When filmmaker Anurag Kashyap had offered Neeraj Ghaywan a chance to work in his Gangs of Wasseypur (GOW), he wasn’t sure. “I don’t even know if I have the talent to do this,” the Hyderabadi had told the Dev D director.
That’s because besides writing film blogs at passionforcinema.com, Neeraj basically held degrees in engineering and business administration.
But today, the 33-year-old can’t thank Anurag enough for spotting the filmmaker in him and giving him the “film school” kind of training on the sets of GOW.
Last week, Neeraj was hailed as one of the four “Emerging Independent Filmmakers” in the fourth edition of The Sundance Institute — Mahindra Global Filmmaking Awards held in Utah. The other winners were from Vietnam, Denmark and Australia.
And it wasn’t only for the recognition of Neeraj’s short film Fly Away Solo. “Besides the film project, the jury also assesses a filmmaker’s body of work. Only when they are convinced of his/her merit that the award is announced. Honestly, I hadn’t expected this but it feels great,” says Neeraj, who has two short films to his credit, Shor and The Epiphany, as a filmmaker and Anurag’s upcoming film Ugly (which has already been to Cannes) as a second unit director.
But Neeraj doesn’t have time to celebrate. “Our team just presented the script to the jury. Now, we need to make a film out it. A feature film,” he says.
And, this time around, Neeraj is planning not only to take Fly Away Solo to film fests but to multiplexes as well. “Lines between independent and commercial cinema are blurring now. So, my film will definitely have a bigger release. We are also trying to rope in actors Richa Chadda and Rajkummar Rao.”
So, what is Fly Away… all about? Why did the jury at Sundance decide to give him a cash award of $10,000, year-round mentoring from the institute and eligibility to attend the Sundance Fest? Neeraj says, “It’s multiple stories weaved into one. It will show the world an India that it hasn’t seen before. It’s about the existential crisis that a middle class family faces. Yes, it is Indian by context, but universal in nature.”
Neeraj is doubly happy with this feat. “When I left my high-paying marketing job, my parents didn’t speak to me for a month. But when my father saw Shor, his opinion changed. This feat will again assure them of my career move.”
