The Star
Sharing Stories Through His Films
Thursday, January 3rd 2008
Deepak Kumaran Menon’s films may not be as well known as
Bollywood blockbusters but they have won awards at film festivals at
home and abroad. However, the young filmmaker wants to do more than just
entertain.
MENTION Indian movies and images of Shah Rukh
Khan immediately come to mind. But if Deepak Kumaran Menon has his way,
these movies will show and do much more.
The 28-year-old, who already has two feature films to his credit, feels that movies can help break stereotypes.
“The people in my community have a lot of depth and I feel this needs
to be put up on screen. After all, as long as you don’t share you can’t
blame others for stereotyping us,” explains the award-winning indie
film-maker.
“There just isn’t enough local Indian content in movies, so how are people supposed to know us?”
Deepak himself is no stranger to stereotypes: he tells of acting in
supporting roles in local movies where, because he is an Indian, he is
often cast as a robber or comic relief. Most of the Indian content we
are exposed to comes from India; great colourful extravaganzas churned
out by Bollywood.
“The Indians here are not just about singing and
dancing. We are working very hard. The people at the stalls downstairs
(his office is in Brickfields) work long hours ? so no singing and
dancing, but maybe still have trees. Rubber trees.”
Deepak, of course, is referring to his first movie Chemman Chaalai (The Gravel Road) that came out in 2005. It’s about a girl who grows up in a rubber estate. She dreams of a better life by way of education.
In fact, the story was inspired by his mother who grew up in an estate.
“There was no film at the time about the issues of rubber tappers although everyone in Malaysia knows they exist.
“We don’t really have that many rubber estates now, just oil palm.
What happens when a generation asks what their great-grandfather did as a
tapper? These films will help preserve the stories.”
Deepak’s second and latest film Chalanggai (Dancing Bells) is set in Brickfields which has a sizeable Indian population. “Who knows how long Brickfields will be like this? In Chalanggai, we tried to capture the soul of Brickfields.”
Although it may seem like a career in film is a logical choice – the
family runs a video production company established the year Deepak was
born – making Indian films with such humanistic content has not been
easy.
Veterans in the business warned him about the pitfalls but
the young film-maker felt that these “common Indian stories portraying
the daily life of people as humanly and realistically as possible”
simply had to be told.
Not surprisingly, the Indian community
agrees as well. At an open audition for his first film, some 30 people
turned up. They simply wanted to be part of a movie that reflected their
lives.
Deepak said that in the end, it was the support of his
fellow Malaysians that saw both films to their completion. He told of
how pirates for Tamil films issued a hands-off on Chemman Chaalai and gave him a buffer by holding back other releases while it was running.
“The community supports us because they want change.” Both films have
seen critical acclaim in the international film festival circuit; Chemman Chaalai received the Special Jury Award at the Nantes Festival 3 Continents 2005 in France and Chalanggai was selected as Best Film at the Osian Cinefan International Film Festival in New Delhi last July.
Although his films are classified as “foreign” by the authorities
because they are not in Bahasa Malaysia, Deepak is not discouraged.
“Outside of Malaysia, I’m flying the flag so the authorities don’t know
whether to support me or not,” he explained with a laugh.
Recently, Chalanggai was adjudged Best Digital Film at the Festival Filem Malaysia. But digital film isn’t a recognised medium nor was Chalanggai classified as a local film.
“We’re in a grey area between being recognised and not existing. But
things are changing and will continue to change,” he said
optimistically.
“If you’re serious about what you’re doing, keep
your direction. It’s not impossible to make it in this country,” Deepak
explained.
Both his films came back from the Censorship Board with “100% pass, no cuts”.
Such change, he feels, is not about being rebellious and divisive as some have labelled indie film-makers.
“We promote in all four languages although many Chinese and Malays won’t watch my films. I feel that if you want to be majmuk, you must understand your own community first.
“A lot of people assume we’re radical, but we never had any radical
intentions although our films are a departure from the norm. We are just
sharing stories about our community.”
The recent bout of public
demonstrations has made him cautious about what his next project should
be. “If I was an opportunist, I would make a film about those rallies
and become famous – and people will say Deepak Menon is a revolutionary.
“But I am a film-maker who loves his country. I cannot survive without
Malaysia. I make it Malaysian although it is Indian content. The reason
I do what I do is because I need to share stories about my community.
“I got to travel the world and meet people because I believed that I
could do what I did within my own country. Stories about where I come
from, just along the street or downstairs.”
