Swati Bhattacharya, an award-winning scriptwriter spoke to Guardian 20 about her recent short film Bhukkad.
Q. What inspired you to write Bhukkad?
A. Only 10 minutes away from the heart of New Delhi, Connaught Place, is G.B. road, a red-light district that houses 4,000 sex workers. So many children there are sandwiched between shame and poverty and the only thing that can truly free them is education. So when the Millennium School Trust came to me looking for a solution that could help democratise education, I got an idea to create a boy character called Bhukkad. The story of this boy speaks of both hungry students and teachers.
Q. Tell us about your experience of writing Bhukkad.
A. The genesis was the vision of Shantanu Prakash, a pioneer in Indian education, who wanted to do something for the education of underprivileged children. That’s how Bhukkad’sjourney started and very soon I think I wrote my first draft and then got in touch with Anaam Mishra [director of the film] who also feels strongly for the cause. So we both started working together and from then on Anaam and his producer, Rachita, both partnered with me all along.
As I was writing the film I was seeing Saroo, a character from the 2016 Hollywood film Lion, as Bhukkad and that helped me get the personality right. Anaam took about three months to get the casting right and finalised a small boy, Abhishek, to portray the character.
Q. The protagonist in the film is a child, who is curious about everything. What was your approach when you were creating this character?
A. When I write characters I see them and it’s almost like watching a film inside our head. So I knew what this child is like. How even though his life is very hard, there is a very soft, wonderful, vulnerable side to him. And I think the fact that he knows how to get what he wants is pretty amazing. Once you see this in your heart everything flows smoothly.
There were things that I couldn’t see but Anaam brought them to the film: like the use of the lotus motif predominantly for all the characters and for the character of Bhukkad. The motif signifies they are like lotus blooming in a muddy swamp.
Q. How long did it take you to write the story for Bhukkad?
A. Writing the story didn’t take much time as the first draft of the story happened in a day. But coming up with the final draft took time as I and Anaam took care of every little detail and that took a lot of time. The biggest challenge was shooting the film at Kamatipura , the red-light area of Mumbai. With limited resources at hand. There was a lot of pooling in of support by the camera man, art director, editor etc. They supported us all in making this film as authentic as possible. Anaam only wanted to shoot in Kamatipura and it took him weeks to get permissions.
Q. What was it like winning the Dada Saheb Phalke Award for Best Screenplay for the short film Double Shift?
A. The experience of winning the Dada Saheb Phalke Award for Double Shiftwas quite amazing actually. I think what is so special is that it is a two-minute film and it has won awards for writing, music, cinematography and also acting, which I feel is a quite a feat in itself. The film has also travelled to the Miami, Toronto and Vancouver festivals.
Q. You started as a Chief Creative Officer at FCB Ulka in 2016. Tell us about the journey from heading an advertising agency to becoming a film writer.
A. I have been writing short films throughout my career. It is not been something I started doing recently, so both these parts [ad professional and film writer] live inside me. I have no trouble in navigating from one to the other.
Q. How different is writing ads from writing for short films?
A. I think there is no difference between an ad film or a short film or a big film or a podcast as long as you are expressing yourself…There have been times when my clients gave me the same creative freedom as I get for my short films. SindoorKhela for TOI or Water Wives for ActionAid is advertising work and yet in the end the pleasure and satisfaction I have got from them was no less than what I derived from creating short films like Saints of Sin and Belle de jour.
Q. How important do you think storytelling is when it comes to conveying ideas and making an impact with them?
A. Actually, you need an idea to sell ideas. It needn’t just be a script. It can be a radio spot, a small ad or an app. But yes, storytelling can make you connect with an idea or a product or a thought.It is the connection that makes things creative. I always say, intimacy is the algorithm of creativity.
Q. Any upcoming projects?
A. Right now I am very excited about the Open Door Project, which aims to persuade institutions to open doors for children seeking education. This initiative is by the Millennium School Trust, which is also a force behind Bhukkad. I am excited to see how Shantanu’s [Founder of Millennium Schools] vision will marry with what we had set out to achieve, which is getting more teachers and students in India.We will soon take our film to film festivals in Mumbai and Calcutta. I can’t wait for that.