Tales rooted in folk traditions make for great stories, both entertaining and instructional, with a take-home moral lesson. Folk tales have always been a part of Indian literature and films, but in the recent times, with such films as Rishab Shetty’s Kannada film Kantara (2022), there’s a renewed interest in folktale-based regional cinema. From this corner of India comes a new short film, by Chidananda S Naik, has been making headlines and that brings to life a folk tale in a village in Karnataka.
In the dead of the night, a man and his young son are on the lookout for their missing mother and grandmother, respectively. The boy throws a stone into the village pond, the moss separates and the water takes the shape of a sun, which has gone AWOL in their village. The elderly woman has stolen a rooster and, thereafter, the sun never rose in her village. A perpetual darkness embraced the village and the villagers’ lives. The incident set the villagers on an urgent quest to find the rooster and restore sunlight and balance in their world. As mystery and suspense grips, it brings out the dark and light in human nature, too. This is the premise of the 28-year-old Mysuru-based Chidananda S Naik’s Sunflowers Were the First Ones to Know…, which won the La Cinéf top prize at the 77th Cannes Film Festival last month. The film comes to India now, it is competing in the National Competition Section: Short Fiction at the biennial Mumbai International Film Festival, June 15-21, in Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai and Pune.
The first prize at La Cinéf, which is a competition for film schools’ student movies, gives a €15,000 grant to the winner. While India’s Chidananda bagged the first prize, the third prize was won by the India-born and UK’s National Film and Television School graduate Mansi Maheshwari for her animation short Bunnyhood.
Chidananda S Naik, who is a doctor by education, is the first student from Pune’s Film and Television Institute of India (FTII)’s one-year Television course to make it to La Cinéf. Prior to him, Indian students at La Cinéf included FTII’s Payal Kapadia with Afternoon Clouds (2017), Ashmita Guha Neogi with CatDog (2020), which is the first Indian film to win La Cinéf (then Cinéfondation) top prize, Yudhajit Basu with Nehemich (2023), and Pratham Khurana from Mumbai’s Whistling Woods International with Nauha (2022).
This year, at La Cinéf, Chidananda’s film was among the 18 student films selected out of 2,263 entries from 555 film schools around the world. Chidananda’s 16-minute diploma film, part of year-end exercise of his one-year course at FTII, includes Suraj Thakur’s cinematography, editing by Manoj V, and sound design by Abhishek Kadam. In this interview, the Kannadiga filmmaker talks about his journey and his film. Edited excerpts:
How did it feel to get selected in Cannes’ La Cinef, from among 2,000-plus submissions, to represent Kannada cinema globally, and win the top prize — the second FTII-ian to win the first prize, and to be the third FTII-ian, alongside Payal Kapadia and Maisam Ali, to premiere your film at Cannes this year?
I felt really happy and glad that my work got recognised at Cannes. My heart is filled with gratitude. We were backed by every Indian from the time we got selected, especially Kannadigas, as we represented India on a global stage. I got super fortunate to meet Payal Kapadia and her team (Kapadia won India’s first Grand Prix for All We Imagine as Light at this year’s Cannes Film Festival).
Tell us about your childhood in Shivamogga and the kinds of folk tales you consumed. Did you get to watch cinema at home/theatres? Do you recall the first film you watched or a film that made you want to become a filmmaker?
I was born in Shivamogga and brought up in Mysore. In my house, we never used to watch much cinema. Occasionally, my dad would rent DVDs, and we would watch films like Gandhada Gudi (1973) and Jurassic Park (1993). Growing up, our main focus was on studies. I can’t specifically recall the first film I watched or the film that made me think — it was a series of films over time that gradually influenced me.
How did a doctor decide to become a filmmaker? The two fields are chalk and cheese. Did you always want to become a filmmaker? Will you pursue medicine along with films?
Medicine itself drew me towards art. From the first year, we delved into anatomy through dissection, understanding the human body in great detail. Yet, I often pondered about emotions and feelings, which are also essential aspects of being human. We are all born first and then we decide how to spend the rest of the days before turning into ashes. There is no blueprint to life that dictates what we should do. I just decided to be happy and do things that make me and people around me happy. It’s more about coming to terms with myself and finding my expression of life. These thoughts led me to resonate deeply with art and literature, ultimately guiding me towards filmmaking. It wasn’t that I was unhappy studying or practising medicine, nor was I doing it solely for my parents. Instead, it was a realisation that my true passion lay elsewhere. I haven’t completely given up on medicine; it’s still a part of me, and I might practise on the side. However, my primary focus now is on being a full-time filmmaker.
Since you wanted to be a filmmaker from the start, it’s interesting that you applied for the Television course and not the Film Direction course at FTII.
There’s nothing wrong with applying for a Television course and not the Direction course, is there? I just wanted to make films, and all I knew was I would be able to make the films I want and meet so many talented people there to discuss and learn. If it were just theory classes, I might have not considered it, to be honest.
Would you say film schools are necessary to become a filmmaker, veteran filmmakers like Anurag Kashyap and Ram Gopal Varma don’t think so.Before joining film school, I made a short film called Whispers and Echoes (available on YouTube) and shot that film on a very basic camera with no budget, so of course one does not need to go to film school to make a film. Film schools always have pros and cons, and it’s a never-ending debate, so one has to think for themselves. I have grown up watching movies of Anurag Kashyap and Ram Gopal Varma. As a cinephile, we recommend others to watch their films. I don’t have anything to say, I always look up to them. While I was studying medical, I used to watch a lot many interviews of Anurag Kashyap and listen to his journey. He said in one of them, ‘It’s a choice one has to make and with every choice comes the consequences!’ It stands true for everything in life.
So, would you say public universities/public education systems, such as FTII, are crucial in a country like India?
We have a lot of talent in our nation and it (public institutes) becomes very important. I wish there are more SRFTIs (Satyajit Ray Film & Television Institute, Kolkata) and FTIIs all over India.
Did you get to converse with Mansi Maheshwari, at the La Cinef competition, about how different the film school teaching methods and support system are in the UK and in India?
There is a significant difference in teaching methods between the UK and India.
Whose teaching at FTII stayed with you?
(Film editor, known for films like Vihir and Aurangzeb) Neeraj Voralia sir’s teaching always stays with me. He is a true blessing for the students there.
Where was your film shot? Could you talk a little about the film?
We shot this film at Panshet in Pune (FTII student films are to be shot within 50km radius of the institute). The film revolves around a grandson, his father and grandmother. Once upon a time in a village, an old lady steals the rooster and the sun never rises again.
What was your brief to your crew, and could you tell us about your cast?
I had asked my DoP Suraj, editor Manoj and sound designer Abhishek to research about folklores. We did not have enough time to do workshop or improvise on location. The film cast contains notable artists like Jahangeer MS, Vishwas B and Vasudha Bharighat.
You shot this film over four nights, what kind of equipment did you have? Was this shot on digital and in what aspect ratio?
It was shot completely on digital and has an aspect ratio of 4:3 (squarish, boxy frame) with curved edges. We shot this film on Canon C700. We were provided with a generator for one day and tracks and trolley for two days. We had five days for edit and five days for sound.
What were the difficulties of shooting at night? Any memories from the shoot?
Shooting this film was incredibly challenging yet rewarding. Our crew was dedicated, working passionately to capture each shot perfectly. We had a talented cast, and Jahangeer sir, in particular, kept the spirits high on set, becoming everyone’s favourite.
The title of the film signals that the sunflowers didn’t bloom because the sun didn’t rise, right?
Yes, and while expanding the idea into screenplay, that’s the first thing I wrote. And it has always been there ever since.
Tell us about this rooster-sun idiom so famous in Karnataka that inspired your film. What is the story, its lesson, and your motivation for turning it into a film?
It’s called Ajjiya Jamba in textbooks here in Karnataka. I was very young and I remember it was during the dusk, when I heard this story by my elders. I forgot the moral, and the granny taking the rooster always stayed with me. I just made her desire come true in my version.
Who are your cinematic inspirations?
For me, when I had just started, anyone with a camera making films was incredibly inspiring. I used to go to sets and volunteer just to see and be in awe of the filmmaking process. Things became more organised eventually, but back in Mysore, you had to be an all-rounder to make a film.
Talk about the importance of folk tales and how rooted they are in the Kannadiga community? Rishab Shetty’s Kantara was a runway hit pan-India. Are Kannada filmmakers looking inwards now for stories?
We have an incredibly rich heritage of folktales in India. These stories, passed down through generations, are well-known and cherished among us. Growing up, I was surrounded by these narratives, which have stood the test of time due to their deep cultural resonance and timeless themes. We have a whole spectrum of films here. We always have been telling great stories.
Tell us about your desire to make Kannada films and the recent renaissance in Kannada cinema, from both independent cinema (Natesh Hegde, Prithvi Konanur, Abhilash Shetty, Utsav Gonwar) to mainstream films by the three Shettys: Rishab, Raj and Rakshit, who have also been producing/promoting indie films.
I stay in Mysuru and Mysuru is home. I want to stay close to my family and friends and I want to make films here until I can. I am also very excited to look where this journey takes me.
Could you tell us about the mainstream film you are making next?
Yes, I am making a mainstream film next, and I will share updates in a proper way as the project progresses since I can’t reveal too many details at this stage.
Who do you dream to work with?
I would love to collaborate with everyone.
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