Aaba, the only Indian film in competition at the 67th Berlin International Film Festival, is an unconventional love story, narrated almost in total silence. Amar Kaushik’s short film takes storytelling back to its very basics. Shot entirely against the remote landscape of Ziro, Arunachal Pradesh, Aaba is all heart.
It’s also an unforgiving slice of life that’s as real as it gets. Amar spent months with members of the Apatani tribe, observing their lives and ways, till he became a part of them. The fact that it has been shot with locals from the tribe, who barely even understood the concept of cinema or acting, is quite amazing in itself. Dani Randa (Aaba), Dani Chunya, Dani Sunku, Hage Yami and Dr Joram Khopey make the story of an orphaned Apatani girl and her grandparents, one that speaks a universal language.
Though Aaba is Amar Kaushik’s directorial debut, he has been a part of the film industry for nine years and was also the associate director on No One Killed Jessica (2011). He tells us more about his life and cinematic journey below.
Q: Why is Aaba an important story to tell?
Amar Kaushik: I have spent my childhood in Arunachal Pradesh, the state not only is beautiful, but it’s also home to some of the most ancient customs and traditions. Its purity and serenity is just enchanting. Even after we moved out, my mother kept telling us interesting stories from Arunachal, just to keep reminding us of our beautiful childhood. I am a very good listener, and the stories my mother told were always in my heart. Aaba is one such interesting story my mother had narrated that remained with me for the longest time. Interestingly, when I narrated this story to my friends, they were moved too and then I had decided that this needs to be told.
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Q: Aaba plays more on sound and less on dialogues. Why did you choose that approach for your film?
Amar Kaushik: When I started writing the film, I was explaining everything in dialogues. Only when I was half way through with my writing, I realised that this was not the story I had thought of. Then I approached the story in the way that I had heard it from my mom.
I would imagine locations, situations, people and expressions during the narrations, but there were no words. I have tried to replicate my imagination into this film.
Q: Tell us a bit about your process of working with non-actors and how you explained the concept of 'acting' to them.
Amar Kaushik: An easy way of casting for the film would have been to get actors from Mumbai, and take them to the location in Arunachal. But I chose to do it the difficult way. While writing and visualising the film in my head, I had locals from the Apatani tribe playing the characters. So, doing it any other way didn’t make sense to me, or to the story of Aaba.
However, after I reached Arunachal Pradesh and started looking for people for my story, the real challenge began. While it was not difficult to find the right faces, but communication was a task. Forget teaching them acting, we didn’t understand each other’s language. That’s when I realised that I had to be one of them, to make them comfortable with me, and accept me as one of their own.
I stayed with them in their houses in Ziro for weeks and gradually, they started communicating with me, of course with the help of a translator. While I was accepted, the camera still made them uncomfortable. So, I made the camera a part of our group too, keeping it with us everywhere we went and every time we sat together. Soon, my actors started performing and for them, the camera just became a prop on the set. I couldn’t be happier. This was one of my milestone moments.
Rajkumar Gupta, writer and director of the critically acclaimed films such as Aamir and No One Killed Jessica, is one of the producers on the short film, and has an interesting take on Aaba.
I agreed to come on board because the story of this film touched me deeply. Aaba to me is a love story like no other. What appealed to me the most was the silent relationship between the old husband and wife. Our elders, our parents are somewhat like that too. There is immense love, deep feelings, but very few words. To me, Aaba is as much about the starkness of life as it is about love. But honestly, this film is what it is only because of Amar’s passion and conviction for the story. I knew of his potential as a filmmaker and when he narrated this beautiful story, I just had to say ‘yes’.Rajkumar Gupta, Filmmaker and Producer
Amar’s mentors filmmakers Rajkumar Gupta and Onir, along with Mitul Dikshit, trusted his instinct and vision enough to bring this story to life. Though the actual filming took only five days, the entire process from scripting to post-production took a few months.
Q: What about this story inspired you to transform it into a film?
Amar Kaushik: Death is one of the most misunderstood and mysterious subjects in the world. Waiting for death can be painful and seeing your loved one waiting for it can be even more unbearable.
The story of someone wrapping up the chapters of their life, and waiting for death to arrive, left me amazed.
Q: What about the film will never leave you?
Amar Kaushik: Arunachal Pradesh- the place, the people, the culture, the rituals and everything about it will always remain close to my heart. The more you go close to the place, the more you want to know it. I really wish it remains the same forever!
Q: What challenges did you meet along the way?
Amar Kaushik: I wanted to make this film before the rains. But it took me more than a month to cast and find the perfect location. But by then, the climatic conditions went against us. So, controlling costs was a challenge. We also decided to pick locals to form our crew, as taking people from Mumbai would have been an expensive affair. This proved to be tough initially, but my crew has left me surprised with their hard work and sincerity.
Q: What's special or striking about the Apatani tribe that made you decide to make the film with these characters?
Amar Kaushik: Aaba is their story, about their world, their culture and customs. It’s about their simplicity and I endeavoured to have that simplicity reflect in the film. Any kind of a change or addition in that would have taken away the natural essence of the story.
Q: What does the competition at the Berlin International Film Festival look like and what are you hoping for?
Amar Kaushik: The team is already thrilled about the fact that Aaba will be screened at the most prestigious film events in the world. It’s an absolute honour. We are hoping to watch amazing films, meet some of the greatest talents in world cinema and show our work to everyone present.
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