Ram Kamal Mukerjee kickstarted his journey in the field of journalism and then ventured into film direction. The super talented filmmaker has broken records with his short films like Cakewalk, Rickshavala, and many more. He has worked with actors like Celina Jaitly, Lilette Dubey in Season’s Greetings, and his most recent work includes ‘Broken Frame‘ with Rohit Roy and Ritabhari Chakraborty. Recently, I got a lovely chance to interview him, and I must say, his words gave me a tiny glimpse of his undying passion for films and filmmaking. He spoke about his short film Ek Duaa, his journey, and all things film.
Here are the excerpts from the interview-
How did you venture into directing and filmmaking?
Actually, I never wanted to become a director. I had produced a show with my friend for television, and after doing the television series I realized that I want to create more content. So, I had a story in mind and for that one, I thought of approaching Esha Deol. What happened was, during the session when I was meeting her and narrating the story, I didn’t have a director on board. What Esha told me was- you know, you are soo much into this project and you know the character so well, why don’t you direct it? I replied saying I wasn’t sure to that she said that there is always a first time. And it was she who actually encouraged me to become a director with the film Cakewalk, and that’s how I ventured into filmmaking.
How would you describe the journey of your film ‘Cakewalk’?
Cakewalk was a passion project for me, the film became popular and it broke a lot of records. At that point of time no body was investing that much of money and time, and so everyone discouraged me. They said things like- nobody is going to watch your film etc. But thanks to my destiny, one day Viacom 18 decided to take this film and they really liked it and its concept. And from not getting any platform for my film, to being India’s first short film to be shown on a satellite channel meant a great deal.
Talking about your other short film, ‘Ek Duaa’ with Esha Deol, what was the most important aspect you kept in mind during the execution of the film?
Ek Dua is a film about a mother-daughter relationship, which is another passion project for me. The most important thing was not to go overboard and not become too preachy. I just wanted to show a slice of life and Esha Deol did a fab job in it.
What are the challenges you face while directing a short film?
There are many challenges, firstly the time constraint,and secondly, locations especially when you are shooting on all real locations. So, to kind of manage the crowd and everything, it is quite a difficult job. And we have to extensively travel to get the look and feel right of the film. But at the end of the day it was fulfilling for me as a director.
I absolutely love his short films! What about you guys?