Ashim Ahluwalia's Miss Lovely is the only Indian entry at 65th Cannes International Film Festival. The film will be shown as part of Un Regard Section of the festival, where films of different visions and styles are carefully chosen. Udaan made it to the same category. Set in the mid-80s, the film is about two brothers who make C-grade horror and sleazy films.
Is he talking about Kanti Shah and Kishan Shah? “Not specifically because they started in the 90s while my film is based in the 80s but yes they were one of the inspirations in writing the characters of Sonu and Vicky Duggal,” says Ashim. He says 80s were more risqué times as Internet was not there and Censor control was not as tight. It allowed these filmmakers to make interpolations by mixing porn material into their sleazy stuff. As pornography is illegal in the country, it made the filmmakers criminals in the eyes of law. A creative person considered as a criminal is an interesting idea to explore. Also, illegality ensured that sex racket and underworld became intrinsic parts of this kind of cinema.” With ex-convicts, pimps and prostitutes coming into the frame, Ashim says, elements of tension and danger run parallel to the family business and relationship between two brothers.
The film is intrinsically Indian but Ashim feels its international appeal lies in the fact it looks beyond what the world expects out of Indian films. “For the West, Indian cinema is either Satyajit Ray's school boy or Bollywood's song and dance. The way Miss Lovely is shot, it is very art house. Many of the scenes are shot through the wine glasses and legs in the classic 80s style to create the mood and atmosphere. My training hasn't happened on film sets. I have learnt through documentaries. I don't like to cheat. If I had to make a pot-boiler, I would have sold the idea to a Bollywood producer, who would have asked me to bring a star first. I don't want to work that way. Also, I don't see these films as laughing material and rather admire these directors as original independent filmmakers of their times,” says the student of New York's Bard College.
More and more directors are rewinding to 80s, an era about, which we used to feel embarrassed till a few years back. Ashim agrees. “I also felt embarrassed. But the fact is that it was something uniquely Indian and it is something that we are releasing now when in the globalised scenario there is hardly any difference between a Hollywood and a Bollywood potboiler. The film also captures this transition from the celluloid era of the 80s to the digital age that took off in the 90s.”
The kernel was sown in 2000, when Ashim was working on a documentary on the making of sleazy films. “Using the making of Maut Ka Chehra , a C-grade sleazy horror film as the base, it was an attempt to look into the underbelly of the film industry. I had collected enough material and it was then that I came in touch with Kanti and Kishen Shah, Joginder, Satnam Kaur, Sapna… but nobody was ready to speak on camera and ultimately I had to shelve the project.” He moved on to make John & Jane , a documentary on call centres, which won the National Award for best film in the non- feature film section. “The film was screened at Toronto and Berlin film festivals and the acclaim it got ensured that I was able to raise money from German and Japanese producers for making a feature film out of the research material I had.” It is for this reason, he emphasises that screening at Cannes is crucial. “If international audience like it, it opens avenues outside the traditional sources of raising money for ideas, which don't fit in the accepted box office framework.”
Ashim claims he had sent the script of Miss Lovely to Balaji Motion Pictures, which was looking for the so-called offbeat subjects for consideration, but it was rejected. “I was told that they would not like to make a film on such a subject but soon we saw a film like The Dirty Picture produced by Balaji.”
After more than a year-long audition process, he cast Nawazuddin Siddiqui, who recently delivered an explosive performance in Kahaani , in the lead role of Sonu. “He had done films like Firaaq but nobody saw a leading role potential in him. To me he was a perfect fit for the role of the younger brother.” For the elder brother he cast Anil George, a known name on the theatre circuit, but as Ashim says somebody whom glamour world won't notice.
For now Ashim is more concerned about an international release than finding distributors in India. “I want as many people as possible to see it but right now I am answerable to my international producers. I hope somebody will pick it up in India. Things are changing here but not at the pace as one would expect. Here still you need a star to green light a project.”
