History’s worst man-made disaster happened in 1975 when the Banqiao Dam in China blew up. The deadly water bomb claimed over 2,50,000 lives and sucked up all the signs of civilisation. Taking cue from the tragedy, ‘DAM 999’ by Sohan Roy is a dam disaster story which draws heavily from the Mullaperiyar issue.
The film, an emotional thriller according to the filmmaker, revolves around an ancient dilapidated dam built in the colonial times. “By 2020, the world will have more than 40,000 outdated dams like Mullaperiyar and none of the governments has the time or funds to rebuild them. The film is based on this lurking catastrophe, 999 denoting the 999-year contract between Kerala and Tamil Nadu. The capacity of Mullaperiyar and Banqiao is almost the same. But Mullaperiyar is situated at an altitude seven times higher than Banqiao. Putting 5 million lives in jeopardy, the erratic dam is nothing less than a potent volcano,” says Sohan Roy.
Another unique feature of the Indo-Hollywood production is its cinematic exploration of the nine emotions referred to as ‘navarasas’ in Indian aesthetics. “As an international film from India, we are trying to foreground the quintessential Indianness, all the distinctive variables that define our matchless culture. Vedas, astrology, ayurveda - we have showcased all the richness and majesty of Indian tradition,” he says.
Representing the nine emotions are the film’s nine protagonists, each braving a separate yet intertwined destiny. The ensemble cast features actors from Indian industries along with Hollywood stars. While Rajit Kapoor who play a pivotal role represents ‘santha’, the rasa of tranquility, Ashish Vidyarthi, the chief antagonist, stands for ‘bheebatsam,’ the rasa of disgust. Linda Arsenio, Joshua Fredric Smith, Vinay Rai, Jaala Pickering, Vimala Raman, Megha Burman and Jineet Rath form the rest of the cast.
“According to natyasastra, nine different rasas correspond to nine different colours. The costumes and colour scheme of the frames are designed absolutely in tune with this concept,” says Sohan.
He says technical brilliance will be another hallmark of the film. “Even in Hollywood, very few firms do water graphics. Canning the climax was a strenuous affair as we had to recreate everything in a special set. It will be the first 3D Hollywood production completely shot in India,” he says.
Six national award winners and a string of Hollywood technicians are part of ‘DAM 999’ crew. The film had a market premiere at the Cannes and its screenplay has been picked up the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to be placed in its library. The film distributed by Warner Bros dubbed into Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam will hit India and Middle East theatres on November 25.
“If we get an Oscar nomination, the release will be after that, otherwise it will open in cine-houses worldwide during January and February,” says Sohan. History’s worst man-made disaster happened in 1975 when the Banqiao Dam in China blew up. The deadly water bomb claimed over 2,50,000 lives and sucked up all the signs of civilization.
Taking cue from the tragedy, ‘DAM 999’ by Sohan Roy is a dam disaster story which draws heavily from the Mullaperiyar issue. The film, an emotional thriller according to the filmmaker, revolves around an ancient dilapidated dam built in the colonial times.
“By 2020, the world will have more than 40,000 outdated dams like Mullaperiyar and none of the governments have the time or fund to rebuild them. The film is based on this lurking catastrophe, 999 denoting the 999-year contract between Kerala and Tamil Nadu. The capacity of Mullaperiyar and Banqiao is almost the same. But Mullaperiyar is situated at an altitude seven times higher than Banqiao. Putting 5 million lives in jeopardy, the erratic dam is nothing less than a potent volcano,” says Sohan Roy.
Another unique feature of the Indo-Hollywood production is its cinematic exploration of the nine emotions referred to as ‘navarasas’ in Indian aesthetics. “As an international film from India, we are trying to foreground the quintessential Indianness, all the distinctive variables that define our matchless culture. Vedas, astrology, ayurveda - we have showcased all the richness and majesty of Indian tradition,” he says.
Representing the nine emotions are the film’s nine protagonists, each braving a separate yet intertwined destiny. The ensemble cast features actors from Indian industries along with Hollywood stars. While Rajit Kapoor who play a pivotal role represents ‘santha’, the rasa of tranquility, Ashish Vidyarthi, the chief antagonist, stands for ‘bheebatsam,’ the rasa of disgust. Linda Arsenio, Joshua Fredric Smith, Vinay Rai, Jaala Pickering, Vimala Raman, Megha Burman and Jineet Rath form the rest of the cast.
“According to natyasastra, nine different rasas correspond to nine different colours. The costumes and colour scheme of the frames are designed absolutely in tune with this concept,” says Sohan. He says technical brilliance will be another hallmark of the film. “Even in Hollywood very few firms do the water graphics. Canning the climax was a strenuous affair as we had to recreate everything in a special set. It will be the first 3D Hollywood production completely shot in India,” he says.
Six national award winners and a string of Hollywood technicians are part of ‘DAM 999’ crew. The film had a market premiere at the Cannes and its screenplay has been picked up the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to be placed in its library. The film distributed by Warner Bros dubbed into Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam will hit India and Middle East theatres on November 25. “If we get an Oscar nomination, the release will be after that, otherwise it will open in cine-houses worldwide during January and February,” says Sohan.