Feeling Lhasa at FTII

Six second-year students of Art Direction and Production Design from Pune’s Film and Television Institute of India,had a monumental task at hand – to recreate a Tibetan monastery on the campus,down to the last detail.

Actually,it was supposed to be the set for their departmental project film titled Melong (The Mirror),to depict the struggle of exiled Tibetans and the effects of the Chinese invasion into their homeland. The monastery would be the fulcrum around which most of the story would unfold. “We built the monastery in a record four days. We looked up for references from places such as Hubli and Tawang (in Arunachal Pradesh). In fact,a lot of the costumes for the film came from Hubli and were obtained with the help of the Tibetans staying there,” says Diego Jolly Jacob,who was a part of the six-member team.

In the film,a group of youngsters happen to wander into a forest,only to discover an ancient Tibetan monastery. On further exploration,they come across a Buddhist monk who tells them that preparations are on for an annual festival there. “The youngsters come to know of a Buddha statue that was stolen from the place by invaders. As the movie progresses,a wounded warrior comes into the monastery with a huge sack. While the monk worries that this might be another invasion,the warrior empties the sack to reveal the stolen statue. The film has loose references to how China had invaded Tibet and forced its people into an exile,” he adds.

Others in the team comprised of Bhaskar Gupta,Preetesh K,J Manasi,Krishna Mulkapalli,Krishna Thakur and Jacob. “We would love to show the film at Dharmashala where exiled Tibetans are living. It’s important that their issue be highlighted through cinema,” says Jacob.

Ashutosh Kavishwar,HOD of Art Direction and Production Design,says,”The students went to Mysore to research for the film. The set was made out of plywood,Plaster of Paris,thermocol sheets and fibre. Even though they were restricted by shooting at locations only within the campus,it was a job well done. The film is currently in the post-production phase and is seven-minutes-long.”

“Though it will not be released commercially since it’s a students’ project,we still hope to show it at film festivals,” he adds.