America
Arranged marriage film 'arranges' shows for Indian Americans
Washington, May 16
Just like arranged marriages
in India, a new film on the subject uses a new more "democratic" way of
distributing films to match niche South Asian audiences with select
theatres in America.
Theatrical-on-Demand (ToD) puts the power in
the hands of the audience, says Rohena Gera, director of "What's Love
Got To Do With It?" described as an unscripted micro budget film that
explores arranged marriages in Indian society.
"So a film that
may not have the marketing muscle or money to release across the country
but has a niche audience that would love to see it on screen can access
this audience," Gera told IANS.
Anybody anywhere in the US can
request a film at a theatre near them, and even choose the date and
preferred time and the distributor will assign a cinema for the show at
no cost, Gera said explaining the concept
The only obligation the
person has is to try to get people to commit to purchasing tickets in
advance so that the show can be confirmed, she said
"If you get the requisite number you reach the tipping point, the screening is confirmed, and people are billed." Gera said.
"If you don't, the show gets automatically cancelled and nobody is billed for anything."
She
chose to go the TOD way because her film has only come this far because
of audience support, said the Pune based filmmaker who did an
independent release in her home city "after a fantastic premiere at the
Mumbai film festival."
Gera said she "saw that this film connects
with audiences. So TOD seemed to be a good way to go as it is low cost
and audience-centric."
"Plus the good thing with TOD is that you
are not restricted to cinemas that show South Asian or Bollywood
films... you can screen anywhere."
The film currently has 8 live requests for screenings in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Texas, Washington DC and California.
She is even getting inquiries from distributors who want to release through the traditional distribution channels too.
But
Gera is not aiming at just the South Asians. "My target is anybody who
has ever wondered what makes a marriage work... or anybody who has ever
wished they could find Mr/Ms. Right ASAP!"
"Although right now we
are reaching out primarily through South Asian channels, I do believe
the wider American public would connect with the film as it asks real
questions about love, loneliness, and compromise and explores the
choices we all face."
Working as she is with no marketing budget
at all, Gera is also relying on social media to reach the wider public.
But she does not think social media works as well for arranged
marriages.
The concept of arranged marriage "involves quickly
'getting to know' someone, and to that end, Facebook and Twitter are
perhaps useful as we all have these personas on social media through
which we express our likes, dislikes and so on," she said.
"So in terms of quickly browsing through another's life I am sure it is useful," Gera said.
"However
I personally feel that sometimes these are carefully constructed
identities, and what works between two people is much less tangible."
Most people she interviewed, "even for arranged marriages, spoke about clicking or chemistry or some version of it."
In Gera's view the way arranged marriage works for Indians and NRIs is "quite similar."
"My
film is about urban well-travelled, well-educated Indians, so in many
ways they have the same struggles as NRI's or the diaspora. They have
extensive exposure to the west and many have even studied in the US."
"So
they are in many ways grappling with two cultures just like Indian
Americans or British Asians: that of their parents, and that of the west
or popular media," she said.
"They want love, equality and so on, but their parents advice isn't always consistent with that."
After exploring arranged marriage, Gera plans to "an impossible love story", a fiction feature set in Mumbai.
"It
is, and is neither Bollywood nor Hollywood... It would be an indie
film, so to speak" like "The Lunchbox" or "Monsoon Wedding."
(Arun Kumar can be contacted at [email protected])