No One Will Ever Give Me Money For My Second Film- Paakhi A Tyrewala

Amrita Mishra

Paakhi A Tyrewala , who began her career as an actress and starred in such films as Yeh Kya Ho Raha Hai and Jhootha Hi Sahi , has now taken to direction. Her debut feature film Pahuna: The Little Visitors. Debutante director Paakhi A Tyrewala came to our Office for an interview and we got a chance to know more about her.

What inspired you to make this movie?

Actually, real life! If you see, this is happening everywhere. People are getting displaced, may it be India, may it be Syria, may it be Mexico. Everywhere the same thing is happening and kids are the ones who suffer the most. Kids always suffer and the lies that we tell like this person is bad because he belongs to this community or so and so is evil because he believes in another God. Other thing is no one will ever give me money for my second film. But if it works, no one will let me make a Pahuna. Pahuna had to be my first film because once you enter that whirlwind of commercial cinema, it's very difficult to come back to such a film.

How did you come to cast such adorable kids in the movie?

Managing the children is most arduous task. I had to protect them from exploitation but also had to get them to work. I was committed to finish the film on time but they would get sleepy at night. Since a major chunk of our shoot was at night, I could bribe them with a chocolate. But I chose to stop the shoot instead. I was very conscious that we can't shoot beyond a certain point. Now, doing that would've either made them brats or made them responsible. Thank god it paid off and they became more responsible. There was also a four-month baby that we shot with.

How did the collaboration with Priyanka Chopra’s production house Purple Pebble Pictures happen?

Somebody told me Priyanka doesn't want to invest in Hindi films. She wants to promote regional cinema. I approached to Madhu Chopra, who is as much a visionary and really the force behind her daughter. She loved the story and passed it on to Priyanka. Priyanka was fascinated to find that it's the first completely indigenous film. Sikkim has produced films before but they mostly outsourced actors from Nepal. This was the first native Sikkimese film.

How did it feel to win so many international awards for your debut film Pahuna?

It was awesome. We had already gone through 3-4 festivals before we went to Germany, in the competitive section. This was the first festival we were competing in and when I got the critics award I was like ok, made sense because I always believed that Pahuna was about children and not for children. So, when I got that award, I understood, it was a film for adult and they get my nuances. I was completely humbled when I got the popular award because the jury was 14 children from 14 different countries and they said it was a unanimous decision. Within that speech, they told me what they loved about the film.

What made you base your film in Sikkim and not anywhere else in India?

It was my first experience of being away from my home, my mother. But the people in Sikkim were so gracious and lovely that I never felt alienated. Despite the freezing temperatures and difficult terrain, they would always smile at you. It's also such a beautiful state! It's the first organic, plastic-free state. The literacy rate is very high and crime rate negligible. They're all busy making a small heaven for themselves.

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