South Korea’s Platform BUSAN, an annual networking event for independent Asian filmmakers, organised by the Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) and the Asian Contents & Film Market (ACFM), is a unique opportunity for emerging independent Asian filmmakers to find global partners, producers, distributors, programmers and mentors. This year, Pranab Kumar Aich’s docufiction on the late Padma Shri Nanda Prusty has been invited at Platform Busan. It is, perhaps, the first ever Odia film to be invited to the prestigious forum which is like the Berlinale Talents for the East/for Asia.
Nanda Master’nka Chatasali is a hybrid documentary directed by Aich and produced by Abhaya Pati under his banner Abhismita Films. Aich’s production house Studiowaala is handling the film’s festival strategy and journey. The film, which was shot in Odisha and Delhi, took three years to make. The filmmaker tailed Nanda Prusty for about a year, spent another year editing, continuing with patch shoots, and worked on the festival journey for about a year. The film had its world premiere in the NETPAC section of the 29th Kolkata International Film Festival, followed by a screening at Delhi’s 16th Habitat Film Festival and is next headed to DOK Leipzig, the world’s oldest and one of the largest documentary and animation film festivals.
Nanda Prusty was an Indian teacher in the village of Kantira in Odisha, who inly studied till Class VII, and the financial conditions of his farming family forced him to fend for his family early on. He ran a grocery shop and began by teaching monetary calculations to his customers. Eventually, he began giving free education: Odia alphabets and basic math, to the village children, seated beneath a tree. A tradition that continued all his life, come rain or shine. His efforts won him the Padma Shri in 2021. He went to Delhi to receive the award from then president Ram Nath Kovind. A month later, Prusty passed away owing to COVID complications, aged 102.
“Nanda Prusty was a saint with a family — a rare combination. His commitment to uplifting villagers around him, irrespective of caste, through free education and spiritual awakening, even at the cost of his own happiness, deeply inspired me. His simple way of living, proximity to nature, and rejection of life’s luxuries made him unique. Above all, he was a rare teacher who lived what he preached,” says the Bhubaneswar-based Odia documentary filmmaker Pranab Kumar Aich, 38, who has been part of more than 500 short productions for NGOs, corporates, and government bodies. His creative short documentaries include City’s Step Child, I Have a Colored Dream, Manayun My Wonderland, and Torch. His latest is his debut feature docudrama, Nanda Master’nka Chatasali.
“I haven’t come across anyone with such lifelong devotion and commitment. None of his students became teachers like him,” says Aich, whose volunteer work in NGOs, between 2005 and 2008, shaped the documentary filmmaker, helping him “understand the larger realities of life for people living on the margins of society and gave me a deeper understanding of world issues.” Goonj gave him the chance to make a documentary on their school program Pratibimba, at Manzil, he ran a film club, and the India American Foundation trained him to teach the basics of documentary storytelling in government schools.
After that, he pursued a PG Diploma in Photography and Visual Communication from AJKMCRC, Jamia Millia Islamia in 2008. In 2009, while still a student, he won the Sony World Photography Award at Cannes for his work on the environment.
Edited excerpts:
How did you come across his story and what made you decide to make a film on him?
The film’s producer Abhaya Pati approached me with the idea to make a documentary on Nanda Prusty, the man of free education. When I met Nanda Sir, his simplicity, clarity of thought, and 70 years of service through education struck me. I felt such honest men, who are true representatives of our society, have stories that should inspire everyone to build a better world.
Did you start making the film before he received the Padma Shri in 2021 or was the film made after he got the award?
We had started shooting long before he received the Padma Shri. Nanda Sir passed away one month after receiving the award.
Did the film script change with the Padma Shri award? How much of the final film is different from what you must have visualised when you started?
I believe in making films as they evolve. Documentaries should be organic, allowing the story to shape itself. The Padma Shri certainly added a new dimension to the film, making the character more popular. However, the core of the film remains the same as originally planned.
In the first half, the biographical documentary flits between the imagined past (fiction) and the real (documentary) story, and in the second half, the fiction takes the backseat as you cut to the present-day. Did you take any creative liberties there?
The story progresses with time, focusing more on present-day events and the documentary aspect as it moves forward. The film intercuts between the present times and past events in Nanda Sir’s life, narrated first-hand by villagers, family members, and journalists. This forms the basis of the film, with non-actors from the area enacting scenes from his past. It is not fiction, but rather a re-enactment. But I didn’t deviate from the real story.
The film shows the last rites of Nanda Prusty. Was his family okay with the shoot?
Nanda Sir was a public figure, and everything was shot with the consent of his family and government, ensuring sensitivity was maintained throughout. The media had already been covering his life, so they were comfortable with it. However, we made sure to remain passive and not intrusive while shooting. Everything was handled with sensitivity and consent.
Is this your first attempt at fiction?
No, I have made some trial-and-error short fictions, but none significant enough to mention. With the enactment in …Chatasali, I am working with actors for the first time. However, I always wanted to shoot documentaries before venturing into fictional films to gain a deeper understanding of human behaviour.
Which Odia filmmakers have inspired you and why?
AK Bir, Prashant Nanda, Manmohan Mohapatra, Sabyasachi Mohapatra, and Nitai Palit are some of the senior filmmakers whose work have inspired me. I must also mention Nirad Mohapatra’s Maya Miriga, which was showcased at Cannes, AK Bir’s Nandan, which I watched when I was in Class 5, Prashant Nanda’s Jianta Bhoota, Sabyasachi Mohapatra’s Pahada Ra Luha, Nitai Palit’s Odia magnum opus Mala Janha, and Surya Das’ short documentary series on the plight of the Niyamgiri tribals. These filmmakers, who have worked to document, question, or celebrate the very essence of Odisha’s culture and stories on international platforms, are highly inspirational for any regional cinema.
Tell us about Platform Busan, how will it help your film?
Platform Busan is a section for emerging filmmakers and is part of Asia’s largest film festival, the Busan International Film Festival. We are invited to network for our current film, pitch our next project, attend workshops, discuss co-productions and film funding, and participate in the festival. They have also arranged special networking evenings for us. I’m invited to Busan as an emerging Asian filmmaker. I will promote my current film, Nanda Master’nka Chatasali, pitch my next project on farmers and the environment, watch films, and meet the global film community. At Busan, I will meet film festival programmers and distributors to discuss my film.
What are you working on next?
A film about the plight of farmers and environmental issues worldwide.
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