There is good news for people seeking a new, authentic voice in Kannada cinema. With Gantumoote, writer- director Roopa Rao has propelled herself to the forefront of Kannada independent cinema. Roopa had already made a name for herself with her web series (released on YouTube) The Other Love Story – a story of two young women falling in love with each other. Gantumoote released last Friday in theatres across Karnataka, and as it happens with many independent films, the audience is flocking to the theatre as the word of mouth spreads. Gantumoote is a coming of age story told through the eyes of Meera – a high schoolgirl in ‘90s Bengaluru. Roopa’s Meera is understated, sensitive, intelligent and dreamy in equal parts. Amidst the anxiety of the first weekend of her movie release and a family emergency, I met Roopa Rao in Vedic Chai – a café in South Bengaluru. Here are the excerpts from our conversation: It is surprising that a movie set in high school has been given ‘A’ certificate. I thought people in that age-group would be able to relate to it the most. It is just five people sitting and deciding what one is supposed to watch. That is what our censor board is. When I questioned it, they said, children cannot watch children kissing. They will get influenced. I guess watching the movie is discomforting for many. The censor board had the perception that it is a children’s film. There were also objections to some of the slang terms used in the movie But there is a way to appeal against this decision. Did you pursue that? No. That would have taken a long time. I wanted to release the movie and move on to the next story. How has the response been? The response from the audience has been incredible. People are loving the movie. I have been receiving messages continuously. But then, the way our distribution setup is, it is a struggle to keep such a movie in theatres. The distributors want maximum audience in the first weekend itself. This is the kind of movie which needs word of the mouth publicity which means it needs time. Anyway, theatrical release is a gamble. But, the word of mouth is picking up and hopefully more people will watch it in theatres. Of course, there is a small number of people who are not comfortable with the portrayal of a high school love story. This is the first feature you have written and directed. Tell us how did movies happen to you? I always wanted to make movies. But I did not know how. In college, when I did theatre, I realised the power of storytelling and how stories can affect and transform people. That is when I knew storytelling is what I want to do. After working for a few years with Infosys, I enrolled in a film school. I migrated to the UK after finishing my course to work with a filmmaker. I had to return after a year as my father was unwell. Then, while looking at job websites, I found an advertisement for a female AD (Assistant Director) for the Kannada film Vishnuvardhana and that is how my journey in Kannada cinema started. I also co-directed a Tamil independent film. Finally, in 2015, I started working on my own web series The Other Love Story (TOLS). While shooting, we had no idea if it would release or not. What was your family’s response to your choice of being a filmmaker ? My dad was very encouraging. My keeda for cinema came from him. He was an orphan and he considered Dr Raj Kumar as his father. So, every week we used to watch a movie. In Kolar, during childhood, the theatre was very close to our house. My dad was friends with the owner, and I could go sit in the projector room and watch. My mother was not very happy when I resigned from my job. Now, she understands what I do and loves my work. She loved Gantumoote. I am like a bull. I will do whatever it takes to make a movie. So, support at home is very helpful. Where do stories like Gantumoote or TOLS come from? From the walk of life. I can’t understand why our movies are so far away from reality. When I watch European cinema and movies of Majidi Majid, I wondered why we don’t have such stories in our movies. Movies are a documentation of our culture. So, it is important that as filmmakers we leave a documented evidence of the times we live in and yet tell an interesting but real story. Richard Linklater’s movies influenced me quite a bit. What kind of films did you watch while growing up? As a child, I watched mainly Telugu, Tamil and Kannada films. We did not have access to world cinema then. I really enjoyed the works of filmmakers such as K Vishwanath (Telugu), Puttana Kanagal (Kannada), Mani Ratnam and K Balachander (Tamil). Once I went to the film school, I had access to world cinema. The two biggest strengths of the film for me are the screenplay (it won the Best Screenplay award at New York Indian Film Festival) and the performance of Teju Belawadi (Meera Deshpande). Since your style is subtle and you seem to be interested in minutiae, a lot would have rested on the actors’ capability to pull off the small moments Yes. I had watched Teju onstage few years ago. She had played an older woman’s character. I had really liked her presence and timing onstage. So, when I was casting for this film, I kept recalling her performance. Then, we met, and she also liked the character. My process with Teju was to tone her down and push her to be more subtle and it was exactly the reverse with Nischit. What is your process like? I first the read the script with actors for a couple of times. Then we rehearse the scenes. For Gantumoote we rehearsed for almost 15 days. It helps me understand how the scenes are working. Regarding writing – a lot happens in my head before I write the final script which I finish in three days. My first draft is usually 90% complete and does not require much of a rewrite. Relatively, my process of filmmaking is quicker than many in the industry. From the time I started thinking about it to releasing it in theatres, Gantumoote took about 1.5 years. But, what did you tell Teju and Nischit in the scenes which involve only small gestures and subtle looks? Good thing is, due to our rehearsals, the actors knew their story arcs. Also, both the actors are very intuitive, and they could create the small moments. Especially, Teju is very natural and easily switches on and off on sets. That is a great skill for an actor. I was more anxious than her for some of the scenes. Nischit needed some work but in the end, he pulled it off. What about the intimate scenes? As an idea, Teju could comprehend that these scenes are necessary for the story. But during the shoot, she was a bit nervous. She took some convincing. I think her nervousness shows on camera and incidentally, works well for those scenes. On the other hand, Nischit took time initially to accept the idea but had no problems during the shoot. How was it being a first-time filmmaker also handling the production and distribution? Oh, I learnt how cruel the world is. It has been quite a revelation. As a first time filmmaker, I expected support at least from people of my generation in the industry. Instead, there was a lot of mocking about how I don’t know this or that. The character of the Maths teacher comes across as very mature and the parents not being interfering in Meera’s life seemed like unusual choices. Regarding the teacher – I guess it is also idealism. I always wanted a teacher like that. And parents usually do not know much about what is happening in their child’s life. They think she is going to school and coming back. They are busy with their jobs and she with school. There is a communication gap. And I wanted to portray that. It is interesting that Meera does not want to tell the truth about the boys teasing her when the neighbour uncle asks her. Yes, in that age, girls usually get blamed even when boys tease them. People say “Why the boys are teasing only you? Why not other girls”. Hence, the girls always try to hide such incidents. What is your next project about? I’m working on a project which is completely about silence. The main character is silent, and action happens around her in a soundscape. Hopefully, Gantumoote will do well enough to enable my next project.
