Over the top and out!

“I have always been drawn to stories of conflict, and you cannot have a story about conflict without it being a story of love,” says Indo-Canadian filmmaker, Deepa Mehta. Deepa was in Delhi a few days ago for the Indian premiere of her new film, Funny Boy, at the I-View World Human Rights Film Festival.

Based on a 1994 novel by the Sri Lankan-Canadian novelist Shyam Selvadurai, Funny Boy is a coming of age love story between Tamil boy Arjie and a Sinhala boy. The book is set against the backdrop of Tamil oppression and resistance in Sri Lanka, and Black July, a 1983 massacre that killed and displaced thousands of Sri Lankan Tamils and fuelled a 25-year-long civil war.

Funny Boy is in the race for the Oscars, 2021, from Canada. And it has been acquired by US filmmaker Ava DuVernay’s independent distribution company, Array, whose thrust is on black, indigenous, people of colour and women’s cinema.

“Funny Boy is the story of oppression of the other. I have been through it. I know what it’s like to be the other. And I was interested in the exploration of what it means to be different. Whether it’s class, sexuality or race, innocents pay a price for being different,” says Deepa.

Given that Fire (1996), one of her earlier films, had run into trouble in India for showing love between two women, is she worried about how Funny Boy will be received by the Indian audience?

“My father was a film distributor and when I decided to make films, he told me to always remember two things. ‘You’ll never ever know when you are going to die and you’ll never ever know how a film will be received. So, limit your expectations.’ That’s exactly what I do, so I’m not worried about it,” says Deepa.

But she’s aware that things have changed in India in the last few years. “I watched Article 15 (2019) and Mulk (2018) recently, and was surprised and happy after watching them. Filmmakers have the courage now to showcase films that are about something. They are taking chances now, because how we define ourselves and our relationships has become very important.”

Streaming for good

While the current pandemic may have thrown our normal lives out of gear, restricting the way we entertain and socialise, it has also allowed the rise of the OTT platform in a big way. Many films worldwide have had OTT releases, and Funny Boy has also been released exclusively on Netflix in the UK and the US.

As a filmmaker, how does Deepa feel about the rise of the OTT platforms? “To be honest, I belong to an era where I would love the film to be shown in a movie hall. When the lights go off, you eat your popcorn and can actually be in the movie for two hours. It’s magic. Compared to this, OTT has made it possible for one to pause the film to make a cup of tea or answer the doorbell. But at a time when the movie halls are empty because of Covid, OTT has made it possible to not just see films, but also to release them and for this, I’m very grateful,” says Deepa.

She’s grateful for one more thing: that the OTT platforms have given films longevity. “Films can now be viewed for a longer time. Moreover, these platforms also encourage filmmakers by paying good money for good stories. As for me, I am greedy. I want the best of both worlds, so for the first two weeks the film can be in cinemas and then it can be put on an OTT platform,” she smiles.

Ironically, given that Funny Boy is on an OTT platform, Deepa has been too busy making the film to watch the shows on OTT platforms! “But I have managed to watch a few recently,” she laughs. “I really liked Paatal Lok and Mirzapur. Pankaj Tripathi is a superb actor and has the amazing ability to embody a character. He reminds me a lot of Irrfan Khan whom I really miss. Pankaj’s range is similar to Irrfan’s,” says Deepa.

But Deepa also believes that stories are more important than actors.

“You can have the best dialogues, you can have the best actors, but nothing works without an interesting story,” she says. “It’s quite like the foundation of a house. If the foundation isn’t strong, there’s no point in building a beautiful mansion on quicksand.”

From HT Brunch, December 27, 2020

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