A story of hope and the indomitable power of the human spirit, Saurav Palodhi’s Onko Ki Kothin, has consistently received favourable response from the audience since its release in May. A t2 chat with the director of the film that has recently concluded a successful 50-day run at the box office.
Congratulations on the success of Onko Ki Kothin. Why do you think the audience has connected so deeply with the film?
As we did not do any promotions as such, I depended heavily on word-of-mouth recommendations by the audience who watched the film in its first week. This was one film in which audiences organically drew others to the theatre just by spreading the good word. It has greatly boosted the confidence of those like me who concentrate only on the film’s story and its making rather than its marketing aspects.
I believe that majority of viewers say a film is good or bad depending on whether they liked the story, or at least enjoyed the various small moments which any film may be made up of. I feel that Onko Ki Kothin appealed to them because they could relate to the thoughts of the children, and could identify with their ideas and dreams. To me, a film means much more than entertainment which you crowd at the theatre to get; it should have something important to say, which should be intelligible to the audience. What is heartening is that many from the districts came, saw and appreciated the film as much as urban audiences. They specially connected to the problem of students dropping out of school that I have discussed in this film. Teachers and NGOs who work with school dropouts even brought some of them to see the film, which was extremely fulfilling for me.
What do you think were the high points of this film?
This was one of those few children’s films that kids could enjoy or perceive at their own level. At the same time, it has a story built around certain realities of our society. This was appreciated by adults. This was a film that affluent, urban parents brought their kids to watch, so that kids could understand their own privilege and perhaps learn to be more compassionate towards those less fortunate. This was also a film that generated awareness about various existing social inequalities, through a sweet story of some poor slum children.
The music of the film was loved by all…
The music of this film played a very important part. We had to be careful so that the music did not become too much or too intense. We mostly used real and actual sounds, soft music that would not distract but would provide relief. I have a long association with Debdeep Mukhopadhyay, our music director, and we almost share a common pulse. He has done music for my TV series Kholam Kuchi and all my theatre productions since 2016-17. Our mutual understanding naturally eased the whole process.
What were the advantages and disadvantages of working with child actors? Did you need to train them especially for this film?
What truly worked in my favour is that I have enough experience working with kids, both on the stage and on screen. In fact I enjoy working with them. I think my tuning with kids is very good, and so they make me their friend very easily.
I selected the child actors for this film by auditioning around 260 kids. None of them had any prior experience of working in front of the camera, which is exactly what I had wanted. They all attended a 12-day workshop, which readied them for what was expected of them on the shooting floor.
Do you think Parno Mittra’s star appeal added to the film’s popularity?
Though that may be true, what I have learnt from the audience feedback is that they were all pleasantly surprised to see Parno in the deglamorised role she plays in Onki Ki Kothin. This was a completely new kind of role, entirely different from any she had played before or from what audiences are used to seeing her portray.
Parno and Prosun (Shome, her co-actor) also took part in an extensive workshop for their roles before we began shooting. I am personally very happy with Parno’s performance in this film. The way she has pulled off the character of Kajol is unbelievable.