Abhishek Jain, many few people will be there who don't know about this persona. " Kevi Rite Jaish"," Bey yaar"! Now you get it. Yes, meet this person who made these movies possible which changed the way we look at Gujarati cinema. The path breaker of "Gujarati Movie Industry". Lets have a look at how Mr.Jain looks at his life.
Que. Your childhood was very star studded. Acting and you have had a great tie up. Any thing from your childhood that you would like to share!
First thing, my childhood was not star studded. I belonged to a middle class business family and doing Children Theater was not a luxury then, nor is it now. It was a sheer outing into something that really fascinated me as a child and it was also sort of an excuse to exempt myself from 3 subjects (Gujarati, Sanskrit and PT), which today I regret and feel that I should have balanced both and not skipped my studies into Gujarati. My childhood was as normal as any normal boy, we used to go to school, bunk classes and play sports or participate in various activities, and the dreams were as common as anyone would have; to become a cricketer, an army personnel or a police man. I have hopped a lot of schools due to my mischievous and rebellious behaviour which was not accepted in the disciplinarian institutions. But when it came to studies, I made sure that I never disappoint my parents and get good results and to also be in the good books of my school teachers. So, everything was as normal as anyone else's childhood.
Que.You are a business graduate, and then you went to Whistling Woods. So, how has the journey been?
The journey so far has been really exciting, there is still a lot more to explore and a lot more to do. I am not a very ambitious person who would have plans for the future and all I do is live the moment and take my calculated decisions on the other end. From graduation in business administration to joining a film school for post graduation was really a drastic drift in the field. Coming from a city like Ahmedabad, which was not too exposed to Cinema literature or Cinema as academics; it was a difficult time at the film school for me to cope up with others who already had immense knowledge about films. I dedicated myself to the library and made it my second home, watching a lot of films and reading a lot about them. Other than that somehow even today I believe that my education in Business Administration comes handy to me in filmmaking because beyond creativity, filmmaking deals with a lot of managerial aspects which were imbibed in me since my childhood because of my family's business background and my Graduation.
Que.Why did you choose to work towards Gujarati films rather than Bollywood films?
After my post graduation, I had pretty much settled in Mumbai working for big banners like Mukta Arts and Bhansali Productions (formerly SLB Films), but there was something which was disturbing me and pushing me towards my land, Gujarat. I was craving to tell the stories I was born with, bring out the stories of Gujarat on screen and I making Gujarati films was the best fit for me. To tell stories in Gujarat through Gujarati films was a choice and I chose to come back and start writing. It was not that easy because after coming, I realized that there was no such content shown where youngsters would really want to go and watch Gujarati films. There was a certain vacuum which had to be filled and that is when I took the decision of plunging into it completely, not only in capacity of a film director but also as a producer, marketer and distributor.
Que.Did your father ever ask you “Kevi rite Jaish”? When you decided to direct a movie?
There was no such question asked by my father. He was very clear, whatever you want to do, take the route of academics and thus film school happened and secondly he told that if filmmaking is what you choose to do, then make sure that you are get into the business of filmmaking. I had two choices either to convince him or get convinced and the result that you can see is that I convinced him. I made a proper plan for my forthcoming years (which I am sure didn’t really go that way) but for that moment it worked and the plan was quite full proof, thus he agreed to it and I was sent to the film school.
Que. Bey Yaar! It is the best standard for a new debutant director of Gujarati movie. Right?
I don’t find Bey Yaar as a set standard or benchmark for anyone, not also for my own self. I think there is a lot more to say, a much better way to make films and there are immensely talented people out there to do some wonderful things for Gujarati cinema, they just have to be channelized towards making a regional film and motivated enough to continue making the same.
Que. Subhash Ghai is your mentor. So do you wish to follow his footsteps and imitate the practice of coming on screen?
I am not following anyone's path as such. True that he is my mentor, but there are bigger things to learn and adapt from him. Coming on screen is just a chance and not that I wish pursue myself to come on screen every time. It is fun to know what your actors go through when you are directing and when you are directed by your own self, it is challenging too. But I don’t see myself doing full fledge roles or playing lead or anything of that kind. It is just an experiment and shall only limit to it.
Que. I feel you are a change maker in Gujarati films and challenged the traditional views on it. What are future plans?
First of all I don’t think that any individual has the capacity to be titled as the “Change Maker”. Why only me? One should give credit to my entire cast and crew to be part of the changing times, they have equally contributed towards the change and more than anything they laid their trust on me when I said that I want to make a Guajrati film. In the same way, there are so many people who have been making Gujarati films, they are also change makers. So, it is a movement and I am just part of it and I am glad to be able to contribute towards that movement with 2 films of mine; that’s about it. About my future plans, CineMan Productions Limited the company for which I work has got its plans to produce Gujarati films where the director is not going to be Abhishek Jain but they want to have new directors and also they have started a wing for marketing and distributing Gujarati films other than the ones made under the same banner. I am contributing towards that aspect of the business and as a director I have nothing to make as of now and thus will take another couple of years to come up with something as a director.
Que. How was your experience being a writer?Aa to Just vaat che!!!
I completely enjoyed writing the first book, it was part of my bucket list- to write a book someday. I never thought that it would happen so early and it would have a tonality of biography. It was more of documenting my own journey, and it shaped up into a book. I am not a fiction writer, nor do i intend to catch up on that profession, I am happy being a screenplay writer than anything else.
Que. Your views on coming debutant Gujarati modern movies-Premji,Vitamin She and Bas ek chance.
There are many Gujarati movies to look up to in the coming year and the movies that you have mentioned and the one’s you haven’t; all have one thing in common and that is young directors and fresh ideas. It is so wonderful to have a full wagon of the same age, who wants to dedicate them towards making a film in their own language. I am positive about this momentum and personally think that there are many more subjects which will be touched upon by many other filmmakers in the coming years. I am looking forward to see a year full of Gujarati movies week after week.
Que. Any advice you want to give to youth!!
I might sound very cliché right now, but I have been saying this at every forum where I am invited to talk, that- “Today’s youth is bombarded with a lot of information and in midst of this gamut we forget to have our own opinions and our own point of view; a view related to our world should always be kept in mind that is what is needed today, which shall make the generation a positive and dynamic league to look forward to. Do what you think is right, do what you love and do it with utmost dedication and passion”.
Interview By: Khush Brahmbhatt Edited By: Hetvi Chatufale & Kavita Ingale