Nandita Das, Manav Kaul and Saurabh Shukla let go off their fee for the remake of the cult film Albert Pinto Ko Gussa Kyun Aata Hai. In Return the director Soumitra Ranade makes them partners on the film
Mumbai, September 23, 2015: Nandita Das, Manav Kaul and Saurabh Shukla, who play the lead roles in the remake of the cult film Albert Pinto Ko Gussa Kyun Aata Hai, did not charge a penny as remuneration.
Since it’s an independent film directed and produced by Soumitra Ranade (who directed Jajantaram Mamantaram and wrote Goopy Gawaiya Bagha Bajaiya) there were budget constraints. The actors fell in love with the script and offered to work for free. Touched by their gesture, Soumitra has made them partners on the project and will be sharing the box office profit with the three actors once the film is released.
The film is raising 30 lakhs through a two-month long crowdfunding campaign on Wishberry which will cease on October 2. The campaign started on Aug 3 to collect money for the post-production, animation and VFX of the film.
The original film directed by Saeed Akhtar Mirza was released in 1980 and starred Naseeruddin Shah, Shabana Azmi, Smita Patil and Om Puri in the lead roles.
Soumitra says, “It was a very challenging film but I could pull it off only because of my supportive actors who worked for free.”
“This is the first script I read that grabbed me so much that I couldn’t put it down. It was such an amazing script. I know the director very well and I knew it was straight from his heart. I told him we have to make this film anyhow, even if we have to do it for free. Such roles don’t come your way often and I didn’t want to let go this brilliant opportunity.” Says Manav Kaul.
Nandita Das
“Firstly I don’t equate money with work. There is a lot of work that I do without charging anything.Films ofcourse, help me pay my bills and hence I don’t do them without any fees.But seldom do you get a project or a director where you know that they genuinely don’t have the money – and they just want to make a good film!So you want to participate in that. I think we all have to support each other especially those who are doing things with great honesty, with great integrity.”
Saurabh Shukla
“Soumitra approached me and told me that there is no money but you be a partner. So all of us are partners in this project and I think it is great idea, because there are scripts in which the ‘mainstream market’ doesn’t believe in. But as artists we know that it has content and also has commercial possibilities. So what should we do? Should we be slaves to the market and not do these films? Or should we try it? So when we try it, we have to cut down costs.Soumitra has put in his own money and how much can a normal person invest in a film. So in such a scenario actors and the crewmembers come on board and say we will work free for you and share the profits later. So infact this is my chance to buy my Jaguar !”
Film synopsis:
ALBERT PINTO (ManavKaul) leaves his house one morning without telling anyone where he is going. His girlfriend STELLA (Nandita Das), files a complaint with the police and when he doesn’t return after days, she begins to fear.What she doesn’t know is that Albert is traversing a road journey from Mumbai to Goa. NAYAR (SaurabhShukla) who drives the vehicle accompanies him on his mission. Punctuating their sometimes cynical, sometimes witty and sometimes devastating conversations, we see Albert’s flashbacks, a world where he and Stella try and weave a life together. Albert’s anger stems from the experiences that life has presented to him – the personal injustice done to his father and the injustice done to a large section of humanity. It is this anger that is taking him to Goa, to settle a score that he believes will relieve him of his helplessness and enable him to lead a life of dignity and hope.
