In the middle of September, on a cold and rainy day in Ooty, was the time Money Heist’s final season first part got released and created a craze in the Indian audience. I finished the first episode, “End of the Road,” and was watching season 05 Episode 02, titled “Do You Believe in Reincarnation?” I got a call from Yoga, my trusted lieutenant, and he said some of his friends wanted to meet me.
I visited his studio, which is near Blue Mountain. Blue Mountain was a theatre that was abandoned and razed to the ground to build shops, which are much more lucrative than running a cinema theatre in Ooty.
The Nilgiri District, a beautiful hill station that has been a paradise for film shooting ever since cinema came to India, unfortunately, has only two theatres in the entire District. The district also had Hindustan Photo Films Manufacturing Company Limited, the only company in India that manufactured photographic films, cine films, X-ray films, graphic arts films, photographic paper, and chemistry.
Yo Studio is housed on a little road alongside an auto mechanic shop, a political party office, and a tea shop. There were five people waiting for me. The rain picked up speed, and I was half-soaked. Suresh Samnithi, the elder of the group, is a small-time snack manufacturer who supplies Petti stores around Ooty. He develops scripts and hopes to be a filmmaker, but his family situation prevents him from pursuing his dream. He is also an encyclopaedia of Tamil cinema. He can give any information and news about the past and present film industry. Suresh learned a lot about the cinema while working as a tea vendor at the Alankar Theatre in Ooty.
Suresh started introducing me to people and them to me. The first person to be introduced was Jai Paramsivan, Tamil Film Director, who began a project with Mr. Gautham Vasudev Menon, but after nearly completing it, the film was shelved because of a problem with the producer. He fell into a deep depression. His love failure added to his depression, so he left Chennai and sought refuge in Ooty. The issue with the producer is still ongoing, and he is still waiting to make his debut as a director.
Pasupathi is the next person, and he is a young man with a lot of skill. A freelance photographer shoots whatever pays or inspires him, whether it’s a wedding, a government ceremony, a product, or even a political gathering. He is working hard to carve out a place for himself and to impress his girlfriend.
Sylvester Stallone, Pasupathi’s college roommate, comes next. Stalin’s father, a diehard fan of the Rambo series, named his son after the protagonist’s original name. Silvester Stalin works tirelessly on his fitness while also trying to figure out what he wants to do with his life. He is multi-talented and his talent comes from his experience of having attempted everything from selling veggies to being a Rapido driver to selling Shawarma.
And, of course, my host, Yoga, a great video editor who had recently graduated from the L.V. Prasad Film & TV Academy in Chennai. He married a long-term lover and is now seeking a job to start his career. Surprisingly, his grandfather used to work as a projector operator in one of Ooty’s oldest theatres.
“Sir, we want to organise a film festival in Ooty,” Suresh began, “and we know you started the Ooty Film Festival in 2016 and had three editions, so we want you to lead the team for this December’s 2021 edition.”
Others joined in and suggested that I be a part of it and head the team.
I listened carefully to everyone’s views and desires.
It took me over 30 minutes to respond to them.
Yes, it is a terrific concept. Ooty needs a festival, and this is the ideal location for a film festival. Ooty has the character and charm to create a magical experience. Ooty also has the entire infrastructure to become a world-class film festival.
I was excited and thrilled about the proposal from these young kids.
However, I informed them I could not take part. It’s a fantastic idea, but I don’t want to take on any responsibilities right now.
Suresh, Jai, Pasu, Stalin, and Yoga’s displeasure and lengthy faces were visible.
But I had my reasons for declining.
They keep pressing on it, and everyone says that the film festival will boost confidence, and if I lead, they are all certain that the festival will be a success.
After more than an hour of arguing, I eventually said, “OK, I will outline all the obstacles and difficulties that we will encounter by organising this festival, and I will allow you all 7 days to think about it.” If you all still think it can be done, I will take up the task. “
Everyone agreed.
Now I made a list of the issues I encountered while organising the previous three editions in Ooty, as well as the challenges that lay ahead.
The first is that each edition of the event was carried out by a new team; they all have issues with me and the way I operate. Perhaps I’m not a team player, or possibly I’m too strict with my ideals to be flexible. The old team may or may not agree with the concept of organizing the festival with a different team this year. Even though they are not planning to organise the event themselves, they have done nothing since the 2018 iteration. However, if you all start the festival, you might encounter difficulties.
Second, we are just emerging from the second wave of COVID, which will create complications because the government may or not support us or allow us to hold a public festival.
Third, everyone in the industry all around the world lost money following the pandemic, so raising funds for the event will be difficult.
The fourth reason is that we don’t have enough time to solicit films from around the world or generate funds; we only have two months, or 60 days, to organise an international film festival in a small Indian town.
The fifth issue is that there are just two theatres in the whole Nilgiris District. The Assembly Rooms are the only theatre where we can hold a film festival. I’m not sure if the theater will be available for us this time. There were lots of big movie releases during that time, and we ended the last edition of the film festival on a bitter note.
The sixth reason is that there are no friends who will sponsor or support this festival. I have more enemies than friends.
It will be us against the world if we organise. We have to deal with challenges on a daily basis and combat them at every turn.
I advised them to take their time and think about it, and we’d meet again next week.
I am certain that they will not return, and there is no reason for them to do so. I don’t want these kids to be a part of this sinking ship, which I know will be tough to refloat. I want them to concentrate on their jobs and get on with them. The Ooty Film Festival was dead for me.
I started my travels and was in Chennai when I entirely forgot about the tasks I had set for them.
Now I am in the third episode of Money Heist, and its title is “Welcome to the spectacle of life”.
Really super maddy