Date:19/09/2005 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2005/09/19/stories/2005091905460200.htm

Karnataka - Bangalore

A bright talent emerges from the shadows

K Satyamurty

Naveen's `Shadows' is a 14-minute film about the confusion that prevails in the minds of young people

IN THE LIMELIGHT: Naveen Dwarakanath. — Photo: V. Sreenivasa Murthy

BANGALORE: This young, creative maker of a short film still remembers what his parents told him when he was in college and wanted to get into film-making: "Wait till you are earning and do it on your own money.''

Naveen Dwarakanath, all of 24 and an MBA student, has done it faster than many. His Bright Light Creations, jointly founded with close friend Raghavendra, completed the 14-minute film, "Shadows," earlier this year. It was screened at Suchitra Film Society in Bangalore in May and later at the Festival of Short Films and Documentaries for the John Abraham Award in Thiruvananthapuram.

Incidentally, it was the only short film from Karnataka. "Shadows is all about the confusion that prevails in the minds and lives of today's young men and women... They confuse themselves and others," Naveen says with a twinkle in his eyes.

He is naturally expressive, since he is also known as a stage actor.

The protagonist is a college boy, utterly confused about what he wants in life, and his parents are equally confused about what he wants to do. The sequences move almost like a dream.

There is some irony and black humour too in this film. Confronted by a traffic cop while riding a motorbike, the hero and his friends tell the police officer, "Between us we have two learner licences, does that add up to a driver's licence?'' The film ends as it begins, the young have to find their way in this world on their own.

Yesterday's answers no longer hold good.

Naveen likes to talk about his new venture too, this time a film of about 30 minutes. "It will be through the eyes of a village boy, from ages seven to 13, with the camera never more than three or four feet above the ground,'' he says.

This boy is forced to leave school and work for a living; a childhood cut short as it is for many children in our country. City lights beckon him and, as he grows older, he is caught in the moral dilemma of honest hard work, and easy money, straying off the straight and narrow path. Naveen doesn't want to give out more details.

Satyajit Ray's films have deeply influenced him, Naveen says. They were, after all, the first among Indian films to capture the imagination of international audiences. With Naveen, not only the play of light and shadows but the music matters too in a film. "Shadows" has one title song of three minutes and background score by his team. For the untitled forthcoming film, he is thinking of using folk music; the location is a village near Kolar. The other members of the Bright Light Creations team of five are Prasad, Abhilash and Ravi.

Acting in college plays sparked his first interest in the performing arts. Since then he has been associated with C.R. Simha's Kannada theatrical troupe, Vedike. He appeared in several professional theatrical productions. Among those he remembers most are adaptations of Macbeth and A Midsummer Night's Dream. He played an important role in "Court Martial," all about a soldier accused of killing an officer.

Photography has been his passion since childhood and that helped in creative film-making. Naveen has watched a lot of "festival films," many from Europe, and is fascinated by the way French film-makers handle unusual themes.