Producer of the much-acclaimed Khosla Ka Ghosla, Savita Raj Hiremath (co-founder, Tandav Films) is now coming up with her second film Jhund, starring Amitabh Bachchan. The film, directed by Nagraj Majule, is based on the life of Vijay Barse, the founder of NGO Slum Soccer. It is slated to be released in September.
Talking about her experience of working with the megastar, she says, “Amitabh is an institution in himself. He was the senior most in the entire crew but he used to be there on location before me. He has no airs about himself. There is a lot to learn from him.”
Interestingly, Savita Raj didn’t study filmmaking. In fact, just like scores of girls her age back then, she did her graduation and then a teaching course. But fate had something else in store. Before she could begin as a teacher, she got married. Her husband owned an ad agency (Ushakkal) and soon she found herself learning the ropes in advertising. From there, she soon moved over to marketing and finally filmmaking. In between she did a lot of social advertising (made campaigns on issues like AIDS, and adoption), forayed into sports and also produced a music album Vaishnav Jan To on peace and harmony. She also made the launch song Dikhaye Nahi Deta Par Dekh Toh Sakte Hai… for the inaugural edition of the T20 International Cricket Tournament for the Blind in 2017.
“I got into advertising and films because of my husband. My schooling started with advertising from understanding various consumer psyches to dealing with buying patterns. I learned conversation strategies and dealt with consumer behavior,” she says. Films were the extension of the same team of advertisers which included her associates Jaideep and Dibakar. The ‘Tandav Family’ was formed to release the film Khosla Ka Ghosla, which she considers her pet project. It was a product of passion and won many awards, including the National Award for the Best Hindi Feature Film. It was also included in the Forbes magazine’s 50 best of 100 years of Indian Cinema, but Savita Raj had a tough time releasing it.
“Khosla Ke Ghosla was ahead of its time, as a result many distributors turned it down. But when finally released, the movie was a winner as it had a strong content, which became even bigger than our cast’s strong performances,” she says.“But the time for Jhund is absolutely right. We couldn’t have asked for a better release time than we have with us now,” she adds.
Advertising, marketing, campaigning for social causes and filmmaking, she had her cup full but living in a joint family made things easier. “And when it came to work, my husband was already there, he used to share his work with me. Our association was a marriage of work and passion that found its way through our home life. It definitely sealed a tighter bond within us,” she says. Though she rues the fact that men get paid better than women in the film industry, she is quick to add that the industry is open to all. “You have to give it time,” she says.
