Place: Nawada, Bihar, India

The film: Swachhata Ki Khoj

Nawada is a town in the westernmost district of the Magadh division in Bihar. Nawada district is one of the thirty-eight districts of Bihar State and Nawada town is the administrative headquarters of this district. The main occupation of the people there is farming and industrial manufacturing of silk. Over the last few years Nawada has been developing into a major industrial sector but about 35% of the people there are still illiterate. The locals understand Hindi but most only speak Bhojpuri. Many children go to school, which is always a good sign. But the gap between the well off and not so well off is quite evident merely by the way people dress. On one end you will see bright coloured shirts, gold chains and polished shoes while on the other end you’ll see stained clothes that barely fit.

Children there have dreams but it seemed like the place wasn't well equipped to facilitate them. Many of the kids there idolize film stars and wish to be like them someday.  The people there are very welcoming and they'll smile a lot but when it comes to work they take their own sweet time. That’s probably because their routine is different from say a person from Mumbai like myself. Their definition of leisure is very different from city-bred folk. Social Media is something they are extremely fascinated about as though it’s a recent phenomenon. The market place closes a little after 8 o clock and silence floods the street by 10. The only living things you see at this hour are grasshoppers and bugs hovering around street lamps.  

When I first started my journey to Nawada, I kept thinking that I wouldn't be accepted or it would be quite a task to manage all the production with the kids. My language is quite different from theirs, I realized. But after I got there I recognized that these kids were so full of life. Back in the city something like a mere screening would be shrugged upon but here it's something to look forward to. After the screening I had a conversation with the kids, asking them their opinion on various issues related to sanitation. Most of the kids had a fair idea of the sanitation and hygiene problem the people there faced. They were ready to write about it. I left Nawada with a big smile and high hopes for our workshop together upon my next visit. I could literally see the sparkle of passion for filmmaking in their eyes. It was surreal. 

Nawada is quite far from Patna and since our flight was delayed, severely, I missed the first day of the workshop. I remember thinking of how the kids would be sorely disappointed for missing an entire day. So, the next day we started way early in the morning. The kids were on board and ready to roll as soon as we entered the classroom. My first act was to teach them how a film is written. I listened to all of their ideas and then explained them basic elements of how to write a screenplay. I then broke them into groups and told them to come up with their own ideas and write a screenplay. When they came back with their screenplays I asked them to pick out the interesting parts and we wrote the final draft together. Before we parted, we discussed camera angles, location, props and I assigned all of the kids’ roles, and I created a film unit using each ones individual talents. The next day was time for them to make their own mistakes, in the field. I could barely sleep that night. The excitement was overwhelming. 
The two days of shoot were very tiresome but the kids held their chins up high throughout. The first scene was the hardest. Co-ordinating with their teammates took quite a few takes. From the second scene onwards, they figured it out. Everyone knew their roles and they had a lot of questions which I was hoping they would have. My Director (Punam Chand) and my Screenwriter (Krish Mukesh Kumar) were the most proactive among the lot when it came to getting things done. Sure, they lost their calm every now and then but that’s how it’s supposed to be. It just meant they actually cared about what they were doing. My cameraman from Patna (Narendra) and his assistant (Vivek) were my backbone during this entire endeavour. They supported the children in the field and answered technical queries that the kids had every step of the way.

The local people there were very helpful in facilitating the children and me, when it came to finding locations and props. Rahul Verma in particular helped out with a lot of logistics. Since 90% of the entire shoot was outdoor and at far locations from each other we were in the heat of the sun working away for almost the entire day. The resilience and dedication that the kids had to completing a scene was something I had never before witnessed. Everyone stayed in position till the shots were complete and no one complained. Sure, their parents did, but the kids were solid. The lead actor Gun Gun is just 6 years old, her dedication to her performance and her character amazed me. She literally fell and got bruised pretty bad while filming, but she brushed it off and got back up. 

Overall, working with the children was a delightful experience. Going in I thought the task was daunting given my language barrier but the children accepted it wholeheartedly and our team was very co-operative. I learnt a lot from the kids in Nawada about life there. They were extremely enthusiastic and their passion to learn filmmaking was highly evident. Explaining a concept was easier than expected. They grasped the essence of what I was trying to teach them like scriptwriting from the get-go. The stories they came up with were extremely insightful and well rounded. Teaching them technical intricacies of filmmaking like handling the camera and sound was never met with apprehension or dullness. Even though time was a constraint and the script consisted of way too many scenes, we managed to pull through. Their dedication towards finishing the film was inspiring. I learnt a lot from the kids of Nawada. The kids did everything from casting the actors to directing the film. All of them are extremely talented and I wish to work with them again in the future.