Love in the time of wrinkles
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Arika, Shernaz Patel and Ash Chandler in a still from 'Love, Wrinkle Free' -
Sandeep Mohan
Pitched as an ‘anti-ageing comedy', Sandeep Mohan's ‘Love, Wrinkle Free' is a quirky indie film about relationships.
Director Sandeep Mohan and producer Giju John are like
two-man army. They haven't hired a PR machinery to pitch their labour of
love, quirkily titled Love, Wrinkle Free. From sending e-mails to
taking the call on production nitty-gritty, they have shared the onus
between them. “The experience has been worthwhile and I learnt a lot
from it, even though it was strenuous,” says Sandeep Mohan, speaking to
us on the eve of the film's release. Love, Wrinkle Free opened to good reviews in Mumbai, Delhi and a few other cities and is expected to be released in Hyderabad soon.
Sandeep is one of the newest additions to the growing list of indie filmmakers who want to tell their story their way. Love, Wrinkle Free is
Sandeep Mohan's comment on society, its obsession with anti-ageing
solutions, told through a tale of relationships. “The story is my
reaction to things that I saw around me. I saw youngsters, who didn't
actually require makeup, taking to heavy makeup and ending up looking
older than they are. And there were older women who were addicted to
makeup hoping it would make them look younger,” says Sandeep. The
cosmetic comment is just one part of the film, which is set in Goa and
narrates the story of Savio (Ash Chandler), his wife Annie (Shernaz
Patel) and their adopted daughter Ruth (Arika Silaichia) and their
reaction to Annie's unplanned pregnancy.
Shernaz
Patel was the first to come on board before Sandeep signed on Ash
Chandler, Seema Rahmani and Arika Silaichia. “We didn't have a casting
director. I happened to meet Ash Chandler and spoke to him for a few
hours. The passion towards his work and the fact that he was unaware of
how funny he was (despite his much-appreciated stand-up comedy acts)
made him endearing. He had to be my Savio. He and Shernaz brought in all
their experiences to the film. Shernaz was my sounding board. She is a
terrific actress and under utilised in cinema,” says Sandeep.
While
shooting for the film in Goa, Sandeep discovered his ability to
multi-task, driven by necessity. As with most indie films, this project
too was shot on a show-string budget (money was pooled in through crowd
funding) and it was tough to hire too many assistants. At one point,
Sandeep was checking up on hotels for the crew's stay in Goa. “All this
experience will help me,” he says.
The film was
wrapped up by the end of 2010 and then got selected for Mumbai
International Film Festival, followed by Cinequest Film Festival in San
Jose and South Asian International Film Festival in New York among
others.
Sandeep smiles when he looks back. A few
years ago, he was a drifter and a confused one at that. “I was 21 and I
tried to do many things,” he says. He worked for a firm that produced a
current affairs programme for Zee Television, before moving to
advertising and finally to movies. He was one of the assistant directors
for Sanjay Leela Bhansali in Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam. “I learnt
discipline from Bhansali. I didn't have formal training in filmmaking. I
learnt on the job, first with Bhansali and then by working on music
videos and corporate films. I realised that when I make my own films, I
would be comfortable narrating personal, human relationship stories than
larger-than-life stories,” he says.
With Love, Wrinkle Free out
in cinema halls, Sandeep wants to step up work on his next project. “I
want to finish the script and begin work by December,” he says.
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