A Story of the Red Hills: A film by Remo

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Choreographer Remo debuts as a director

Somen Mishra / CNN-IBN



Published on Wed, Dec 12, 2007 at 20:07, Updated at Thu, Dec 13, 2007 in Health section

Tags: Remo D'Souza, Bollywood , Dubai

Dubai:After Farah Khan and Ahmed khan, it is choreographer Remo D'souza who has gone behind the camera to direct a film.


He is the man behind some of the hottest steps in Bollywood, from Kaante's ishq samundar to the recently released Darling. After choreographing songs in more than 100 films in last eight years, Remo has now turned director with Bengali film Lal Paharer Katha (a story of the red hills), which is being screened at the Dubai International Film Festival.


“It is not that difficult, as I have been shooting songs for many years. It is very simple for me to shoot a film. But there was a little problem because when you are directing songs there are no dialogues, but when you are directing a film there are dialogues and emotions. So it becomes little difficult but after working in so many films this too became easy,” says Remo D'Souza, Director.


The film stars Mithun Chakraborty in a lead role and revolves around Chhou, a tribal dance form of Orissa and West Bengal. And the strange thing is that it is in Bengali, a language that Remo doesn't know much about. The story is inspired from his own life where a physically challenged kid's life started changing when Remo started teaching him dance and choreography.


“I had this story and I wanted to make it in Hindi. However, I thought that in Hindi, I would again have to resort to the Bollywood kind of art form, which has become little boring for me,” says Remo D'Souza. He adds that as he did not want to do that, he thought of working out another art form, which was a little unique. “I then checked the art forms from various regions and figured out that people don't know much about Chhou dance. However, when I learnt more about it, I was sure I wanted to go with it,” adds Remo.


Made on a budget of 1.5 crore, Remo himself has produced the film. He is planning to release the film in March

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Remo D'Souza's usually to be found choreographing Bollywood's mega-dance scenes. So when he took the director's chair recently, it was only natural the film would be about dance.

In his decade-long career, Remo D' Souza has choreographed 150 music videos and over 100 Bollywood films including Dhoom, Kaante, Aankhen, Saathiya and Babul with stars such as Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan and Sanjay Dutt.

Not surprisingly his first film as a director is about dance.

Titled Lal Pahare'r Katha (The Story of the Red Hills), the Bengali film explores the dying art form of Chhou dancing.

Set in a village in Bengal, the film tells a moving and inspiring story about a chhou performer's determination to keep his art form alive and a boy who overcomes disability to become a dancer.

The film, starring Mithun Chakravarty, had its first public screening at DIFF. We caught up with Remo for a chat.

Excerpts:

What motivated you to write and direct a film?
The idea for this story is inspired by a real-life experience. At our rehearsal venue, I befriended a boy working at the tea stall. He was born lame and mute, but introducing him to dance worked wonders. He now walks without crutches, plays cricket and is a good dancer. I am putting him through school and he is doing well. I wanted to put this story on screen for people to see what wonders dance can do.

You are from Kerala and work in Bollywood. Why did you make a Bengali film and choose chhou dancing as the backdrop?
I was looking for a unique art form that has never been seen before on screen. My co-writer Dhrubo Banerjee suggested chhou. I knew nothing about this dance but when I researched it I was fascinated. I went to Purulia in Bengal where this dance form originated and lived with the dancers and studied their unique masks and movements. But what you see in the film is my interpretation of the dance. The title comes from the red soil of Purulia region. To ring true, the film had to be in Bengali.

What is you next project?
I have been bitten by the directing bug now but I am trying to balance my work as choreographer and director. I have just finished doing four songs for Bhootnath with Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan and am working on Kidnap with Sanjay Dutt and Imran Khan and Love Story 2050 with Harman Baweja and Priyanka Chopra. But I have started writing the script for my next movie, which will be a musical in English about drug addiction.

On being at DIFF:

Finding the finance and making the film was easy and I believe that there is now an audience for such films,” says Remo D'Souza of his directorial debut, The Story of the Red Hills.“But marketing it is very difficult. I thank DIFF for including my film in the festival because there can be no better place than Dubai to launch a film. I hope to release it commercially early next year.”

Remo on Mithun Chakravarty

"He is amazing. He was excited about the story and postponed other commitments to give me bulk dates.
Chhou [a traditional Bengali dance] is physically demanding and he got many cuts and bruises while learning the moves and performing. There were no hotels in Bandhwan village were we shot the film. So my entire unit of 108 people, including Mithun, stayed in the village school. But he never complained and was punctual even for a shoot at 4am in freezing temperatures."

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Mumbai-based Remo in his ten years as choreographer has worked with reputed production houses, directors and stars, who believe in his sharp-etched creative need to experiment with new dance patterns and styles. No wonder that his debut feature film is on the revival of the vibrant tribal dance form, Chhou, and the life journey of its followers to keep it alive
irector Remo D’Souza held the world premiere of his debut work as a director at the 4th Dubai International Film Festival in Dubai, held over December 9 to 16. The film, Lal Pahare’r Katha (A Story of the Red Hills), is set in the tranquil, recessed district of Purulia in West Bengal. Its local tribes (along with those from Mayurbhanj in Orissa and Saraikela in Bihar) are skilled practitioners of the Chhou dance form, now nearing extinction.“Today there is an effort to revive this dance, and my film is dedicated to the unsung heroes of this gorgeous performing art”, says Remo. As its central protagonist, celebrated actor Mithun Chakraborty gives one of his most stirring performances.

The film’s narrative follows Manohar (Mithun), a former great Chhou perfomer and an icon in Purulia district. In his prime he loved the village girl Malati. But when he was away on a dance tour, Malati was forced into marrying the rough-edged Shib. Another blow is dealt to her as she gives birth to a boy child, Felai, who is a mute and deformed in one leg. Meanwhile, Manohar who still cares for Malati, finds that his dance speciality is fast losing ground to the entertaining and popular form called Jatra. The decline in his status and demand leads to depression and he takes to drinking.

In the village, the disgruntled Shib decides to be rid of his life-long responsibility of his handicapped son. He tries to smother the boy in the jungle. An inebriated Manohar finds the unconscious boy. He raises Felai (who refuses to divulge where he is from) and finds solace in doing so. The two move to another village, where staunch admirer Madhab persuades Manohar to take up Chhou once again.

Felai is happy in his new home, with Madhab’s bubbly daughter Ganga, as a friend. When Manohar trains his students, Felai starts reacting to Chhou rhythms, and Manohar encourages him. As Felai grows up, he turns into a graceful performer. Manohar now has a full-fledged dance troupe. But a new threat endangers both Chhou and Jatra - and that is television and the cinema.

A Chhou competition is arranged in the town where both Manohar and Felai originally lived. Manohar’s dance troupe decides to participate in the hope that it would launch Felai. Realising that Felai is the son he tried to kill, the panicky Shib tries to implicate Manohar in his son’s disappearance, which Malati subverts. A confident Felai enters the dancing arena amidst a cheering crowd.

Lal Pahare’r Katha vividly brings to life Bengal’s landscape, life style and language, and the beauty of its disappearing countryside. The Dubai festival has publicised this film as one of its prized film premieres, and programmed it on its opening day as the first to be seen in its exciting Indian package. The film is looked forward to by the local Bengali community and delegates and director Remo’s presence is eagerly awaited.