My ultimate dream is to win an Oscar: Kishan

It is every filmmaker’s dream to win an Oscar, and to make that dream a reality, the team of the Kannada-Hindi film C/O Footpath 2 has literally left no stone unturned. Today, only weeks before the nominations for the Academy Awards are out, the team feels proud to have been the first ones from the south who have dared to take their film so far and say that they will be delighted even with a single nomination in any category, “as this is a story that is unique and connects to people”.Speaking about their journey from scratch till date, when the film has completed all the formalities required to submit a film for consideration for the Academy Awards through a lateral entry in the general category, the film’s 19-year-old director Kishan SS and one of the producers, Devaraj Pandey, explain the nitty-gritties involved.
A story that needs to be told “There are many films based on juvenile delinquency, but I wanted to present a story that showcases how they are seen by society and what goes into their reformation before they are allowed to get out of confinement at their special homes. When I presented the story to my dad and our producers, and told them about the real-life stories of delinquents, they were shocked. It was an eye-opener for them,” says Kishan. Devaraj reiterates, “We had a film with a global message. This was something that had to go on to the biggest platform in the world, and what better than the Oscars? It was decided right then that we would do all that it took to get there for two reasons — its story and for the fact that it was being directed by Kishan, a boy who won as many as 13 international awards, and the Swarna Kamal and even entered the Guinness World Records for being the youngest director for his debut, C/O Footpath, in 2006. He has the potential, the know-how and the technical acumen to make us proud with his work.”
The lateral entry… “The Indian Film Federation can submit one film under the regional language category, which is the regular procedure. However, lateral entry is another option available for filmmakers to get their work considered. It is a common but challenging procedure, because it involves meeting a lot of technical parameters. Only if all procedures are completed will the film be among those to be screened for the jury that is short-listing films for nominations for the Academy Awards. This also includes screening the film for the general public at a theatre of their choice in Los Angeles, to see if it does the required run of a minimum of 28 shows (four shows per day for a period of one week). Yes, it does involve a lot of costs, but to take up that or not is our call. We are convinced that this film is worth all our efforts,” explains Devaraj. “When I won two awards at the Giffoni International Film Festival in 2007, which is also known as the Children’s Oscars, I had said that this brings me closer to my ultimate dream of winning the Oscar. I am thankful that I have the backing of producers who had kept aside a budget for publicity and promotions that helped us screen the film in LA. If not for that, this would have been a different story altogether,” says Kishan.
The way forward “I have been a part of the film industry since 1977, and this is one film that is unique in terms of story and presentation and has a message that needs to reach out to people. I am not sure why nobody else from here thought of getting a lateral entry into the Oscars from here, but today, our film has entered the league of films that will be in the running for a nomination and I am immensely happy and proud to have been a part of this process,” says Devaraj. “There was a time when filmmaking was an expensive proposition, one could not afford to waste negatives, etc. Today, anybody can shoot a film on even a low-cost gadget. Today, it is all about ideas and concepts and my experience with this film proves that nothing is impossible,” concludes Kishan.