When Manoj Annadurai speaks about Get Happy , he does so with a confidence that belies his lack of experience. That’s because a lot of research went into this pet project of his, and he had everything worked out, till the last cent.
The film is based on an award-winning script by Thomas Shipley (it won the 2011 Bronze Award in the comedy category at the Chicago Screenwriters Network contest, among others). Manoj was introduced to Shipley through a common friend, and decided to make a movie of his script.
A miserable Charlie meets the sunny Holly. She teaches him to live, but ends up getting killed in a road accident. Charlie is devastated, but decides to live by Holly’s philosophy. Trying to get him off the happiness bandwagon is his best friend, who is hell-bent on making him miserable again. “The humour in my film comes from these two diverse schools of thought,” says Manoj.
Manoj took a year for pre-production and shot the film in 19 days, on a budget of less than half-a-million dollars. “The first thing I did was set up a production company, Monomyth Enchantment, and hire an entertainment lawyer. I found a wonderful producer in Sania Jhankar, who hails from Pune,” he says.
He decided to make his creation different from the word ‘go’. Manoj, a mechanical engineer-turned-tech entrepreneur, wanted to make the film in English, and also shoot it abroad.
“I was clear I did not want to make a crossover movie; it had to be a regular English movie. Luckily, the idea resonated with like-minded people, and they came on board,” he says.
And before you ask him why he opted to make a film in English, Manoj says he firmly believes that cinema does not conform to any barriers of language. “I love my Tamil movies, but it is a fact that making an English film provides you a better, wider platform. It is important to be seen on the global stage too.”
And so, the film was shot in New York, with American actors and crew. “New York is a haven for indie filmmakers. The city offers a 30 per cent tax incentive on production costs for those shooting there. It’s not very difficult to get permission, and you can focus on your craft,” he says.
The shoot was not without drama. On day one, when the crew was mulling over many things, news came in that Manoj’s car had been stolen. “Luckily, we managed to trace it! I shot in the peak of the polar vortex; it was challenging but fun.”
Manoj says the 97-minute film did reasonably well during its theatrical release in New York. “It was, in fact, way beyond our expectations. Somewhere, the concept struck a chord. Finally, all of us, in the middle of various distractions, are in the quest of that elusive thing called happiness, right?” he asks.
Get Happy was also invited to be screened at the Montreal Film Festival, the Manhattan Film Festival (it won for ‘Best Romantic Comedy’) and the New York Film Festival.
The director also managed to strike good distribution deals, and hopes the film will start seeing profits from the second year. “The revenue streams are so many — there’s satellite, Video On Demand, the foreign market, television…”
Manoj has already moved on to his next script, which will incorporate all the lessons he learnt from Get Happy . “I’m heading to the Berlinale, where I hope to find an investor, and see if I can rope in a known star.” He’s confident he’ll strike gold. “If you look at it, The Sixth Sense was an indie film. Bruce Willis lent it the much-needed heft. I’m hoping for something like that.”
