Director Rajesh Pinjani was at the Pune Passport office,completing paperwork for his tatkal passport when he heard the news of his debut film Baboo Band Baaja winning four National Film Awards. My film has been selected for the Shanghai Film Festival,so I was getting my passport ready. I wasnt aware that my film was being considered for the National Award, said the Pune-based filmmaker. The film won awards for the Best Debut Film,Best Debut Director,Best Actress in a Leading Role (Mitalee Jagtap Varadkar) and Best Child Artiste (Vivek Chabukswar). Four national awards are quite a bit to expect,especially when its your debut film, says an elated Pinjani. The film,which is yet to release in theatres,has been highly acclaimed in Marathi film circles. The director was inspired by his mentor Purshottam Jadhav,an IAS officer who supported his cause of making short films on subjects such as no smoking,save the girl child and so on. Baboo Band Baaja is a story of a man (Milind Shinde) who plays in a local band to earn a living. He wants his son (Chabukswar) also to take up the same profession. The mother (Varadkar),on the other hand,wants to provide education to her son. The film shows the irrepressible surge to soar in life pitted against the vicious grip of circumstances. We have often seen bandwallahs perform at various occasions. But we have never seen the way they lead their lives, says Pinjani. The film,because of its extensive research,took almost one and a half years to complete. I stayed in Kamthi near Nagpur for a while to study the lives of bandwallahs. My elder brother helped me with newspaper cuttings on the subject, says Pinjani,who is on cloud nine. The films lead actor Shinde is the only known name from Marathi cinema. Varadkar has done a few TV serials and Marathi films. When I narrated the story to her,she hugged her son and cried. I knew I had found my lead actress, says Pinjani. Chabukswar was selected after Pinjani watched his audition videos.
