while growing up in India but it was in the US that I was drawn to it because there they make it accessible.” And that is what he is trying to do through his yoga studio. Making yoga accessible to all by adapting it to the needs of people from different age groups, body types and health conditions.
He began exploring Ashtanga yoga in the US and as he went deep into it, Nitesh realised its positive impact on his health and mind. “It gives you awareness about yourself and your surroundings. How much impact can just breathing have on one’s body is amazing.”
Professionally too, his horizon was expanding. He pursued a course in documentary filmmaking in the US in 2008 and then worked with a local production house. It was followed with an MBA from ISB, Hyderabad.
In 2011, in a bid to go even deeper into yoga, Nitesh made his first trip to the legendary yoga guru K.Pattabhi Jois' ashram in Mysuru. “There I started to learn from his son Sharath Jois. And I realised what dedication and commitment can truly mean.”
