07 August,2009 08:17 AM IST | | Subhash K Jha
Unable to gather sufficient funds for five different films, filmmaker Onir has decided to merge the five films and release it as one. The film's budget is approximately Rs 1.5 crore. He made My Brother Nikhil four years ago at the same budget.
Own your film
The filmmaker is using unconventional funding to make this film. He announced on Face-book that anyone could own their new film called I Am. There was an avalanche of volunteer producers. At last count, they had 300-350 producers. The entire crew will be paid only when the film gets sold.
Says Onir, "It started with my determination to make a film called You & I on child abuse. No producer or corporate house was willing to back the project. They didn't find it a 'safe' project. Sanjay Suri came up with the idea of doing five different films in one, all financed by different people.
I decided to go for an unusual form of funding and extend the ideas of identity and the fear of sustaining that identity in a world of cynicism and intolerance. Five different stories will be released as one film in India."
The most interesting part of this cinematic experiment is that they're all based on the brutalisation of true characters who will make an appearance at the end of eachu00a0 segment. Each film will be shot in a different city Mumbai, Delhi, Srinagar and Kolkata. Each character is culture-specific to the city. Every story has a contemporary resonance."
Hum 5!
1. I Am Omar
Starring: Rahul Bose, Abhimanyu Singh, Saahil Saigal, it's about article 377, the nexus between sex workers and cops. To be shot in Mumbai from August 15
2. I Am Afia
Starring: Kalki and possibly Arjun Mathur. About misappropriation of NGO funds. To be shot in Delhi
3. I Am Abhimanyu
Starring: Sanjay Suri, Radhika Apte, Anurag Kashyap, Rahul Bose, Pooja Gandhi. About child sexual abuse already shot in Bangalore
4. I Am Megha
Starring: Juhi Chawla and Sanjay Suri. Story of two women in Kashmir, one a Kashmiri Pundit, the other Muslim. To be shot in Srinagar from Oct 1
4. I Am Rudra
Starring: Purab Kohli. About the Maoist movement. To be shot in Kolkata
