The Panorama Film Appreciation Society of Jesus and Mary College, in association with Recyclewala Labs, organized an interactive session with critically acclaimed Actor-Producer Sohum Shah to spread recognition of the National Level Story Search Activity campaign, on 28th October, 2015, at 1 pm in Jesus and Mary College, Delhi University.
Sohum Shah, who’s known for his exceptional production of films such as ‘Ship of Theseus’, ‘Gulaabi Gang’ and ‘Newborns’, conveyed how “every little spark of idea holds immense importance while writing scripts”, and that, “it’s mostly an overflow of different ideas which end up creating the unique soul of a movie.” He revealed the basis of his production’s Pan-India Story Search Activity which aims to encourage students all over the country to set free their stimulating power of imagination and submit their flood of ideas or accounts of interesting stories in at least five to ten pages, and unleash the hidden scriptwriter in them. An amalgamation of some of the best entries would then be taken into account and adapted into a movie, with great rewards kept in store for the selected writers.
Credited to the lively personality of Sohum, the students talked about everything and held back nothing. There was a buoyant exchange of ideas for screenplays and self-made stories by all budding writers. Discussions on the ‘likes and dislikes’ of different types of films and the wide range of changing themes that have recently gained popularity was a subject happily covered by all movie-buffs and Bollywood lovers.
A moment of sweet nostalgia was then triggered on being asked about his inspiration to enter the movie industry. “As a kid,” he recalled smilingly, “I was a die-hard fan of Shah Rukh Khan and his romantic movies, with my all-time favorite being Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge.” He recollected being lost in his fantasy world most of the time, which he felt, instead of holding him back, as most of the people around him normally suspected, helped him move forward in life. He said, “It helped me create beautiful visions and ignited the spark of my imagination, through which I only learnt to create more realistic stories later. It also helped me to believe in myself.” He further declared that, “Without a meaningful degree of passion and love, it’s very difficult to sustain one’s dream.”, and so, “it’s only by constantly believing in yourself and in your dreams, that you can create means to fulfill them one day.”
On being asked what he enjoyed watching more- Parallel lines or mainstream cinema movies, he replied, “For me, the world is full of surprises. In fact, life is itself a surprise- a fascinating contradiction. Therefore, one must never limit themselves to any one range but enjoy all kinds of movies.”
In the end, he was only more than overwhelmed to achieve such great responses and ideas from the audience, and expressed that he loved each and every minute of their interaction. In reciprocation, he wanted everyone to catch his upcoming movie ‘Tumbad’, a fantasy-horror film which will be released very soon.
Featured Image: Recyclewala Labs
Shagun Marwah