Mumbai, Filmmaker Rima Das says it was the unique narrative of her beloved film Village Rockstars, rather than its popularity, that influenced her decision to create a sequel.
Das made “Village Rockstars”, an Assamese-language coming-of-age film about a 10-year-old girl Dhunu, who befriends a group of boys and dreams of becoming a rock star, in 2017. The film toured many international festivals and was later selected as India’s official entry for the 91st Academy Awards.
The filmmaker is now coming with a sequel, titled “Village Rockstars 2”, which is currently doing festival rounds.
It was a pivotal moment in “Village Rockstars” that inspired her to make the sequel the scene where the protagonist Dhunu’s mother presents her with a guitar.
“‘Village Rockstars’ is my most popular film. It is like a brand and people liked the film but it isn’t the reason why we made part two. Like, ‘Bulbul Can Sing’ people loved the film and the characters but I didn’t feel like continuing with the story.
“With ‘Village Rockstars’, I felt there could be a story because there’s a musical instrument with which we can bring different elements. It is rare in a village where a mother buys a guitar and I thought we could continue with the story,” the filmmaker told PTI in an interview.
“Village Rockstars 2” revisits the life of Dhunu, seven years after the events of the last film.
Das said she started working on the second part sometime in 2020.
“I had to plan a few things like writing the story. How will I be able to do it? What would be the other things that I can bring to the story? So, all these things took some time,” she said.
With the sequel, a key was to maintain the original film’s purity and yet make it a bit different, Das added.
While the first part of “Village Rockstars” showcased her childhood memories, like climbing trees and swimming in rivers, she said the sequel offers a broader, observational lens on village life.
“It is more relatable. I cannot say it is my personal life but it comes from my deep bonding with the children, and teenagers,” the director said.
For the follow-up, Das also experimented with various editing styles that were a departure from the calm, silent long shots from the first instalment.
Choosing the right title for the sequel proved to be another task as the director grappled with whether to retain the “Village Rockstars” name or to introduce an entirely different name.
“In the beginning, I thought of giving it a different name. Some people suggested that I should go with a different title, otherwise festivals would think it’s a part two film, so how are they going to select the film? There are so many good films at international festivals, and they probably select two or three films from India, so in such a scenario how will this film fit?
“Some said, ‘Keep the name because there’s a set audience worldwide and they will be interested in watching the film,” Das said.
At the heart of “Village Rockstars” lies a powerful mother-daughter story, emphasising the role women play in supporting one another, she said.
“We always keep talking about women’s stories and how we can support women, so this is a story that conveys that message, that how a mother or women can support each other strongly, and it is so important to do so.
“This story is of love, love for her mother, land, roots, music, dreams, and love for friendship. There are a lot of nuances in the film like how to be more giving, how mothers are so giving, and what we can give back.”
Das said “Village Rockstars 2” will be released theatrically next year, and also revealed that she is in talks with a distribution company in Japan and Singapore.
“At these two places, we are hoping to have a release soon,” she said, adding she has simultaneously started working on a couple of films.
“I’m writing a folk horror, then I’ve got a film based in Mumbai about a couple, it is more like a love story, and there’s a father-daughter story. So, I’m writing different stories, I don’t know which one I’ll shoot next,” the director said.
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