Arun’s debut film shows promise

by Husna Inayathullah

Avinash Arun’s Killa (The Fort) was screened at the International Film Festival Colombo 2014 at the Regal Cinema. Killa was a remarkable film that focuses on a young boy Chinu, and the year he spends in a village in Maharashtra, making new friends, while also caring for his single mother.

Chinu is having a hard time settling into his new home in the countyside. He and his mother relocated there from the big city following his father’s death. The move is supposed to help Chinu get over his loss. He watches a group of boys playing games in the woods with an older boy Yuvraj. There doesn’t seem to be any room for him in their gang. Moreover, at school his cleverness makes the others brand him a swot.

Only after he gets the notoriously underachieving Yuvraj out of a jam by helping him solve a maths’ problem does Chinu gain admittance to the clique. But can a genuine friendship develop so quickly? Told in atmospherically charged images in which the weather and landscape also play an important role, the film portrays a difficult period in a boy’s life. Chinu is called upon to find his feet. In doing so he distances himself from his mother who is also struggling to cope with the situation. Both make a terrible mistake and are forced to realise that they are alone. Perhaps what they need is another beginning.

The story opens with natural and realistic sounds. The natural sounds made me feel as if I am in the movie as one of the characters. The sound effects were really awesome. The film had wonderful pace and rhythm. Never reverting to clichés, the fresh performances left me feeling that I was right there with the characters.

The movie is not only suitable for children but also for adults.

It shows as to how an adult can cope and face challenging situations in life. The innocence of life is portrayed by the two main characters. The film deals with the universal conflict of migration and how it impacts the lives of the people.

In an interview with Montage Avinash Arun speaks about his debut movie Killa, his life story and achievements.

Excerpts:

Question: Tell me something about yourself?

Answer: I was born in the southern part of Maharashtra, Solapur, India on November 20, 1985 to a small family. My father was a government servant. He was a school teacher and my mother a housewife. I am the eldest in my family with two sisters. My sisters are still studying. Actually my mother still doesn’t know what I do.

I studied camera at the Film and Television Institute of India in Maharashtra, graduating in 2011. I got my degree in English Literature and I graduated from the University of Pune, Maharashtra. I have a Diploma in Cinematography from the Film and Television Institute of India. At present I am working as a cinematographer in Mumbai.

Q: What made you direct a film?

A: From Solapur which is in the southern part of Maharashtra, my childhood was spent in the Konkan region, which is in the western part of Maharashtra, and then in Pune.

As my father was a government servant, very often he got transfers so we had to move along with him. Every time I used to change schools. Each time I had to make new friends and there would be a different culture.

With all these changes, I developed a unique sort of understanding. These were the experiences that I wanted to depict in my film. I have experienced almost all the incidents in the film. Of course, I fictionalised a little bit and added some drama to the script.

One day I narrated my story to my friends, Ajay G. Rai and Alan McAlex. They gave me the idea to direct a film. I never thought that it would happen so fast. The film was produced by Jar Pictures founded by Ajay G. Rai and Alan McAlex. The third month after narrating the story to them and after getting their ideas, I started shooting the film.

Q: What kind of exposure did you have for the film industry?

A: I did not have an exposure for the film industry. My mother is not at all interested in films. My father was a teacher but he loves watching films. Whenever a film is screened he watches it so I too used to watch films with my father. This inspired me.

I loved watching films. I always wanted to make a film. I thought one day I will make a film and I made it. I started assisting in FTII Diploma films at 16.

Q: Tell me something about your film Killa?

A: Killa is about a child who is coping with the death of his father. An 11-year-old boy finds it difficult to adapt to a new place he has migrated to. He experiences some life changing events which a new place, people and destiny offer. It is a film about those experiences which shape up your life and make you the person you are today.

It is a Marathi film. The film is named as Killa which means the fort and it symbolises the barriers and challenges in life. It is a regional based film and it is different from typical bollywood films. The cinematography of this film is also done by me.

Q: What is the message that you are trying to give through the film?

A: The message that we can take from the film is that life has to go on and we have to experience everything in life. Each and everything which happens in our childhood is really very interesting. Those are nice memories and it affects us when we grow up.

Q: What are your achievements?

A: I worked as a cinematographer for the film Vees Manjay Vees (Twenty means twenty) which was produced by the National Film Development Corporation (NFDC). I won the Maharashtra State Award for the best Cinematographer in 2014.

Killa was selected in the Generation Kplus competitive category and has won a Crystal Bear from the Children’s Jury and a Special Mention from the International Jury at the Berlin International Film Festival, Germany this year.

In 2010, my school project “The Light and Her Shadows” won me the cinematography award in Kodak film school Competition. My diploma film Allah is Great was the official entry from India for Student Oscars. It also won several awards including the National award in 2012.

I have worked on Kai Po Che! (Berlinale Panorama section 2012), Deool (National Award winner 2011).

Q: How did you feel when you won a Crystal Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival in Germany?

A: It was a fantastic experience for me. I felt so happy and great as it was my first feature film. It gave me the courage and interest to do more films. The people and culture in Berlin was so very different. They were so nice.

I got the confidence that I can do more films. I want money to make more films so I am waiting until I make some money. As long as people are there I will always be with them.

I will direct more films in the future. I have two new concepts such as fantasy and bollywood. My fantasy film is going to be all about children in association with the nature.

I have selected the Sahyadri mountain to shoot the film. Nowadays children are stuck in the towns with the new technology. So it is all about how important it is for children to spend time with the nature.

Q: What do you think about the International Film Festival Colombo 2014?

A: The International Film Festival Colombo 2014 was well organised. This is the first time my film Killa was screened in Sri Lanka. The people in Sri Lanka are lovely and friendly. I like to work with them. I would like to shoot one of my films in Sri Lanka as well.

At present I am so eager to show my film Killa in India which I dedicated to my parents.

Q: What are your leisure time activities?

A: I like to sing, play music, dance, travel, meet strangers and different people and talk a lot to older people.

Q: Why do you like to talk a lot to older people?

A: Old people are like small children in a way. They have so many experiences in life and they have a lot to share.

I learn a lot through them. There is innocence in them. I love people transform experiences. I believe that life is simple and philosophy comes from life. I believe in ancestors and microbiology too.