Want to show grassroot level issues in Kolkata through my film

After winning the hearts of critics and audience worldwide for his film 'Season's Greetings', author and editor turned filmmaker Ram Kamal Mukherjee is now gearing up for his third feature film Rickshawala, set in the heartland of Kolkata. The Indian film has been selected at the prestigious ImagineIndia International Film Festival in Madrid, Spain.The film already fetched 11 international and national awards at film festivals. Speaking to Bizz Buzz exclusively, Mukherjee says how his growing up days in Kolkata help him make this film with a personal, albeit with cinematic liberty

I feel this is the right time to make experimental cinema, or just tell your kind of story, because OTT platforms are not star driven. They are content drive

As a filmmaker I like to make films that are close to reality. Of course, there are certain cinematic liberties as we are in the business of entertainment and that is the only quotient that probably defines or discriminates between a cinema and a docudrama. We took immense pain in search and recce

'Rickshawala' is neither a documentary, nor a docu-feature, as the name might apparently suggest. Right? There is a story that revolves around the life of a rickshawala in Kolkata. Isn't it?

This is not a documentary. Since I grew up in Kolkata, I have seen the life and struggle of Rickshawalas in the city. Though I have shifted my base to Mumbai as a filmmaker for last two decades, the social scenario didn't change much. Infact, it worsened. Recession and then the migrant issue after lockdown bothered me a lot. Most labourers (we can't call them drivers, as they don't have driving licence and it's majorly a labours work). Majority of the rickshaw pullers are from Bihar, and they have been dwelling in Kolkata since pre-independence era. With the Supreme Court announcing that hand pulled rickshaw are against Human Rights and they have banned the vehicle since 2006. Whatever we see in the city by-lanes are the old ones.

So, after my two Hindi films Cakewalk and Season's Greetings, I wanted to do something which speaks deeply about the grassroot level issue in the city. The film deals with unemployment, political hara-kiri and 'physical' emotions of a middle class house wife.

Kolkata's man-pulled rickshaw or rickshawallas are nearly extinct species now. Why did you still choose a story that is weaved around this particular profession? Is it because nostalgia keeps haunting all of us day in and day out?

Yes, I have grown up seeing them outside my house and school. There are lot of memories that are woven around them. In fact, for the longest I didn't even know that they were 'migrants' and 'outsiders' as we saw them as a part of our culture and city. That's when as a filmmaker it haunted me. I wanted to tell their story, which was seldom picked by any narrator.

As a filmmaker I like to make films that are close to reality. Of course, there are certain cinematic liberties as we are in the business of entertainment and that is the only quotient that probably defines or discriminates between a cinema and a docudrama. We took immense pain in search and recce. I would give credit to my cinematographer Modhura Palit for capturing the pulse correctly. My actors Avinash Dwivedi, Sangita Sinha and Kasturi Chakraborty did workshops and we shot at real locations. Thanks to my producer Aritra Das, Sarbani Mukherjee and Gaurav Daga that they stood by my vision. That is most important, as I feel that a director is nothing without his producers.

You must be having some justifications at the back of your mind for making this film in Bengali.........

I believe that you don't choose the language of cinema, it's always the cinema that chooses the language. When I wanted to make Rickshawala, I wanted to tell the story in Bengali language for many reasons, primarily I wanted to show the culture difference and then there are multi layered narrative that required a certain amount of dialect dependency to execute the scenes as per visualisation.

I am sure you are aware that there are certain ethical, humanitarian issues, issues related to societal values, when it comes to man-pulled rickshaw (for which they have been done away with). Does your story touch upon these issues, in any way?

I didn't want Rickshawala to be an issue based film, but I did touch upon various aspects that I felt was necessary to address. From the future of these hand pulled rickshaw drivers to the socio-political standing. There are scenes that will probably choke you and make you think for a while that are we in a position to actually criticise them?

What did you do ensure that the audience across the globe relates to the story even today?

In an official statement, the Festival Director Abur Rahim Qazi writes about Rickshawala in Spanish. The translated version of his understanding of cinema reads like this, "Life welcomes one like a blank page. You go, you don't know where; you come from where you ignore. But it is not the case of the central character Manoj in an Indian film by Ram Kamal Mukherjee. Manoj's future is written on the sprouting stones in the path; the humble origin of his family, place of provenance, Bihar; the classism of Indian society, neighborhood thugs or the dysfunctional relationship between the sexes.

An ancient life with no possible return. Or not? Because Manoj also came with full of love, respect, courage and honesty, with that leftover rebellion that is suppressed in every young man and whose origins are unknown. With flawless performance from Avinash Dwivedi and good direction of photography by Modhura Palit, the director tells us about the various topics still existing in India and supported with credible narrative. In short, this is a story of nameless souls and loneliness hidden behind the broken walls. An ancient life or perhaps a future that's not yet visible." Rickshawala will participate in the Love Section at Imagine India International Film Festival in Madrid.

The film has been winning awards left, right and centre in festival circles. What would you attribute this to..... the storyline, the treatments, acting,....... you were one of the best known film critics, journalists and editors in the country..... so put on that hat onceagain and answer.........

That's so kind of you. I am grateful that the film found its universal language and eventually reaching out to global audiences. I guess the issue of social discrimination, financial imbalance, sexual urge and migrant issue, are all global issues. While I was making this film, I didn't keep any agenda in mind. I just wanted to tell a simple yet reverting story of a person who decides to change his life. But when I hear members from jury and festival directors writing letters, talking about who impactful the film was for global audience, I feel blessed as a filmmaker. I think we all want to make films that are remembered for its content, that's what a narrator should aim for.

How upbeat are you about releasing the film on OTT platform in these challenging times?

I am grateful to BiiggBang Amusement for providing the platform who premier our film Rickshawala. It is equally important to have a great platform that supports you and your vision. They have acquired our film and will soon make it available for viewing on their app. I feel this is the right time to make experimental cinema, or just tell your kind of story, because OTT platforms are not star driven. They are content driven. Today Salman Khan's Radhe gets panned by the critics, while Manoj Bajpayee emerges as winner with The Family Man. Today Shraddha Kapoor's Roohi fails to impress, but Huma Qureshi comes out with flying colours in Maharani. Things are changing, and that's a good sign indeed.