Meet Prataya Saha, whose ‘Mein, Mehmood’ bagged multiple awards

From skipping a meal to save funds to having AR Rahman’s former guitarist Sanjeev Thomas score the music for his next short, filmmaker Prataya Saha has come a long way in six years. He is only 12 short films old, but these have so far been selected at more than 85 film festivals, winning 27 awards in 14 countries.

His latest short, Mein, Mehmood — shot in Dubai during the COVID-19 pandemic with an amateur actor and the sound recorded in a dining room — has been competing against some of the best in world cinema, and winning. It won Best Story at the DC South Asian Film Festival in the US and Best Film at the River to River Florence Indian Film Festival in Italy before bagging the Golden Royal Bengal Tiger Award for Best Short Film at Kolkata International Film Festival (KIFF).

Before leaving for the Jaipur International Film Festival, Saha met The Federal in Kolkata to share the story behind Mein, Mehmood (a tale of non-English-speaking migrants in Dubai), his journey from statistical analysis to filmmaking, how Bengaluru’s Jagriti Theatre and a 200-word article in The Hindu changed his life, and the sacrifices behind the glittering awards. Excerpts…

Tell us the story behind ‘Mein, Mehmood’. Why did you choose this subject?

Before I became a filmmaker, I was a statistical analyst. I had a full-time corporate job for almost eight years. And in that period, I had a lot of opportunities to travel — to London, Dubai. During my travels to Dubai from 2013 to around 2017, I used to commute a lot by public transport. And what you see in Mein, Mehmood is just a reflection of what I saw in life around me.

On public transport in Dubai, you will find lots of Asian immigrants — all huddled together in buses, the Metro, or shared taxis. If you ask them something, they will reply but won’t make any conversation beyond that. When I started trying to understand why it was like that, I found out that many of them are wary if they do not know English. They fear being judged.

When I started researching the subject, I came to know that people who do not know English in Europe are less likely to get better healthcare. Can you believe it? Just because you do not know ONE out of 6500-plus languages, you have less access to healthcare!

If you are judging or discriminating against a person because they do not know a particular language, that is inhuman. So, that is the statement I have tried to make through Mein, Mehmood.

Your films deal with sensitive social issues. What makes you choose your subjects?

I generally consider myself an empath. If I see another person not getting justice in some way, I think, how would I feel if I were in their situation?

My previous film (Just Another Day) was on physical abuse during pregnancy. When I read an article on abuse during pregnancy, I got goosebumps. That is one of the most vulnerable times in a woman’s life, and then she is abused. If you look at the entire filmography, you hardly find anyone talking about it. If nobody picks up a subject and I feel connected to it, I pick it up.

That film really did well. It opened in the New York Asian Film Festival, and it was the only Indian film there in 2021. We were competing against amazing films from Korea, Japan, China, and the film went on to 33 film festivals in nine countries, picking up several awards.

How did the journey from statistical analysis to filmmaking happen?

It was accidental, as well as a natural progression in a way. I used to write, in English as well as Bengali — a lot of poetry, short stories. But then life happened, and I became an engineer.

I was also into photography. When I left for engineering, the hobby kind of died off. But after I joined my job in 2010, I would go to Jagriti Theatre in Bangalore sometimes, where I got the opportunity to do a couple of theatre photography projects. And then I started getting more of these projects. At the same time, I was able to get in touch with a lot of theatre actors. I could shoot them before they would go on stage. The artistic thing that was lying dormant for so many years started resurfacing.

Then I went to London, where something changed. Whether you earn money from it or not, they really respect artists. That caused a paradigm shift in my thinking. And when I came back from London in 2016, I thought, let’s start our production house (Red Polka Productions).

So now I combine my writing skills with photography to make films. I mostly write my own stories. I also work very closely with my cinematographers.

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What are the challenges of indie filmmaking?

Indie filmmaking is all about challenges! Which is why when you get a reward, it’s so much more satisfying. First, you do not have proper planning, and sometimes not even the proper personnel, because you do not have the money to hire professionals.

But on the flip side, indie filmmaking is all about brilliant problem-solving or what we call jugaad in India. You don’t have money for a proper studio, or a proper audio recording facility. You find a silent place; you try to make it as sound-proof as possible. You do not have insulation, so you put a pillow cover on the microphone to stop the echo in an empty room.

I remember we were in Florence competing with films with much bigger budgets. But when we were hearing their sound and comparing those with the sound of Mein, Mehmood, which we had done in a dining room, we were at least 80 per cent there.

Do you have any formal training in filmmaking?

None. Beyond photography, which comes naturally to me, I watch a lot of films and YouTube videos. I see films very analytically from a technical viewpoint, and watch a lot of YouTube videos to upgrade my skills.

So, how easy or difficult is it for an outsider to get into filmmaking?

It is not easy, but that thought never occurred to me. If I did, I would have perhaps never pursued it. When I started filmmaking, I just thought — this is something I love, and I have to do it.

But if you ask me how easy or tough filmmaking is, it is not easy. It involves a lot of sacrifice. A lot of people see you winning an award and go “Wow!” But they do not see the sacrifice, the sleepless nights. There are times when you do not know where the money is going to come from; you do not know how you will pay your rent. There are even times when you skip a meal, because you are on a project and you have a limited budget. And you have to be open to that struggle.

Also read: Elephant Whisperers: This documentary, up for Oscars, is a triumph of empathy

So, you are a full-time filmmaker now?

Yes, I left my job with Accenture in October 2018. I started filmmaking in 2016, though. I used to do it on the weekends.

After my first short Anna’s Weekend released in 2016, a small article was published in The Hindu. They liked my thought process. It was only about 200 words, but I still have a cut-out of it. It was one of my turning points. I thought, if I have reached here by working over the weekends, maybe I can reach somewhere higher by doing it full time. It still took me two years before I could take the leap.

But it was a very calculated risk for me. It was not an emotional decision. I had a lot of things to take care of before I jumped into it. I practised a lot before making the decision.

Has the decision been worth it?

Absolutely. If I had to do it again, I would. In fact, I would leave my job earlier!

Any inspirations?

A lot of them. The biggest is, of course, Satyajit Ray. I have watched his movies over and over again, without getting bored, and every time there was something new to experience. And then you know that this man was way ahead of his time.

I have also read all his books and just finished My Years With Apu. From those 200 pages, I have learned more about filmmaking than I have in the past six years.

In Hollywood, I have been inspired by (Christopher) Nolan, (Martin) Scorsese. I am a big fan of Scorsese because of his versatility and consistency. In India, I am also a big fan of Anurag Kashyap.

But in every filmmaking journey, there is something to learn. So, I watch all kinds of films.

You were talking about the lack of funds. Has anything changed after all those awards?

It has… I do get investors. Production houses approach me, hoping to make a critically acclaimed film. But all that is later. What has changed with all the recognition is being able to do a good film. Most importantly, people now know that I exist!

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Tell us something about your next project.

There are two projects. One is my first Bengali short, which I have already made. It’s set in 1989 and is about this once-huge joint family that has only three or four existing members now living in this palatial house, and they are deliberating whether they will sell it. It’s called Sonar Khancha (The Golden Cage). Sanjeev Thomas, AR Rahman’s former lead guitarist, has scored the music.

The second one is my first full-length feature film. It’s also based in Kolkata and set in 1998. It’s in pre-production and as yet unnamed.

If we ask you to name one film of yours that someone not familiar with your work should watch, which one would you suggest?

I would say Mein, Mehmood or Just Another Day, which is already on Disney + Hotstar.