We live in an age where technology has become an all important part of our life. And while there is no denying that this is indeed beneficial to our progress in life, what is worrisome is that it is slowly taking over every aspect of our life, including our relationships with friends and family.
Seeking to highlight this trend, Sainath Parab has come out with a film titled Disha ( Beyond the Sight) which is all set to premiere at the Kolkota International Film Festival on November 14.
The film tells the tale of Hemant (Abhishekh Aanand), a software engineer who is working on developing an interactive operating system for blind people called Disha. In an effort to learn more about the mannerisms of blind people, he visits a school for the blind where he meets and falls for a blind school teacher Sangeeta (Prajakta Wadaye). However his quest for materialistic success and recognition leads to difficulties in their life. “ Whatever they are facing is similar to the issues that are happening in out life. So the end question is whether technology can replace human emotions,” states Parab, who was inspired by Marathi one act play written by Dinkar Bedekar from Pune. Parab initially began as a theatre actor in Kala Academy before moving to graphic designing and later film. He worked at a couple of news companies for a while before deciding to start his own studio Sankalpana seven years ago. Disha is his first feature film.
“I actually began this film with a Konkani script. However after studying the Indian market, the producer ( Jay Bajaj) told me that I would get a better audience if I did the film in Marathi especially since the Marathi film industry is also in good shape right now,” says Parab. “ Also, as my film is based on a fast developing suburb like Mumbai or Pune, the story demanded a Marathi script. However due to budget constraints I was unable to shoot in Mumbai and ended up doing the entire shooting here in Goa.”
The film began shooting in February last year and was shot in a month. “ There were lots of cuts involved before the films was snipped to 103 minutes,” says Parab, adding that the film has been made possible only because the support of friends and well wishers.
“ To be frank filmmakers always complain about lack of government support in funding the film. But this should not be the case. Goan should try to come up with proper business plan because film making is both art and a business. Once that is done a film culture will develop. Right now everybody wants to be a film maker but they don't know the pain it takes in this business. There is a need to find their own genre and think of something different,” says Parab, who believes that there is a need to come up with more Goan oriented films.
“If you watch a Malayalam film you will at once know that is one, not because of language but because of culture. Goa too has a wonderful culture but the stories are not coming out,” he says, adding that he would love to do a film with Goan content himself soon and then take it to the world level.
