Talent, passion and courage are essential for any aspirant director to make it big in film industry. The 26-year-old director from Thrissur has proved it himself. Anoop Sathyan, the son of veteran filmmaker Satyan Anthikad, is on top of the world at moment as his documentary ‘A Dream Called America’ won the 'Best Student Film Award' at International Film Festival, Mumbai 2012, besides bagging many awards and recognitions. Anoop speaks about his award-winning documentary and its making. How did you initiate the concept ‘A Dream Called America’?I am a student from the National Institute of Design (NID), Ahmedabad.During a documentary workshop, we were asked to come up with a subject.It was then that I came across Aftab Bhai who makes a living by repairing cycles on the footpath.Shahbaz, his 14-yearold son had been to the US for his studies as part of a ‘cultural exchange’ programme.Once he returned after a year, he found it difficult to adjust in India.Later he felt like going back and settling in the US and this put the parents in a dilemma.I took this real story and began to explore it in a different angle, trying to unfold their story not following the conventional documentary style.What was your experience while making the documentary?I wanted this film to be more personal and profound.So I often visited the family, used to sit with Aftab bhai in his workplace and make them comfortable enough to talk to me.Their house had only a single room that accommodated seven people, and so not having a crew for the shoot helped me capture some of the candid moments of their life at home.On the one side, I could feel the pain of Shahbaz’s parents knowing their son wants to settle in the US, and on the other side I witnessed the hard working Shahbaz who wants to fulfill his dream with his own efforts.What were the difficulties you encountered during production?For the successful completion of the documentary, I had to interview the family.Being an orthodox Muslim family, it was difficult to interview them.I also had difficulty speaking in Hindi.Still I managed it, and when I did finally break the ice, they had lot to share with me.What do you feel about the number of awards your documentary has received?I was excited to know that the film I made, following my own style, was competent enough to enter different International film festivals.I realised the subject I chose has a global coverage as it got accepted in different countries.I could also interact with some of the legendary directors like Adoor Gopalakrishnan, Shaji N Karu and Anand Patwardhan during different film festivals.What did you take home from this project?After making this film, I realised the ‘beauty of reality’ that one can explore while shooting a documentary.The location is real, the people are real and their emotions are also real.The film definitely brought about a change in me and now I realise I can go ahead confidently making a documentary if the subject excites me.Tell us something about your future plans and upcoming projectsA software engineer by profession, I quit my job with the desire to be a director, and now I think I am quite focused about it.I do prefer to work in the Malayalam industry, making some sensible and engaging films.I just finished shooting my diploma film for NID this month.As of now my only plan is to complete this film perfectly and make myself ready to take the next step.
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