Mami Film Fest Round up
The World Premiere of Humaramovie’s provocative & anti-romantic Jaoon Kahan Bata Ae Dil at 20th Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival With Star directed by Aadish Keluskar met with a thunderous response by the packed house of audience who stayed back for Q & A.
The World Premiere was attended by Imtiaz Ali, Sudhir Mishra, Irshad Kamil, Vivek Mushran apart from the lead actors, Rohit Kokate, Khushboo Upadhyay (of The Affair fame) & Himanshu Kohli, director Aadish Keluskar, producers & founders of Humaramovie, Preety Ali, Vinay Mishra, Pallavi Rohatgi & cinematographer Ameya Chavan & Vinay Shinde who is the executive producer & editor of the film.
The film is competing in the prestigious India Gold category & has also been shortlisted for the Oxfam Award for “Best Film” on Gender Equality at 20th Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival with Star.
Jaaon Kahan Bata Ae Dil is the story of a real romance, with real people, where the reality of today’s environment intrudes into the heady concoction of love, sex & aspirations towards a diabolical climax. The journey jolts you but you are compelled to stick around for the ride.
Director Aadish Keluskar’s debut feature film Kaul – A Calling was also an Official Selection at 17th Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival & had also won the Young Critics Award.
Jaaon Kahan Bata Ae Dil marks Aadish Keluskar & Humaramovie’s 4th collaboration. Previously they had collaborated for 3 acclaimed short films, I Love You Too, An Encounter & Zero By Zero which was showcased in the Indian Section of 2013 Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Fest.
The World Premiere of Jaaon Kahan Bata Ae Dil was followed by a Q&A session with the cast & the crew of the film, which was moderated by actor Raghav Chanana.
During the Q&A session, audiences & members were curious to know the idea behind presenting the lead actress Khushboo Upadhyay’s character as someone who is dark skinned & not conventionally good looking. They were also keen to know whether this made her conscious as a performer.
“As an actor, I am not conscious at all. I never think about whether I am looking good or not. I just concentrate on whether I will be able to portray the character or not. If the character is reflected through my performance, then my job is done.” said Khushboo Updhayay.
“As a society, we still have so many preconceived notions of beauty, which creates a complex amongst those whom may not be considered good looking as per these norms. This begins while people are in school & gradually develops into something very negative.” said Aadish Keluskar.
Talking about the sexual violence depicted in the film, Aadish Keluskar said, “The sexual violence shown in the film was deliberate. In real life, there are lot of instances of cases of domestic violence in which the victims take their case back fearing the repercussions & an attachment they have with their perpetrator who uses it to their advantage. If you look around, you will see a lot of people who are in such toxic relationships and I felt that had to be addressed somewhere in the film.”
During Q&A, producer Vinay Mishra was asked about why they chose to produce the film to which he said, “Only 9 people have made the film. If you have the conviction to make your film & you know that you can make it despite several constraints, then there are people who would be willing to take that chance with you. One could have had disagreements with Aadish Keluskar but he had complete clarity about what he wanted to do.”
Director Aadish Keluskar who was delighted with the response received by Jaaon Kahan Bata Ae Dil at its World Premiere said, “There are a lot of thoughts in your head which keep taking the form of a screenplay & after that you keep taking them to the filmmaking process through shooting & editing before finally showing it to audiences. If audiences are actively engaging with the film then it’s a good feeling. If you have conveyed even 50% of what you felt and you know that it is going to live amongst the viewers, then you truly feel that your job is done.”
Khushboo Upadhyay, the lead actress of the film said, “It was a challenging role but there was also a lot of fun in doing it. The challenge was to make audiences connect with my character emotionally without making her come across as someone who is unattractive or unappealing.”
Rohit Kokate, the lead actor of the film said, “I loved the character, the way he talks & functions. The film is mostly about 2 characters, that of me & Khushboo. The manner in which the film plays around with our characters is what intrigued me & made me say yes to the film.”
Talking about the feedback received by the film at its World Premiere, Vinay Mishra founder of Humaramovie & one of the producer of Jaaon Kahan Bata Ae Dil said, “This was the 1st ever screening of Jaaon Kahan Bata Ae Dil & the response it received was nothing short of amazing. I know that people were shocked, they were offended, they were repulsed. But, they were also mesmerized, they were awed & they made a connection with the film! They felt it was real & they knew these people on screen. Overall, I was happy to see that they sat up & took note of the film in such a great way”
Director Sudhir Mishra while talking about the film says, “This is a very brave film which pushes boundaries, really liked it”
Actor Vivek Mushran gave thumps up to the film saying, “It’s a very good film, Independent cinema at its best”
Born in Konkan, Aadish Keluskar grew up in Mumbai. He graduated in Journalism while working as a reporter in different News Channels & Newspapers during graduation. After his graduation, he got in Film & Television Institute of India specializing in Film Direction & Advanced Screenwriting Course. While studying for Final Year he made his 1st ever independent feature film and dropped from the course before completing post-graduation. Jaaon Kahan Bata Ae Dil is his 2nd Feature Film.
Humaramovie is founded by Preety Ali, Pallavi Rohatgi & Vinay Mishra. It is a studio-cum-incubator lab which partners with young, upcoming talent to create a path for content of a new India. Humaramovie has produced over 400 short films, worked with over 250 talented filmmakers, and has released 3 features successfully. Its last venture “Shor Se Shuruaat” was a critical & commercial success. It is currently available on Amazon Prime Video & Star Gold Select.
Humaramovie believes in new talent & is working actively to partner with these talented filmmakers to make great content. Currently Humaramovie has a slate of 4 feature length films, including Jaaon Kahan Bata Ae Dil & the next edition of Shuruaat, all with extremely talented debutant filmmakers.
