Slumdog Millionaire continues to inspire global Indian filmmakers as Trisha Rays award-winning film Sugar Baby proves Danny Boyles Slumdog Millionaire has become the default inspiration for filmmakers across the globe. Trisha Ray,an independent filmmaker,wasnt immune to its muse value either. So in 2009,when she was looking for a good script to develop into a film,she turned to good friend and fellow filmmaker,Brian Stewart. He had written a story about three teenaged street performers. But the story was set in New York,so we decided to adapt it to India as Slumdog. was hugely popular, explains Ray,whose effort materialised in a 120-minute film,Sugar Baby,which received the Gold Remi Award for Best Theatrical Feature at the 44th WorldFest-Houston International Film Festival,in mid-April. A popular film festival among independent filmmakers the world over,it regularly features films by Indian filmmakers. The story of Sugar Baby pans out on the streets of Kolkata and is about three teenaged street singers,Maria,Sally and Tara,who live off the streets by meagre means. Once one of their acquaintances is sent to jail,they are saddled with the accuseds baby girl and end up becoming the girls guardians. The three have to fight off constant harassment from local authorities,until one day their fortunes change for the better,when two American recording artists sign them up for a professional contract. The story is narrated in a linear fashion with the characters speaking in English. I think Slumdog Millioniaires success paved the way for the American audiences to react openly to films about poverty and struggle. That is also why we have made the film in English, says the 30-plus Ray,originally from Kolkata. After completing her college from Kolkata,Ray relocated to Houston where she started her production house called Next Actor in the US. She also assisted in the 2009 Bengali feature,Bodhisattva. In 2008 she received an award for her film,Federal Case,at the same festival,but that award was different,since it was an official selection and publicly screened. Once Ray and Stewart decided to adapt the original story to the streets of Kolkata,she was able to churn her memories of the city she grew up in,with its people,its energy and chaos. I have wanted to shoot in India for a long time and this film provided the perfect opportunity. Besides,growing up in Kolkata helped me relate to this place more easily, she explains. So she worked closely with Stewart to infuse her own depiction of the city and capture the raw energy of the marketplace. The shooting was done across popular marketplaces of Kolkata Park Street,New Market,Southern Avenue in a guerilla shoot fashion. The shooting was wrapped up within two weeks. Ray chose a cast of lesser-known American theatre actors who portray Indian characters,including veteran Bengali actor Soumitra Chatterjee,Barun Chanda and Indian-American actor San Banarje. Next,the film travels to The Hoboken International Film Festival,New Jersey in June,where Ray hopes to find distributors for her film.
