Three years ago, Sohan Roy started an exclusive TV channel, Marine Biz TV, for the shipping industry. Having collected a diploma in direction and production from a film institute in Hollywood, he started making technical programmes for the channel. But the Banqiao China dam disaster that happened in 1975, which killed over 250,000 people, compelled him to make the movie Dam 999. As a by product, he has turned into an author too. He has penned a novel, which is actually a detailed script of the movie.
Which happened first — the book or the film?
The Dam 999 page script came out first. Later, we started a blog through one of the characters in the movie, www.sailorsdiary.com. So, the novel is basically a detailed script including the aspects that we had placed in the blog. The improvisation was done in the script during the production and the post-production stages.
Were there any compromises made in the story while making it into a film?
The novel has got more content, but the movie is visually rich. I had to edit the movie to make it fit a limited time frame. So, I couldn’t convey everything successfully. But in the novel, you will find details. The first version of the movie had 139 minutes and the final version is 111 minutes. As per Natyasastra, every emotion is associated with a colour. So, we have used this concept while designing the costume of each character and their mood.
Will the book release first or the movie?
The book will be released first in Chennai, as the city is referred to as The Land of Literature. It has produced literary geniuses like Subramanya Bharathiyar. The movie will release on November 25, under the banner of Warner Bros. Oscar Promotion screening of Dam 999 will commence at Los Angeles from October 28 for seven days. The movie will be dubbed in all possible languages across the world as per the conventional distribution strategy. In India, it will be shown in English, Hindi, Telugu and Tamil.
Challenges you faced during the project?
It took almost four years to complete it and might take one more year to reach the entire world. While authoring needs just creative thinking and a laptop, making a film involves a lot more hard work. It took more than one year just for the post-production due to the special effects.
About the comment by Oscar jury on Indian movies?
We cannot blame them. Even though we have the most talented technicians, our film making is still at least 25 years behind Hollywood. Through Dam 999, we have tried to bridge this gap.
What next?
The Saint Dracula 3D shoot has already got over in the UK and will be shown at the American Film Market next month. As its project designer and executive producer, I’m happy to say that the experience from Dam 999 was the secret behind its successful completion within the specified budget and timeframe. It proves that Indians can make international movies with 100 per cent international crew as well. This will be the first 3D movie in the Dracula series and will be the most controversial one as we are trying to give a face lift to the character of Dracula.