Exposing the hollowness in lives

Praveen Morchhale, offers a sneak peek into what went behind the making of his film, ‘Barefoot to Goa’, which gently exposes the hollowness in the lives of common men and gives them a reason for introspection

These are times when indie cinema is striving to carve a place for itself in Indian cinema. But one thing that stands as a major hurdle is distribution. While mainstream movies are funded by big studios, indie movies struggle to make it to the big screens due to many reasons, one of which is insufficient funds. Here is when crowd funding from indie cinema lovers comes into the picture.Praveen Morchhale’s ‘Barefoot to Goa’ is one such movie funded by 240 people from across 15 countries. In conversation with the filmmaker, the director revisits the path of the film.

The movie’s premise is mundane, dealing with the common sight of the elderly being neglected. It traces the journey of two children who leave to Goa to meet their grandmother, who is suffering from cancer.On the subject of the film, Praveen says, “The film depicts the various tones of loneliness an aged person experiences. It will reflect the lives of common men, questioning their instincts and leaving them to introspect over their actions.”

In the movie, the grandmother doesn’t speak and instead has a voiceover. The character was deliberately mute, mainly because the director feels that the voices of the aged are mostly gone unheard and are equal to being voiceless. Praveen has to be appreciated for handling the subject so sensitively, displaying a torrent of emotions and questioning a thousand things we do and still not reflecting personal opinion in the movie.

Praveen divulges that it took around 20-25 days to complete shooting for the film. “We travelled continuously and had very limited halts; with the cooperation of cast, the shooting could be wrapped up in such a short span,” he added.The filmmaker has done everything possible to cut down production costs and time. The film only involved 16 people as the crew and had a cast of 25 people.

Today, when most Bollywood movies depend on equipment and have a vague storyline, ‘Barefoot to Goa’ stands to be tested for producing a film with the minimal use of equipment. Not compromising on resolution, the movie was shot on a 5D Mark III by John Breakmas and Kerketta, giving it a 2k resolution, which is equal to the resolution of mainstream cinema.

Scattered landscapes in the movie are an added auxiliary to the film. Also, there are points in the movie where the director will leave you to wide landscapes, giving you the space and time to think, besides depicting the tone of the scene and the emotion it carries. The film was produced with a budget of Rs 50 lakh and the amount received through crowd funding for distribution is also Rs 50 lakh.Despite children playing the main characters, the film is actually for the elders. The film is all set for its theatrical release on April 10 across 12-15 screens in the city.

By Tushar Kalawatia