Keith Gomes, who has helmed the short film Dear Men, reflects on why his idea of making a feature version of the child trafficking story did not materialise. He reveals narrating the story to Sanya Malhotra and Rashmika Mandanna, but it didn't happen
A still from ‘Dear Men’
One would expect Keith Gomes to helm another mainstream entertainer after Badass Ravi Kumar, the spoof film led by Himesh Reshammiya. Instead, the director is returning to his roots of independent cinema. That is what he is inclined towards, insists Gomes, as his short film Dear Men — that shines a spotlight on child trafficking in India — releases today. “I wanted to make a documentary on a community in North India, where they [give away] their daughters to the highest bidder. So, it’s a kind of prostitution, but parents do it to their own children. Then I met a friend, who told me a rescue story [involving] him.” Dear Men is inspired by the true story of Dipesh Tank, who risked his life to save minor girls from trafficking. The director adds, “I got greedy to make it. So, that became the film.”
Keith Gomes
Set in Bihar, the short film stars Sayani Gupta, Gyan Prakash, and Mayukh Ray. Considering human trafficking continues to be a rampant social evil, Gomes, at one point, considered making a feature film on the same story. Noting that this was before he made Badass Ravi Kumar, the director reveals that he pitched the idea to several actors. “I narrated it to Sanya [Malhotra] and Rashmika [Mandanna]. But the film just couldn’t happen. I gave up and prayed to God to give me a way back to Bollywood. He gave me Badass Ravi Kumar.”
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