New Delhi: Anand Gandhi's 'Ship Of Theseus' has emerged out as an influential film despite a limited release. The director talks extensively about the radical ideas featured in his film and the reasons deriving them.
Q: You have a wide range as a writer. You have written for 'Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi' as well.
A: I did 'Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi' when I was 19 year old. I was writing and directing plays even before writing for television soaps. Plays and films like 'Continuum' happened side by side.
Q: 'Ship Of Theseus' features some radical ideas. Since when were you pursuing these notions?
A: I was thinking about a lot of things over a long period of time. The pursuit began due to the questions related to our identity and what are we doing here. 'Ship Of Theseus' is a derivative of my interest in arts and literature and in a way it has been always there. As a writer, I was always trying to unify and simplify the complex abstract ideas because simplify allows you to invite others into deeper discourse. So, my idea was to take up complex narratives and then weaving them into simple stories.
Each story had its origin in different way of thinking. For example, the monk's story is a result of my understanding of non-violence and vegetarianism. Then I also thought how I could contribute as a filmmaker to these ideas despite the limitations of the medium because it's also about my growth as a filmmaker.
Q: 'Ship Of Theseus', particularly Navin's story, talks about the 'wider perspective'. What exactly is the definition of your 'wider perspective'?
A: The wider perspective of this story is about the economic situation. Since some years we have been seeing the other sides of the rising economy that many 'Occupy' movements are happening and the discourse of each of these movements is different from the other. Be it the anti-corruption movement or any other mass movement, the intuition is that there is something terribly wrong with the way we are growing, and there might be a way of fixing things but it will take a long time. So, the proceedings of the film are in a way the by-products of economic perversion.
Stealing is another profession but a poor man's kidney is brought by a rich man. A person with good resources can buy an organ from someone else, this shows the depravity created by a system. It's like the story of Nero and P Sainath very rightly points this out in one of his write-ups that 'I understand Nero but I fail to understand his guests'. So, many of my characters are like Nero's guests in the film. I think the end of the story tries to say that one attempt at a time is good enough to make a difference.
Q: But, leaving the film open ended may obstruct the viewers from reaching to a conclusion.
A: I oscillate between the logic and intuition. Intuition is also in a way situational logic and it's like the response to the wider environment. I am oscillating between extreme, rational logical trajectories and intuitions to seek answers. The end where all the characters meet is a logical finish and then you realise that there is something more thematically. I wanted to show something non-prescriptive in the end which could provide a bridge between the two extremes of the film. The idea was to create a mood rather than a concluding metaphor. It could be the idea of going to the primitive rock ages, it could be the idea of going to Plateau's cave or it could be simply the idea of transience.
Q: 'Ship Of Theseus' might not generate a lot of revenue but it can start a trend.
A: I am really excited about the possibilities that 'Ship Of Theseus' can produce. May be a meaningful culture and the young filmmakers may get proper chances. I just hope that the cinema pushes the envelope of knowledge. I am more excited about it then the film itself.
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