Mumbai, Nov 17: Filmmaker Rima Das says it was the unique narrative of her beloved film Village Rockstars, rather than its popularity, that influenced her decision to create a sequel.
Das made “Village Rockstars”, an Assamese-language coming-of-age film about a 10-year-old girl Dhunu, who befriends a group of boys and dreams of becoming a rock star, in 2017. The film toured many international festivals and was later selected as India’s official entry for the 91st Academy Awards.
The filmmaker is now coming with a sequel, titled “Village Rockstars 2”, which is currently doing festival rounds. It was a pivotal moment in “Village Rockstars” that inspired her to make the sequel — the scene where the protagonist Dhunu’s mother presents her with a guitar.
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“‘Village Rockstars’ is my most popular film. It is like a brand and people liked the film but it isn’t the reason why we made part two. Like, ‘Bulbul Can Sing’ people loved the film and the characters but I didn’t feel like continuing with the story.
“With ‘Village Rockstars’, I felt there could be a story because there’s a musical instrument with which we can bring different elements. It is rare in a village where a mother buys a guitar and I thought we could continue with the story,” the filmmaker told PTI in an interview.
“Village Rockstars 2” revisits the life of Dhunu, seven years after the events of the last film.
Das said she started working on the second part sometime in 2020.
“I had to plan a few things like writing the story. How will I be able to do it? What would be the other things that I can bring to the story? So, all these things took some time,” she said.
With the sequel, a key was to maintain the original film’s purity and yet make it a bit different, Das added.
While the first part of “Village Rockstars” showcased her childhood memories, like climbing trees and swimming in rivers, she said the sequel offers a broader, observational lens on village life.
“It is more relatable. I cannot say it is my personal life but it comes from my deep bonding with the children, and teenagers,” the director said.
For the follow-up, Das also experimented with various editing styles that were a departure from the calm, silent long shots from the first instalment.
Choosing the right title for the sequel proved to be another task as the director grappled with whether to retain the “Village Rockstars” name or to introduce an entirely different name. (PTI)
