“If you have an idea, you have a responsibility towards it”

Part 1 of 2. Article by Kritika Shekhar

If you have an idea, you have a responsibility towards it – Raaghav Dhar

Like many cinema buff FTIIians, I was eagerly waiting for the release of ‘My Friend Pinto’. I managed to see the film in the 2nd week of its release but before that had already got varied reactions from friends who had already seen it. Now it’s unfortunate but true that listening to other people’s reaction we invariably form a certain opinion in our head even before watching the film. I saw the film with many such opinions in my head but by the end of it, quite liked it.
The film has generated extreme reactions. Some have been positive and very encouraging while others have been bitterly negative.

First and foremost, we all will unanimously agree that writing a script is a colossal task and for a film like MFP it’s even tough. So when I met Raaghav, I asked him about the idea behind such a complex script. He said that he wanted to create a montage. “I had been watching films since childhood and the images had a deep impact on me. I wanted to create imagery but it was important to have a story around it.  While in school I had a friend, who sat next to me in class and whose pet name was Pintu. An innocent chap but always bullied and made fun by other boys in the school. I always thought how he must have felt being teased and troubled all the time by everyone. Today he runs a successful business and is happily married with kids. Nothing is known about those guys who bullied him back in school.”
The idea behind the character of Pinto came from there. Lot of people felt the character to be childish and naïve but I think he is innocent and endearing. The story which revolves around a night where Pinto who is visiting Mumbai encounters many colorful characters, entangled in myriad intricacies of their own lives.
Raaghav added that he made the film the way he wanted to make it and is happy with the outcome. Of course there are lots of things which could, would and should have been done but that’s always there. I am sure that is something which even greatest of film makers must have felt. He had the idea for some 5 years, when he was still in the institute but it took him and Arun Sukumar almost a year and some eight drafts to lock the final screenplay. Like any other debutant director he had constraints but then you either wait to have everything the way you want it to be or you start with the available resources, put all your hard work in it and hope for the best. “If you have an idea, you have a responsibility towards it, responsibility of sharing it. You can’t just wait for the time when you will have enough clout and finance to do it in a big way. Who knows by the time you have everything, whether you will be alive to make it.”
For every script that is made into a film there are many that have been rejected, stalled, canned or awaiting release since time immemorial. So it’s a big thing for a script which has finally been made into a film and released. Even if it is not perfect, remember it not the last, there are many bigger and better coming.