India Independent Films (IIF)

“Anumati”, directed by Gajendra Ahire, was the winner of Best Feature Film at the 2013 New York Indian Film Festival, as well as Vikram Gokhle winning for Best Actor for his performance as the main character, Ratnakar.

Courtesy of http://marathimoviemarketing.com

Loss of a loved one is very difficult for many to undergo, and it is no surprise. The process can be heartwrenching, watching one’s health deteriorate in front of one’s eyes, witnessing the pain and struggle firsthand. Alternatively, the shock of a sudden loss can thrust one into an alternate reality, with the defense mechanisms of denial and rationalization creating a false world that fends off the truth from sinking in. In the time afterwards, grief and bereavement must be had, and there are no guidelines that mark reactions as “appropriate” or “befitting”; reactions are individual and grief overcome in one’s own way. The film “Anumati” attempts to explore these stages through a compassionate story of love and loss, and the struggle of a husband to cope with a dying wife, not quite ready to let go.

The portrayal of the main character, Ratnakar, is one of a man truly unable to come to terms with the reality of his wife’s health, and his inability to make a rational decision of withdrawing care begins to take a toll on his family. His relations with his son and daughter are explored through their differing reactions to his requests, and showcase the spectrum of ways of coping. Though Vikram Gokhle is emotive enough to convince the viewer of his sadness, his demeanor at times seemed disjointed, almost dazed. However, this may be enough to further convince the viewer of the disheveled state he has been thrust into as a result of his predicament.

While the viewer has no choice but to share in the struggles of Ratnaker through compelling acting and character interactions, the flow of the movie as directed seemed a bit flat. The tone was somber from beginning to end with few moments where the mood fluctuated drastically enough to indicate any impending events. I felt this took away from the experience of watching a movie of this sort, where the viewer not only wants to feel for and relate to the character, but stands to gain something in perspective. The story, while told from a very realistic standpoint, could have been written to encompass a broader spectrum of emotion and reaction than was on display while providing more uplifting moments to cradle the spirits of the viewers in an otherwise downcast story.

Overall, “Anumati” does tell a compelling story of a man undergoing loss, and in a very relatable manner. We can all imagine ourselves in Ratnakar’s shoes, his grief, his decisions to reach out to his children and his childhood friend for support, and the pain he suffers through the process. Gajendra Ahire has done a good job of telling this story, in the hopes of reaching out to the minds and hearts of everyone who watches this film.

Links:
http://www.anumatithefilm.com/

The world premiere of “The Only Real Game” was at the New York Indian Film Festival (NYIFF) on Wednesday, May 1, 2013 at the Tribeca Cinemas in New York City, NY. It was followed by a Q&A with Director Mirra Banks, narrator Melissa Leo, producer Muriel “Mike” Peters and cast member Jeff Brueggemann.

“Baseball is a microcosm of the world; the decisions, struggles, things that aren’t fair.” – Quote from “The Only Real Game”

Even in times of plenty or times without devastation or sacrifice, certain elements of society have the tendency to function as binding elements, a social glue, and an escape from the realities of life and the everyday routine, regardless of how hectic or monotonous. These can range from music, to dance, to culinary exploration. To some, sports are the epitome of this departure from the world around us. From the unwavering adulation of your favorite baseball player, pretending to be him while throwing around in the yard, to emulating his stance and routine batting at home plate during your high school Varsity season, to the feeling of putting on his jersey and heading down to the local pub to catch the Sunday afternoon game, these are times when the rest of life comes to a standstill and those around you become a makeshift family, sharing an unusually strong bond between strangers.

The state of Manipur, in eastern India bordering Burma, has been experiencing a separatist movement for the last several decades and has escalated into a landscape of constant militarization with no clear end in sight. The state of the country has pushed the majority of its inhabitants into a corner with few options than to comply with the circumstances surrounding them. It has relied on its strong history and culture to provide its people with the pride and resilience to endure the hardships that have come with the times. However, one of the unexpected sources of strength an unity has been found not in soccer or cricket, but in the “All-American” game of baseball, brought over by World War II soldiers from the US. The country has only watched it flourish since then.

Mirra Bank, in making the film “The Only Real Game”, has struck an exquisite balance in telling two interweaving, but related, stories of Manipur as it stands today and baseball’s presence in the country by using one as a vehicle to introduce and sustain the other. The film provides a clear, yet concise, historical context using visuals and historical and present day film of everyday happenings with the precise and soothing narration of Melissa Leo to elaborate. Several important activists, including Binalakshmi Nepram and MK Binodini, offer their commentary on the state of affairs.

The movie then begins to explore the element of baseball, how it has grown to the prominence it has, and the efforts of the First Pitch organization to support the interests of the people of Manipur in baseball and how it impacts their society. Members of local communities become characters who the viewer grows respect, feel for, and love. Their stories of their lives, largely told by them in Manipuri, are a window into the heart of the Manipuri people; it is difficult to not sympathize with their struggles. They tell of their experiences with baseball from early in their childhood. Baseball has been a cornerstone of life for many of these young adults, becoming their reprieve from life and for some, the object of their aspirations. Recollections of years spent playing amidst the chaos of the insurgency are enough to drive many to tears. Some of the stories told are of women who have similarly devoted their lives to the sport, many as coaches, for the benefit of not only their own children and the children of society.

First Pitch is an organization founded by Muriel Peters whose mission it is to further the awareness and proficiency of baseball coaches and players of the game of baseball. Jeff Brueggeman and David Palese, two MLB Envoy coaches, accompanied First Pitch to travel to Manipur to put on baseball and coaching clinics, and are the main subjects of the film. One can see their true love for the game melding with their kindhearted nature to provide an incredible experience for all they come in contact with. Players and coaches alike respect them, and come time to part ways, a lifelong bond is forged, truly touching the viewers.

By using the game and story of baseball, Mirra Bank and her crew have managed to tell a truly gripping and compassionate story of the struggles of a people who choose not to stand down, not to give up in times of desperation. Having played competitive baseball for over 10 years, I can attest to the power of the game of baseball as both a departure from my reality, as well as a source of community within a heterogeneous group of people, bonding over our love for a game which instills in us the core values of leadership, teamwork, and dedication to our cause. These are the values with the Manipuri people hold so dear. and “The Only Real Game” is proof that, not just for the Manipuri, but for people all over the world, there is yet hope to overcome their own struggles.

Links:

http://www.onlyrealgamemovie.com/
http://www.firstpitchusa.org

IIF was privileged to have the chance to interview Academy Award winning actress Melissa Leo. She was most recently acclaimed for her award winning performance in “The Fighter” as Alice Ward, as well as roles in “Flight” (as Ellen Block), “Oblivion” (as Sally), and “Olympus Has Fallen” (as Ruth McMillan). Her relationship with Mirra Bank, director of “The Only Real Game”, has led to her narrating the film. Check out our interview below!

Credit: US Weekly/Jason Merritt/Getty Images

India Independent Films: Thank you very much for taking some time to speak with us today. It’s a special opportunity for us to be able to work with someone as renowned as yourself! Tell us a little bit about the movie, The Only Real game, directed by Mirra. Just a Birdseye view of what the film’s about.

Melissa Leo: A bird’s eye view is about all I can give you because today at 4 o’ clock is when I’ll see the film for the first time! Even when I narrated it, I didn’t see it all the way through. We only had a small amount of time one day to lay down the narration and so we just skipped our way through the film, it’s not heavy on narration. I think that the people in the story tell the story and the image is like a good documentary, you don’t want too much voiceover or you haven’t really got your film. And what I’ve seen of it, a totally beautiful film with this lighthearted, delightful premise that there in the midst of India I don’t think there’s a single other place where baseball is played except in this really bereft and broken area of Manipur. So baseball is a segue in, started by American servicemen during the second world war who taught a few Indian kids how to play, and a lot of women actually have kept alive the playing of the baseball because, same as here, it’s a good way to keep the kids out of the street and out of trouble and also it’s a team sport. You can’t play baseball by yourself. You have to have a certain amount of people to run and catch the ball and throw it and it’s a beautiful game. The way that it is, it takes everyone on the team and everyone has a specific thing they’re meant to do and it’s something they really excel at whether it’s catching or throwing whatever it might be. You can excel in your own pocket. It’s a very beautiful game, but again, it’s a foreground for a very serious and dire story that’s going on and little heard. I think in India, and certainly around the world, here in the united states for sure, the kind of repression that’s going on in Manipur and the isolation that the people there are experiencing and so hopefully there’s some way that a film like this, maybe, just, for a very small drop in a bucket but if you can make one more drop in the bucket you create a ripple and something can shift, something can change.

IIF: And I’m sure that the motive of the making of the film will certainly direct it towards that and will have a great impact on that story. How did you get involved in this project in particular?

ML: Simply because I’ve known Mirra Banks for several years and really always enjoy each other, we know each other primarily from the actors’ studio here in New York City. She works for the playwright directors unit and I’m an actor member for many, many years. And we’ve always just really enjoyed and respected one another. She had gotten the film almost put together and found she did need a bit of narration and [asked] would I do it for her and I leapt at the chance. I knew that the product would be something that would have both entertainment and higher value than that.

IIF: And it seems like from the brief description you gave us that you’re aware of what’s going on in that area of the world.

ML: Well, I mostly found out from her and I find it quite interesting because I don’t really attach myself to any one difficulty in the world. I am quite fascinated in this particular moment with situations that I’ve heard about in Mozambique, and now in Manipur, and I know a friend down in Central America in El Salvador. Here are the three disparate places that never would, and the stories are the same. It’s an over-militarized regime that is oppressing the strength and body of a nation.

IIF: Have you ever travelled to India before?

ML: No! I came this close to working several years ago in Karachi with a very famous Indian movie star Shabana Azmi. I played in a BBC film that we shot in Karachi. A long, long time ago, it’s the closest I’ve gotten yet. My mother has travelled a lot and it’s always been a dream and a hidden agenda of agreeing to do the film with [Mirra], maybe I’ll get at trip over to India and get to see it with my own eyes!

IIF: In working with Mirra to do this narration, and the things that you’ve learned, how did the components of the film and what you learned about the culture change your preconception of what India was and what the culture was like there?

ML: I walk in a funny path, but basically to answer your question, the thing that it comes down to is that anywhere you go in the world, you have these incredible human beings, and human beings’ needs and wants and desires and hopes and dreams are never so far apart as the miles that separate us and the cultures in which we live. Cultures inform us, but we all want for our world to be better for our children than it was for us, so really, for me the surprises are in yet once again finding this far off place that I’ve never been to but hope to travel to one day [where] there are human beings that are joying in the same way we do and suffering in the same way we do. I think rather than say “Oh, this is the worst problem here”, to recognize that we have problems as bad here in the US as anything going on anywhere else in the world and the notion that in the US everyone lives in the lap of luxury is not true and we’re all much, much closer together here on our blessed Mother Earth.

IIF: You mentioned a little earlier the involvement of the girls over in Manipur in this communal pastime, and in that part of the world they haven’t really experienced that progressive nature of female equality that some of the westernized countries have. When you learned about that element of the story, and yourself being an accomplished female in a more progressive culture, what was your response to learning about that?

ML: I think it’s not surprising. I think that very often within families, within countries or governments, very often, and not only or exclusively, but very often it’s the women and the young women, who suffer the most. The ability for militaristic types to come and usurp, it’s traditionally a rape and pillage of women, that’s the way to conquer them. So the women being so often the target wherever you are in the world and with so little to fight back with, it’s bound to happen. Whether the influence is from outside or it comes from within, womankind will rise up against the oppression and hopefully the insightful men will join the uprising! And while it’s true that it seems like a very masculine structure of government and the military, I’m sure the same as when you get into American homes and when you get into Indian homes, who’s really running it is mommy!

IIF: I can attest to that at least a little bit! What has your foray into the independent film industry been so far in your career?

ML: Well, it’s not a foray into, indie film is really where my career has been based in large part beginning in independents that were truly independent of studio, independent in financing. Nowadays it’s so typical that even a big studio has an independent wing and makes independent films, so it’s a kind of loose term. And again, rather than seeing the lines and boundaries between the high budget films and the independent films, and independent of thought, for me, it’s all just work. I’m happy to do it, there’s advantages and disadvantages on either end of the financial spectrum when you’re making a movie. Sometimes you have too much money and you waste too much time and energy, and resources. Sometimes you don’t have enough money and you just can’t get your film made.

IIF: Had you worked with Mirra before with your longstanding relationship?

ML: I hadn’t worked with her per se before this but as I said, through the actors’ studio, we’ve been in many of the same rooms over the years for different reasons.

IIF: What was it like working with Mirra and her team on this project?

ML: It’s delightful! She knows her subject so well, of course with any documentary there’s hours more film that’s been shot. By the time I joined them, they had worked arduously to cut those hours of film in to a watchable, nice 90 minute or so film. So by the time I’m joining her in the looping stage to record the narration, she just knows so clearly. She even hears the narration somewhere in the back of her head and how heavily she wants me to hit it. There’s some pretty, not horrific, but sad human tales to be told within the film and sometimes I would say it too emotionally and she would say “Oh no, no, no. I think that the image and the story is enough, if you can hit it a little lighter, then it’s easier.” She’s a very, very good director. It’s not the same thing as directing on a stage where you’re doing the blocking and things like that but there’s a lot of direction involved in narration as well. She was a wonderful guide.

IIF: It sounds like you had a very good experience.

ML: I did, and I’m really thrilled be here at this festival now!

IIF: And I have to ask, being as you’re a fairly productive person, what are you working on and what can we look forward to?

ML: Well right now there’s two films. “Flight” has just made its circuit around and “Oblivion” with Tom Cruise and Andrea Riseborough is making its way around the world as we speak, as is “Olympus Has Fallen” with Gerard Butler and Aaron Eckhart so I have small parts in both of those. In the fall, there will be another flurry of work coming out. We have a short fourth season of “Treme”, which I believe HBO is showing in the fall. I will appear twice as robin William’s wife. Once as his Mamie Eisenhower to his Ike Eisenhower in Lee Daniels’ “The Bulter” which is coming this fall and I also play his wife in a funny little film Phil Robinson directed called “The Angriest Man in Brooklyn”. I like to keep busy!

IIF: Thank you so much for talking to us today. We’re very much looking forward to the premier at 4 o’ clock and I’m sure we’ll get some good responses from it. Talk to you after the film!

ML: Thank you so much!