Kuumar Shyam (Abu Dhabi)
A small-budget film about kite-flying releases at theatres this week against odds in the era of big-budget film industry. Once "Gabru Gang" releases this Friday in the UAE, it will seek recognition as the first full film on kites, but the sports drama would not have been possible without fate and interesting contributions twining together in Dubai.
"Gabru Gang" is written, directed and co-produced by Sameer Khan who spent 22 years in Dubai in the events and entertainment industry. Nearly five years back, on a quiet evening stroll during a wedding visit to a friend in the northern Indian state of Punjab, Khan saw a kite trying to wriggle out a tree furiously in the wind. The sight evoked a poetic concept of a script which he wrote out quickly and also with a twist, which the film crew refused to reveal when speaking to Aletihad.
There is a spoiler alert, though. If all goes well, by a long shot, there could be a sequel such is the twist, the makers reveal. Speaking to us over Zoom, Khan, actor Abhishek Duhan and co-producer Vivek Sinha, shared a confidence seen rare in a film of such magnitude and cast. And they say it is because of the kind of journey and relationship bonds they had in the creation of the film.
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"Indeed, it has taken long mainly due to COVID striking just when we had our first schedule done and packed with," Khan said. Such is the nature of business that we knew we will have to do some reshoots along with the second schedule of the film, but our financial resources had dried up by then. But I have been grateful to have a team supporting me like family… Abhishek, [co-producer] Arti Puri… from the spot boys and technical team to producers such as Vivek [Sinha]. This is everyone's film and dream just like mine."
Post COVID and back in Dubai during the pause in shooting, the Mumbai-bred resident Khan was struggling with a slip disc ailment, but he still took the metro and then walk some distance in peak summer to approach a group of different investors to pitch for his film. Approaching the same building for the meeting without having met Khan before, Sinha saw a profusely sweating Khan struggling to walk and offered him a lift, a rare gesture on its own. Minutes later, Khan appeared again in front of Sinha.
"It was such a coincidence to meet him twice in a day," Sinha said. "Seeing his passion earlier, as soon as he revealed his needs, I decided to get on board. I am not into films; I am from an engineering back and set up about 15 companies since moving to the UAE."
And taking the quotient of uniqueness to the real story behind the reels of "Gabru Gang", Sinha said he is yet to watch the film or the rushes as is custom even for a casual producer. "I have seen the passion of the team, the director. I leave it to the experts. I have done this only for Sameer and seen what it means to him; that's good enough for me."
Duhan concurs on the family feel on sets. "I never felt myself as an actor. They are just like brothers. This film is all made just out of love," says the actor of "Sultan", "Golmaal Again" and "Pataakha" fame.
"Even while shooting in the villages of Punjab, the locals would show us such affection, be part of the work things behind the scenes, and invite us to their luncheons. So many times, it happened that they would look for me to start the shoot and find me having food or tea. And then our director would say, 'heck, I will also join you' and then get to work."
Overcoming challenges was spontaneous, too. Like the entry of the veteran character actor Avatar Gill into the cast. "There was this actor without naming him, he just one day got up and walked out of the set because he did not like his costume," Khan reveals. "I just folded my hands, wished him luck and let him go. But I was bleeding with the daily costs of the schedule coming to 1,400,000 rupees and shooting came to a standstill. But just like that, Gill sir did not negotiate and arrived pronto. So I have been blessed."
Blessed or not, Khan's story and calm demeanour through all these years has vowed Sinha, Duhan and everyone. And his colleagues are unanimous that it is Khan's "jigra" [Punjabi word for guts] that has all of the cast rooting for him. "irrespective of what happens to the film", Duhan said.
Whether "Gabru Gang" about kite-flying does well on the box-office or not, the film's production story behind the scenes is a winner for the spunk it has shown to branch out into the realm of reality.