Mumbai:
Indie filmmaker Hemant Gaba'sdebut work Shuttlecock Boys was a test he wanted to passdesperately and after several hitches including damage to itsnegatives the film is all set to hit theatres next month.
The film revolves around the lives, successes andfailures of four friends who hail from lower middle classbackgrounds in Delhi and who play badminton every night.
"For me, Shuttlecock Boys has been a test. A test thatI wanted to pass. I was optimistic but never sure if we willbe able to pull off the project," Gaba told PTI about hisventure made with a budget of just Rs 35 lakh.
"It's is about courage, determination and destiny. Ittook 2.5 years to get made and 1.5 years to get released intheatres. And it's the journey of characters in the film thathas kept our optimism alive till date. Had we had lost it, wewouldn't have made it this far and actually release it intheatres," he says about the film's August 3 release under PVRDirector's Cut Rare Initiative.
Hemant Gaba quit his IT job and with friend Pankaj Johar startedtheir production house Penny Wise Films.
"Before production, our only objective was to get throughthe shooting. We didn't even plan about how and where we aregoing to edit our film or who is going to compose the music.During post-production, our only target was to finish thefilm. We didn't plan how we will showcase or exhibit thefilm," he says.
However in post production, the film negatives wereruined in a post production lab in Mumbai.
"They refused to fix the damage, instead asked for moneyto restore it... this phase lasted for 9-10 months... that wasthe time when we thought we may not be able to complete ourstep of post-production. But we finally managed to pull thatoff too."
Every evening, protagonists Gaurav, Manav, Pankaj andLoveleen meet for a couple of badminton games in theirneighbourhood joking about their lives and pulling eachother's legs. This part of the day is the most pleasant partof their otherwise dreary lives.
While playing badminton one such night, they decide to dosomething on their own. This very attempt becomes theirlifeline putting them on a litmus test of determination,courage, luck and spirit of friendship.
"The most interesting thing about the film is that thesefour actors met each other for the first time during the filmshoot but three of them live as roommates in Mumbai; sofriendship on the reel got converted real life friendshipwhich is commendable.
"Chemistry among these friends is really remarkable inthe film," says Gaba, who has also directed the documentaryStill Standing, which received rave reviews and won theDadasaheb Phalke Chitranagri award for the best debut film atthe Mumbai International Film Festival, 2012.
Shuttlecock Boys film was shot on more than 18locations in just a span of 22 days in New Delhi, Gurgaon andNoida.
The film revolves around the lives, successes andfailures of four friends who hail from lower middle classbackgrounds in Delhi and who play badminton every night.
"For me, Shuttlecock Boys has been a test. A test thatI wanted to pass. I was optimistic but never sure if we willbe able to pull off the project," Gaba told PTI about hisventure made with a budget of just Rs 35 lakh.
"It's is about courage, determination and destiny. Ittook 2.5 years to get made and 1.5 years to get released intheatres. And it's the journey of characters in the film thathas kept our optimism alive till date. Had we had lost it, wewouldn't have made it this far and actually release it intheatres," he says about the film's August 3 release under PVRDirector's Cut Rare Initiative.
Hemant Gaba quit his IT job and with friend Pankaj Johar startedtheir production house Penny Wise Films.
"Before production, our only objective was to get throughthe shooting. We didn't even plan about how and where we aregoing to edit our film or who is going to compose the music.During post-production, our only target was to finish thefilm. We didn't plan how we will showcase or exhibit thefilm," he says.
However in post production, the film negatives wereruined in a post production lab in Mumbai.
"They refused to fix the damage, instead asked for moneyto restore it... this phase lasted for 9-10 months... that wasthe time when we thought we may not be able to complete ourstep of post-production. But we finally managed to pull thatoff too."
Every evening, protagonists Gaurav, Manav, Pankaj andLoveleen meet for a couple of badminton games in theirneighbourhood joking about their lives and pulling eachother's legs. This part of the day is the most pleasant partof their otherwise dreary lives.
While playing badminton one such night, they decide to dosomething on their own. This very attempt becomes theirlifeline putting them on a litmus test of determination,courage, luck and spirit of friendship.
"The most interesting thing about the film is that thesefour actors met each other for the first time during the filmshoot but three of them live as roommates in Mumbai; sofriendship on the reel got converted real life friendshipwhich is commendable.
"Chemistry among these friends is really remarkable inthe film," says Gaba, who has also directed the documentaryStill Standing, which received rave reviews and won theDadasaheb Phalke Chitranagri award for the best debut film atthe Mumbai International Film Festival, 2012.
Shuttlecock Boys film was shot on more than 18locations in just a span of 22 days in New Delhi, Gurgaon andNoida.
