‘Walkaway’ – The story behind the movie
In the world of cinema, there is usually a clear demarcation between the silver screen and the audience. If you are a fan you might count yourself lucky if you managed to get a fleeting glimpse of Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan on the red carpet or if he waved out to you as part of a crowd.
Yet for one Indian-American fan, real life blended into reel life, resulting in ‘Walkaway’, a movie which is being released on 26 screens across 18 cities in the US and echoes the life of young South Asians in New York City. First time filmmaker Shailja Gupta, very much a New York based South Asian herself, managed to pull this film off with help from none other than – Shah Rukh Khan!
Shah Rukh Khan’s Red Chillies Productions supported the post-production and Academy Award winner Resul Pookutty, who won the Academy Award for the sound editing for ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ has done the sound mixing for ‘Walkaway’. Vishal and Shekar, Bollywood’s mega music directors, have actually contributed their romantic song ‘Dheere Dheere’ to the film.
Add to this the blend of some of New York’s best South Asian acting talent – Manu Narayan, Samrat Chakrabarti, Manish Dayal, Sanjeev Jhaveri, Deepti Gupta, Carrie Anne James, Pallavi Sharda, and Ami Sheth – and you have something which could well be different, something fun.
For first time director Shailja Gupta who moved from new media and information technology to make this jump into cinema, it’s about the possibility of dreams coming true. In 2000 her company was responsible for developing Shah Rukh Khan’s entertainment portal. After that she also worked at Rahul Nanda’s Film Publicity Design in Mumbai and got involved with FilmFare Online, owned by the Times of India.
She has been global marketing manager for films like ‘Chokher Bali’ and Assistant Script Supervisor for ‘Raincoat’. Indeed, in this new cosmopolitan world, it is possible to pursue lives on both continents. Using her Bollywood contacts and American everyday life, Gupta has after two years of work, her first film ‘Walkaway’ – written, directed and produced by her, with a little help from Bollywood.
Q and A with Shailja Gupta, Filmmaker, ‘Walkaway’
‘Walkaway’, her first film, a light comedy which has been called a South-Asian male version of ‘Sex and the City’ which takes you into the lives and loves of four New Yorkers – Darius, Vinay, Shridhar and Soham. So this should whet your appetite for the movie which is being released this month!
What do you think is special about ‘Walkaway’ and what gets you the most excited about it?
I’ve tried to make Walkaway keeping in mind the sensibilities of the audience who is looking for something to relate to in what’s happening in their own lives. It’s a little unique in the sense that its done from the perspective of urban immigrant Indians who have moved to the US 5-10 years ago. It is an independent English movie made with Bollywood flair. Since Walkaway is loosely based on my friends’ lives, the characters in the film come across as very real and hopefully that is what is going to click with the audiences.
There is nothing more exciting than seeing Walkaway finally making it to the theatres. My fingers, hands, feet everything is crossed. It is exciting, nerve wracking and exhilarating at the same time!
How difficult was it to get funding for ‘Walkaway’ and how did you get if off the ground?
Thanks to my fantastic friends from all over the world, in supporting me on Walkaway from day one. I was fortunate that I didn’t have to struggle for the initial funding to get it off the ground. The credit goes to especially Kurush Mistry who is the executive producer of the film, who first believed in my project, put in the first check on the table. After that my technology company and 15-20 friends chipped in. The problem arose just before the shoot when the film snowballed into a much larger project than what I had been prepared for.
What were your experiences with Shah Rukh? Can you share an anecdote about him with Lassi with Lavina readers.
I have worked with Shah Rukh Khan ten years ago and working with him has been a complete eye-opener. I have never seen someone talk so passionately about his work. Over the years the stories of cinema that I have heard from Shah Rukh are probably what influenced me to become a filmmaker. I have learned to be crazier, more passionate and focused about my work from him!
I met Shah Rukh last year in New York. He saw 20 minutes of my movie and without even blinking an eye asked me to go to India! In addition to the financial help, he immediately spoke to his team in Red Chillies and before I knew it, his studio doors were open to me 24/7 for six months.
Tell me about your actors and what does each one bring to the movie?
The first person that I cast was Samrat Chakrabarty who I met through a friend. Once he came on board, he introduced me to others and after meeting them for readings, each piece of the puzzle started fitting in. Each actor brought his own style of working and it was quite a challenge as well as a learning experience to try and adapt to each one’s style.
Manu Narayan and Ami Sheth were always very spontaneous. Their chemistry was amazing and since their characters were light-hearted there was a lot of room for improvisation. They brought a lot of energy to the sets.
Manish Dayal and Pallavi Sharda were a bit awkward with each other in the beginning which played very well in the movie since their characters were supposed to have met through “arranged prospects” and funnily their sequence was shot in that order. They were completely “directors’ actors”. Since I was very particular about how I wanted Vinay and Sia to behave with each progressive scene, it was very easy to work with them as they would follow everything told to them.
Samrat and Carrie Anne James hit it off at the reading itself. The minute they read their lines together I just knew that they were the ones I wanted for Shridhar and Genevieve. Both of them were extremely hard working and sincere. They would get into the mood of the character so well that sometimes even after the take would be over they would remain in their character so that they can be consistent in the next shot. It was amazing to see how they helped each other.
Sanjiv Jhaveri and Deepti Gupta, they would get into the details of every scene and would be consistent from the get go and would ask a million questions about the smallest of things and kept me on my toes, which was a total delight. They would be thorough with their lines and once in a while during scene blocking, we would suddenly come up with an idea which would completely change the way it was written and it would work beautifully.
The chemistry between the four guys was just mind-blowing. It felt that I was sometimes working with four kids from college who had to be disciplined because they used to have so much fun! Imagine me – a 5.4 – trying to scream and shout and four guys who are almost best friends. But they were amazing sports and they just made the sets more fun.
Deepti Gupta, Carrie Anne James, Ami Sheth and Pallavi Sharda play friends in the movie, and I was lucky that somehow their friendship also comes across as very close. They used to chat on the sets and prepare and the camaraderie shows on screen.
For ‘Walkaway’, what are your hopes for distribution and for crossing over to a larger audience?
With the few screenings that I’ve had, there definitely seems to be an interest with the larger audience but first the acceptance of the South Asian audience is important. Everything depends on that. Word of mouth is king and hope once that crosses over, so will my movie!
What are your plans to release ‘Walkaway’ in India, since you have the Bollywood connections?
I will definitely release the film in India after the US and probably in a few more markets abroad. Releasing a movie doesn’t necessarily depend upon connections. It’s all about a good product. So if the product is good and marketed well it will surely reach all audiences!
