Proposal 5: "Growing Pains" by PREETI MANKAR

GROWING PAINS: Is the Economic Boom making us sick?
Duration: 25'

The film explores the lives of 4 characters in Mumbai, within the age range of 23-38, who now experience negative health consequences as a result of lifestyle changes that have come about with the economic boom in India.


                                             

                                                  

Bio:

Preeti has a master's degree in broadcast journalism and documentary film from NYU.  She graduated in 2006, after which she worked as the series researcher with David Grubin Productions in New York for the PBS 6-part series Jewish Americans.  Her first independent feature length documentary, I am Bombay, traveled to festivals around the globe and was nominated for Best Documentary at the Bollywood and Beyond festival in Germany.

She moved back to India in 2007, following which she worked as a teacher for documentary video in Mumbai's premier communications program, and then went on to start 517 Productions where she scripts, directs and produces documentaries as well as corporate films, marketing films, public service ads for non-profits etc. The link to her website is www.517productions.com. 

In addition to Growing Pains - she is also working on Mad About IIT-JEE - a film which follows 6 students as they prepare for the most competitive exam in the world, and Stolen Children - a film which explores the stories of children who have been abducted by adoption agencies in India and then put up for international adoption.  

SYNOPSIS

The early 21^st century brought with it an extraordinary economic surge to India. Economic reforms and better policy opened up the market bringing a huge boom in business. Several sectors including finance, media, telecom and Information Technology expanded exponentially.  The middle class started growing as young people with basic education found themselves with access to well paid jobs.  India transformed. The landscape of the cities changed – brand new malls and glass office buildings sprung up, and cities spread out.  Property prices went up, but so did consumption. Restaurants, nightclubs and cafes dotted the streets.  The young Indian suddenly had money to spend on luxuries, vices and vacations.  Fast food became the norm, as did after-work drinks.  Lifestyles changed as young executives spent long hours at their desk, ordering in and taking cigarette breaks to fight the stress....

And now ten years later, statistics show that prosperity brought with it lethal illnesses. Diseases linked to affluence, especially heart problems and diabetes, are overtaking poverty-related illnesses such as tuberculosis and diarrhea as the biggest killers in India.  India has 60 percent of global heart diseases, and most of these are in the 23-69 year range.  Not surprisingly, India is also the world capital of diabetes. 

I remember, during my first job as a young reporter with a news channel in 2002 – a co-worker, 24 years old, didn’t come to work one morning.  He had died of a heart attack the previous night.  He was an editor and routinely spent three consecutive days and nights at the office – not leaving to go home even for a shower and a change of clothes. 
   

This documentary will talk to this new India.  The overworked, over stressed but well paid executives.  The young Indians who don’t want to get left behind and often compromise on lifestyle for their career.  The youth, who is continuously bombarded with enticing cocktails and samosas, but doesn’t always have the time to exercise.  We’ll talk to people who have been affected.  Young diabetics working as TV anchors, 30 year old investment bankers who have high cholesterol and are out before their kids wake and home after they sleep, 26 year old magazine journalists who get panic attacks, call center employees who work all night and sleep all day and parents who’ve lost their children to heart attack before they even hit 30.....

The style of the film will be similar to “The Future is Now” where we show the physical and cultural landscape of the city of Mumbai through 4 characters who live here.  Each will represent a different booming industry – but each will have in some way sacrificed their health to do so.  It will be a glimpse of how the boom has changed us – India which was the land of discipline, yoga and vegetarianism has now become recipient of the many sicknesses of wealth...

We will interview the people, and talk to them about their jobs and their lifestyles.  About why they think they became sick.  And intercut with these conversations, the camera will act as a fly-on-the-wall, following them as they live and as they work.....we will see them toiling through the night, compromising on family time, binging on fast food and alcohol.....

The film will put a mirror to what urban India has become....As the film draws to a close, we will talk to our characters about their resolutions for change.  Perhaps it’s time to go back to a simpler life...

TRAILER OF TEASER OF PREVIOUS WORK

Who would have thought that trying to crack the JEE (Joint Entrance Exam) for the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) requires as much preparation as the attempt to win an Olympic race? For a minimum of two long years, 4 am wake ups followed by 12-hour marathon study sessions are routine amongst the hundreds of thousands that train for the most competitive exam in the world And after all that, only one in 50 make it; keeping out the competition requires great smarts and even greater dedication. This documentary follows 5 students as they gear up for the 2009IIT-JEE.  We track their lives and their experiences as they study around the clock, and watch as the aspirants and their families make the tall sacrifices that are essential to stay ahead in the race.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5T91op2G2T4

FILMOGRAPHY

Producer/Director:

• Mad About IIT JEE (2011): Official Selection at FilmBazaar (Goa) and DocFest (Kolkata).
• Children for Export (2011)
• YoungBuzz (2010)
• Arohan (2010)
• Uninor Marketing (2010)
• Uninor Motivational (2010)
• Swadhaar Info-film (2009)
• Kaya Life Info-film (2008)
• SIMS Corporate film (2009)
• Spina Bifida PSAs (2009): Given an award for “Excellent PSA” by Lilavati Hospital
• I Am Bombay (2006):  Official Selection in Indo-American Film Festival (2006), NYU Graduate Film Festival (2006), Bollywood and Beyond Film Festival (2006) - Nominated for Best Documentary, Kerala Film festival.
• Arranged Marriage (2005)
• Lower East Side (2005)
• Food Insecurity (2005)
• Malnutrition (2005)

Camera:

• The Toughest exam in the World (2011): Official Selection at FilmBazaar (Goa) and DocFest (Kolkata).
• Drona – The Making (2008)
• I Am Bombay (2006):  Official Selection in Indo-American Film Festival (2006), NYU Graduate Film Festival (2006), Bollywood and Beyond Film Festival (2006) - Nominated for Best Documentary, Kerala Film festival.
• Arranged Marriage (2005)
• Lower East Side (2005)
• Food Insecurity (2005)
• Malnutrition (2005)

Executive Producer:

• Rhino TV Commercial (2008)
• Nirmal Bang TV Commercials:  Not My Husband (2007), In-laws (2007), Father and Son (2007)

Researcher:

• The Life and Times of Clarence Darrow (2012) - (For PBS) 
• The Jewish Americans (2007) - (for PBS)
• I Am Bombay (2006)

Proposal 4: "My Life with the Planets" by SUMA JOSSON

Synopsis

Every morning several TV channels carry programs on Astrology which are followed closely by some sections.

The film will speak to the production houses making these programs, astrologers featured in the TV shows, other astrologers who are not featured, and 4 persons who follow these channels.

Prabir Ghosh heads ‘The Science and Rationalists' Association of India’ and Sanal Edamaruku President of The Indian Rationalist Association will speak against superstition.

Indian Astrology, studies the position of the planets at the time of birth.

Based on this a horoscope is made. An entire set of predictions can be provided to the person covering his life.

Mallika from Mumbai is unable to get married. She appears on a show and asked to wear specific set of gems. We follow her to a jewelry shop which was advertised on the same channel.

A childless couple appears on the channel and they will do a set of instructions as recommended by the astrologers.

These instances will highlight the connections between the programs, commercials and the business which benefit from the commercials.

Radha’s son gets married after the horoscopes are matched, Vinod is able to save his marriage after making offerings, Dimple for her son’s career, Vinay brings harmony in his life.

All of them have astrologers who are usually referred to as ‘Gurujis’.

Some of the issues featured will be the birth of a child, marriage, business failure in a family, education and career problems. It will not be like one person has only this particular problem but some of the characters will have a multiple set of issues to deal with.

Renuka in Chennai has her baby. Within hours her horoscope is written and future predicted.

Anil and Radha are unable to get their son married. Finally the horoscopes match and they are able to find a bride.

From a TV program Vinod from Pune is asked him to donate copper, wheat, red flowers to the Planet Sun on a Sunday to bring harmony in his married life.

Dimple from Delhi says that her Guruji has helped her in every turn of her life and she consults him for the problems she faces.

Vinay who had business problem with his elder brother says “I close my eyes and listen to him.” A court case ended in a compromise and all ended well.

Prabir Ghosh heading ‘The Science and Rationalists' Association of India’ feels the basic principle in astrology that fate is predetermined, is flawed.

Sanal Edamaruku President of ‘The Indian Rationalist Association’ says that his organization fights for scientific temper, and exposes superstition and blind belief.

The film will speak to a few astrologers who regularly appear on TV. They will talk about their shows.

The film will take an objective stand on this issue and explore the human emotions involved.

Does the astrologer become a psychiatric counselor exercising mind control? Is there mental security that one derives from it? What are the marketing strategies used by the channels? These are the issues that the film will raise.

My Life with the Planets

The Kapoor family is intently watching the astrology programme on TV. Someone is taking notes. Most of their decisions in life are made by the suggestions on the channel. They say it is a blind faith they have in this programme. This family will appear at various situations in the film as they deal with their everyday problems.

That morning they have to decide whether a business decision should be taken or not. The astrologer says that 

it is not a good day for business.

Earlier they would go to the astrologer’s house and ask him for advice and he would make the predictions. But 

today guidance through astrology is provided directly into the homes.

The film will speak to the production houses which make these programs.

Renu the daughter from the same family was asked to wear specific set of gems to do well in her exams. She 

goes to buy the rings from a shop which was advertised on the TV channel. This will bring out the 

commercialization of astrology and the nexus between money and faith.

The film will speak to a few astrologers who appear on TV channels. They will say why astrology has become popular on TV. 
Is it because everybody wants quick ready made answers, which caters to their requirements?

Ashish Guruji is based in Varanasi. He has appeared in Discovery and BBC but is against astrology channels. He 

feels that it is a money making business and the scientific basis of astrology is lost when it is commercialized. 

He speaks of the personal relationships that he has with the families who consult him.

Prabir Ghosh heads ‘The Science and Rationalists' Association of India’ feels that astrology is unscientific.

Vinay is 39 years and lives in Agra. He also does not watch astrology on TV but follows Ashish Guruji in Varanasi. 

Vinay says “I don’t do anything without him. He has changed my life completely”. This also goes on to show that 

his astrologer Ashish Guruji is a part of his family.

Renuka in Chennai has her baby. Within a few hours her father visits the astrologer who writes her horoscope. 

The astrologer speaks of the precautions that need to be taken in her future life. This segment is there to 

basically show whetherit is possible to pin point the exact time of birth on which most astrological predictions 

are made.

The film will also explore the human emotions that are involved in astrology.

Does the astrologer become a psychiatric counselor for the individual and the family to whom they can pour out 

all their problems on a day to day to basis?

So in giving away one’s decision making capacity, there is total mind control being exercised by the astrologer. Is there some kind of a security that one derives from it? These are the issues that the film will raise.

 My Life with The Planets: Treatment

Earlier people who believed in astrology would visit the astrologers personally or the astrologers would come over to the client’s place.

All this has changed with information coming right into the living rooms in the form of technology and new content. Also with the pace of globalization setting rapidly into India the presence of such channels is an indicator of changing times. For the believers, quick relief, quick solutions are available on their fingertips.

The style will be cinema verite. The camera will be unobtrusive and will merely observe the situations especially the family interactions. The interviews will be kept to as minimal as possible and most of the spoken material will be visualized.

The film will explore the emotional transformations of the characters involved be it their faith, desperation, feelings of insecurity or happiness. It will capture the human predicament that ordinary people are caught it. This will be offset with the confidence, enthusiasm of the astrologers who appear on the TV sets.

So in a way is it predator-victim situation -- in giving up their minds to someone sitting in an inanimate object like the TV set? On the other hand this complete subservience and belief to this framework also means that healing is taking place at another level. The film will capture the essence of this complex set of patterns that will emerge out of these contradictory elements. 

In my film ‘My Life with The Planets’ I will be specifically following one family as they go about with their daily lives and also as they interact with the daily astrology programmes which come on TV. The subsequent decisions that this family takes as a result of the advice they see on the TV set will provide the basic structure of the film.

The decisions that this family would take could be anything from starting a new business, to the marriage that they are planning for one of the members, to what career the son in the family should take or what precautions that they should take if they decide to travel. These will be everyday events that happen in the lives of an ordinary person.

It would mean spending time with the family at length and documenting their interaction with each other while they are watching the astrology programmes, or at meals discussing various issues, or while taking some decisions related to their future.  

Besides that I also plan to speak to others since it is important to offer different counterpoints especially while dealing with a sensitive subject like astrology. The purpose of the film is not to be judgmental about it but to present it in the most objective manner possible.

The TV channels who broadcast these programmes as well as the production houses making the advertisements for the objects related to astrology will also be included in the film.

Before astrology became a part of TV technology it was a whole set of relationships that were established between the various parties. The astrologer was there at the most crucial moments when the family needed them -- to advice, consult and to console.

But with TV taking the place of an astrologer with whom they have no connection at all the cold, impersonal factor sets in. Along with the astrologer presenting his solutions there are the consumerist objects that are sold side by side which comes as a package. These objects are sold through tele-shopping facilities and are available online. There is a whole industry attached to these objects as well as making of the advertisements for these objects.

Thus faith and consumerism are combined together to do the healing and on the way the mystery and spiritualism that was there earlier in astrology is lost.

Link to Suma Josson's showreel

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJTACfaIBdM

Link to film ‘Niyamgiri You are Still Alive’

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJt59wbNI6s

Link to film 'I Want My Father Back'

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09SoQ7hQvGM&feature=bulletin

Note on Suma Josson

Born in Kerala, Suma Josson graduated in English Lit. from the College of St.Teresa, Minnesota, U.S.A. Having begun her career as a journalist, she switched over to the visual medium. Since then she has made two feature films and many documentary films on a wide range of issues. Her film on the suicide of farmers in Vidarbha, Maharastra has won awards.  

Janmadinam, her first feature film, in 1999 has won several awards and has travelled to various International Film Festivals and Universities abroad. It was premiered at the 2000 Berlin Film Festival. 

Also contributed to the documentary, 'Trading Images', an international co-production with IFU, (International Women's University, Hannover) and the German television company, NDR in 2001. This was made along with four other women filmmakers from: the U.S, Africa, China and Germany.  

She is also a poet and fiction writer and has published three books: Poems and Plays, A Harvest of Light (a collection of poems, Orient Longman), and ‘Circumferences’ (a novel, Penguin). Mahua Tola Gets A School, is a book on an experimental primary school system in Madhya Pradesh, India.  

'Saree' is her second feature film made in 2001. This film has also traveled to several international film festivals.

'Gujarat: A Laboratory of Hindu Rastra' was made two days before the last assembly elections in Gujarat in 2003. It is set in the post-Godhra violence, which engulfed Gujarat in March 2002. 

‘Ayodhya to Varanasi: Prayers for Peace’, 2004 looks at the Ram Temple issue as the film travels from Ayodhya to Varanasi. 

‘Before the Last Tree Falls’, 2006 is a study on the suicide of farmers in Wayanad, Kerala. 

 ‘I Want My Father Back’, 2007 is a study on the suicide of farmers in Vidarbha, Maharastra. 

Raghuvanshi, The Seed Man, His Stories (2010) a plant breeder in Varanasi, U.P.

She has made three films on the Niyamgiri issue. This is on the awaiting eco-disaster and the eviction of indigenous groups in Niyamgiri Hills if Vedanta/Sterlite is given permission to mine bauxite on these ranges.

‘If You Give Niyamgiri, Niyamgiri Will Eat Us Up’ (2007) and ‘Dead gods haunt a land once called Niyamgiri’ (2008) and recently ‘Niyamgiri You are Still Alive’ (2010). 

e-mail: sumajosson@yahoo.com  Tel: 91-22-28401605/ 91- 9969198284

Awards: I Want my Father Back

Won the first prize at the Kathmandu International Mountain Film Festival, Dec, 2008

Won the first prize at the 3rd Short and Documentary Film Festival, Karimnagar, India, 2009

‘Niyamgiri You Are Still Alive’ won the Vasudha, Environment Award at the International Film Festival of India in Goa, 2010.

Film crew

Cameraman

Rakesh Haridas

Editor

Nisha J

Rakesh Haridas, Director Of Photography

Qualification

Diploma in Cinematography, Film & Television Institute of India, Pune - 2002-‘05

Documentaries 

I Want My Father Back

Suma Josson

Dead Gods Haunt a Land called Niyamgiri

Suma Josson

‘Lakshmi & Me’

Directed by Nishtha Jain

Format – DV, Genre – Documentary

Supported by ITVS International, USA, Danish Film Institute

At my doorstep’

Directed by Nishtha Jain

Format –HDV, Genre – Documentary

Feature films

Dhasaiyinai Thee chudinum (ongoing project)

Language – Tamil

Format – Red

For AGNO3, Chennai

Nisha Josson

Editor

 Edited and scripted Dheere Dheere a 30-min documentary film on Magasaysay Award winner Rajendra    

        Singh, pioneer of water harvesting in Rajasthan.

 Edited, co-scripted shot Touch 4, a 22-interview docu on commercial sex workers in Sangli

 Asst. Editor to documentary filmmaker Thomas D. Hayes

 Jus Punjabi TV Time Warner Cable, New York: Video editor, Jus Punjabi, Astoria, New York

 Wildlife Conservation Society, New York: Editor, Motion Graphics animator for WCS’ Animal Behavior Research series – a six-part DVD project.

   ‘Niyamgiri You are Still Alive’ (2010) by Suma Josson a film on the indigenous groups fighting a bauxite mining company