Interview with National Award filmmaker: Abhaya Simha

Abhaya Simha

A green movie and a national award to his credit, Abhaya Simha is all set to take off to the Berlin International Film Festival on the Feb 11th.

An alumnus of FTII and St. Aloysius college, Mangalore, Simha has directed many genres of  short fiction film and documentaries the most popular of which are the Seaside story screened at IFFI, Goa; Watch out screened at Big Mountain IFF, New Zealand and Yashottama based on the dying folk culture of Yakshagana. He is also a Photography enthuse and is a writer on the side.

The movie is based on the exploitation of the environment and its resources and the near extinction of the sparrows. Two children (protagonists) go on a guilt ridden quest of the missing sparrows assuming the cause for their mysterious disappearance. This is what he had to say in an interview with TMJ.

Q: Congratulations on the success of your movie!What really inspired you about the script of Gubbachigalu?

A: The script was written by Nam Ismail (writer in Prajavani) and the story is based on a strong message of the environment and the effects of pollution; the disappearance of the sparrows by itself suggests a lot even if it does not directly affect us. This aspect is explained beautifully by the children and their curiosity surrounding the disappearance of the sparrow.

Q: Do you think the message as such had a greater impact, coming from children?

A: It did! Grown-ups are immune to so many things, which is why when the film is seen through a child's eye it adds a mysterious feel to it and makes it more imaginative and magical because of their innocence. Their constant search for answers makes it all the more intriguing.

Q: How was the response of the movie in your hometown?

A: We had a few private screenings in Mangalore, but since I have lived there for 26 years most people who came to see the movie were either close friends or relatives and it was more of a family gathering than anything. But it was highly appreciated.

Q: Did you happen to air it in public theatres?

A: We aired it in Kailash theatre in Bangalore for a week but the response was not very great, we got about 30% returns on the whole which is disheartening. People on the other hand never fail to complain that these movies are not aired in public cinemas but the audience that gathers are few in number and hence the message dies unheard by the majority.

Q: Despite all this you have gotten world-wide recognition and also won the National award this year. Did you expect this even though your message was more green than glamorous?

A: Our job was done when we sent the movie to the festivals, but the response we got was quite surprising. In most festivals, people were intrigued by the way the message was portrayed and the simple portrayal of the characters on the whole. But since it was my first feature film the recognition was all the more special. The national award was a bit of a surprise because we did not win the state award initially but it was great to have this recognition after so long.

Q: Working with your classmates from FTII must have been enjoyable. Can you share your experience?

A: Well the experience was gratifying on the whole. Making a film with my classmates was a lot more fruitful as we shared a similar mindset and I didn't have to waste my time explaining the shot to my cameramen. Since we have made films together before, the relationship we shared is better than most others.

Q: What are your upcoming projects? 

A: My next project is called 'Shikari' which is set in the Colonial and the post-independence era featuring Mamootty. It deals with call centre culture influencing our perception. Mamootty is making the first appearance in a Kannada movie which is creating quite a buzz among film enthuse.

Q: How was your experience at these film festivals?

A: Well it’s mostly the excitement of watching your film being aired on the big screen, sharing our expertise and our shortcomings and also understanding the medium along with comparing your work with others and measuring where we stand.

Q: Not being a kannadiga myself I am looking forward to watching your movies in a more familiar language, do you have any plans of those in the future?

A: I don’t really have a preference in the language as such but if offered a captivating script I would be very glad to take it up.

Sub-edited by: Kerban Billimoria