‘Nobody will believe in you’

A still from 'Love, Lies and Seeta' The only thing most people know about the film ‘Love, Lies and Seeta’ is that it stars former Miss India America, Melanie Kannokada. And this is one of the reasons why most independent filmmakers have a hard time in making and then managing to distribute their films. Distributers want stars because the audience wants to see stars in films. But director Chandra Pemmaraju is positive about his upcoming romantic comedy ‘Love, Lies and Seeta’ which is a story about three men who are charmed by one girl and is set in New York. He tells Kunal Guha about the joys and challenges of independent film making and how his film could easily be set in any city in the world.

What was the starting point for ‘Love, Lies and Seeta’?
The idea was to make a fun, young and urban film and one that is set in New York. I wanted to stick to romantic comedies since I think it goes well with the locations we have in New York. Although I am put up in the US, I am born and brought up in India so I wanted to make a Bollywood movie with different sensibilities. New York is a culmination of so many cultures that you bump into somebody now and after five years you bump into the same person. So this girl Seeta meets three different guys while she’s growing up and they meet her later when she grows up and they all fall in love with her.

Since every kind of love story has been made, what are the challenges in writing one?
The challenges in writing were that I wanted to keep it very simple but I wanted the execution to be very fresh and innovative. So we wanted to show a romantic film that has not been seen in any Bollywood film before so I hope that we’ve achieved that.

What are the limitations in a romantic comedy and what are the areas to experiment?
The first and foremost reason why I chose the script, I couldn’t go wild with my imagination. I had to kind of restrict it since we only had a limited budget and I had to keep the execution difficulties in mind. So, managing seven lead characters and about 17-20 supporting characters that you see on the screen and ensuring that I justify each character’s presence was a challenge. And finally to justify every character in the 100-minute runtime was something I had work on and it was quite an experience. When you see the film, you will know that it’s not just about these three guys and this girl but there’s a lot more to it. I could’ve picked an action-thriller or a horror but I wanted to do a film which had a fun element to it and had a universal appeal.

A still from 'Love, Lies and Seeta'

Being your debut film, were there any myths about filmmaking that were shattered by the end of this production?
One good thing was that I didn’t come into this with any preset notions. Since it was an independent film, I got to learn every aspect of filmmaking. Right from pre-production to raising funds to getting the actors onboard to finding the locations. I even did road shows to distribute the film and got it screened at festivals and I’ve been involved in every process. Now I can appreciate movies more than I did. Movies are product of various people who work in it and I have learnt a lot and I am prepared for my next film. I didn’t come in with the notion that ‘I am the director’. I was always the producer, director, writer, production designer, production boy, marketing person etc. It was a long and tiring but it was also a rewarding and enriching journey.

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Do Indian distributors have a checklist to evaluate films?
Fortunately or unfortunately in India, we’re only drawn towards stars and so it is a belief that stars can get people to watch a certain film. So when people plan on watching two films in a week, people are very choosy with which film are they going watch. People know that if it’s a movie they can pass, they know they can get the film on torrents- the following week or they can watch it on TV later. At the same time, there are a lot of films which people accept even if it doesn’t have stars and has strong content. The scouts and agents who attend film festivals have a different checklist again to pick films that they’re looking for. In India, distributors believe that if there’s a star then they want to put money in it. So you may have great technical values, great music and great music and all but it can still be difficult. Everyone goes through it and you can just keep trying.

Does going to festivals add any credibility to a film?
I really hope it does. We have played in six festivals so far and we have been selected in a couple of more. In the US at least, I know that if the film has been travelling to festivals is looked at least because it has been certified by so many people already. There are about 200-250 films that are entered in every festival, so if your film makes it to the 20-30 films that are screened means that it has justified to someone.
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Your film is based out of New York and although you are familiar with the surroundings, were there any production challenges that you hadn’t anticipated?
Actually we had planned to shoot the film in a set number of days. We wanted to show the side of New York that is never seen in films. You don’t see an Empire State building or any of those places that you’ve seen in films before. This is because the characters are New Yorkers and the places where we have shot are the ones where real New Yorkers live. It wasn’t too tough to shoot in New York since we had acquired all the necessary licenses in advance and we were ready with the paper work. The only possible problem was the weather of New York which is always unpredictable. The final scene in the film had to be postponed twice since it began raining continuously for days. There were places where we were allowed to shoot for just a few hours and we had to can the shoots quickly and move on.  
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When you base a film in a certain city does it influence the story?
The same story can be in a Mumbai or a Hyderabad. Only difference would be that their mannerisms would be different. On a certain level, it is a movie that can be set in any city. But since I was in New York and I wanted to incorporate that element into the film. If it’s set in Mumbai, it would have certain nuances of Mumbai when it comes to the characters but the story would remain the same. It’s a universal story. The day the characters move, behave and talk would be dictated by city but the theme and the plot would remain the same. Since people do the same things when they are in love.

What kind of romantic comedies work for you, if at all they do?
I do watch romantic comedies but I like films which combine two genres. Like drama and romance and comedy like Juno or Annie Hall or ‘500 Days of Summer’. We’re not a private film, we don’t have a song and dance numbers, we have a musical number.

Since you’re one of those independent directors who has come out victorious and your film is actually releasing, what would be your advice to other independent filmmakers who’re struggling to get their film released?
First thing, I don’t think I am in a position or a place to give any advice to anybody. As a filmmaker, I can share my experience. As an independent filmmaker if you want to make a film, you have to be prepared to give it everything you have. There will be blood, tears and sweat, you have to be ready for that. You need to know that the film has to entertain. You need to be prepared to lead any kind of life. It’s not going to be an easy ride. You just have to believe in it even if you don’t know what is going to happen at the end and hopefully it will work out. You need to believe in yourself first because nobody else will believe in you. You have to have the passion and keep at it. At least that is what I strive to.