As an independent Indian film producer – and an acclaimed actor – Sanjay Suri knows what it is to swim upstream in order to get a film out there.
In a country where it may be easier to get support for a traditional Bollywood type of film, Suri and his associates’ determination to make films that are true to life often sees them doing anything and everything they need to in order to make a production happen – such as sourcing 400 co-producers across 30 countries.In their movie I Am, Suri (co-producer/actor) and Onir Dhar (director/producer) were the first in India to use crowd-sourcing in order to make their movie a reality.
“It involved a lot of inter-action with me and Onir over Facebook and Twitter,” he said, explaining the logistics of working with such a big production team.
I Am is based on four people’s life stories, three of which are inspired by real-life stories. Suri said it was episodic, with the common themes revolving around discrimination and the search for identity.
“It deals with child abuse, where a man is trying to deal with this issue from his past; loss and conflict and displacement, where a Kashmiri pundit returns to her homeland after many years; a single woman who wants to have children without a man through artificial insemination; and homosexuality, where a young gay man is trying to decide if recently changed laws which decriminalise homosexuality in Delhi means that he can be free about his sexuality,” said Suri.
Asked how I Am was received in India when it was released earlier this year, Suri said it received excellent ratings from critics and a welcome reaction from the audience.
He explained further: “The audience in India is maturing, particularly in the city areas. It is actually overseas where the Indian market is more traditional than those in India. Perhaps this reflects their holding on to their culture and tradition (in terms of traditional Bollywood films).”
But I Am is not the first of Suri and Onir’s productions to take an alternative angle to Indian cinema. In 1999 there was My Brother… Nikhil.
“This was my first production as a co-producer which happened more out of necessity,” he said.
From time to time, Suri still produces and/or acts in traditional Bolly films to “pay the bills”, but asked whether he preferred fictional roles and movies over more reality-based ones, he said he enjoyed reflective cinema and telling untold stories.
As an independent Indian film producer – and an acclaimed actor – Sanjay Suri knows what it is to swim upstream in order to get a film out there.
In a country where it may be easier to get support for a traditional Bollywood type of film, Suri and his associates’ determination to make films that are true to life often sees them doing anything and everything they need to in order to make a production happen – such as sourcing 400 co-producers across 30 countries.
In their movie I Am, Suri (co-producer/actor) and Onir Dhar (director/producer) were the first in India to use crowd-sourcing in order to make their movie a reality.
“It involved a lot of inter-action with me and Onir over Facebook and Twitter,” he said, explaining the logistics of working with such a big production team.
I Am is based on four people’s life stories, three of which are inspired by real-life stories. Suri said it was episodic, with the common themes revolving around discrimination and the search for identity.
“It deals with child abuse, where a man is trying to deal with this issue from his past; loss and conflict and displacement, where a Kashmiri pundit returns to her homeland after many years; a single woman who wants to have children without a man through artificial insemination; and homosexuality, where a young gay man is trying to decide if recently changed laws which decriminalise homosexuality in Delhi means that he can be free about his sexuality,” said Suri.
Asked how I Am was received in India when it was released earlier this year, Suri said it received excellent ratings from critics and a welcome reaction from the audience.
He explained further: “The audience in India is maturing, particularly in the city areas. It is actually overseas where the Indian market is more traditional than those in India. Perhaps this reflects their holding on to their culture and tradition (in terms of traditional Bollywood films).”
But I Am is not the first of Suri and Onir’s productions to take an alternative angle to Indian cinema. In 1999 there was My Brother… Nikhil.
“This was my first production as a co-producer which happened more out of necessity,” he said.
“We were trying to get producers to sign on for the film but no one wanted it – a) because it reflected issues of HIV/Aids, and b) homosexuality. But for us it was never about Aids or homosexuality. It was about one man’s experience and it was a story which had not been told. We wanted to deal with the stigma around these issues.”
From time to time, Suri still produces and/or acts in traditional Bolly films to “pay the bills”, but asked whether he preferred fictional roles and movies over more reality-based ones, he said he enjoyed reflective cinema and telling untold stories.
“When you play a real-life character the burden is much more as you don’t want to mis-represent a historic or real-life figure. It is a bigger responsibility but it also gives great insight into people’s lives,” he said.
After the Durban International Film Festival, Suri will continue working on three projects that are in the scripting stage.
Credits: iol