COMMUNITY


NRI produces media convergence movie with Manisha Koirala

By A Correspondent

Chicago: India is home to the world’s most prolific film production industry, and quite probably home to the largest quantity of per-capita spiritualism. But what happens when you merge classic Bollywood drama with India’s deeply rooted otherworldly belief?
India is about to find out. In the famed Bollywood district of Mumbai, a film is in the works where the cinematic and spiritual collide. Tanman.com, which claims to be the “world’s first media convergence movie,” will combine India’s greatest strongholds in a full-length feature.
The film warns about the dangers of today’s tech-driven society. “We must be careful with technology and any kind of uncontrolled growth,” said Alok Tony Gupta, the head of M-Series Convergence Pvt. Ltd., which assumed production of Tanman.com last year. “Spiritualism is something we must look to for life’s solutions,” he said.
The film will not be released until November 2008, and consequently, Gupta declined to divulge many particulars of the film’s plot. But Gupta did note that the film bemoans the “altered spiritual metabolism” that accompanies an unbalanced modern lifestyle. The movie’s message comes through many facets of film — romance, action, humor and passion — ensure an international, multigenerational appeal. “It definitely will be of direct interest to IT media professionals who have little spiritual orientation,” Gupta said. “To the masses, it will provide a life therapy.”
Tanman.com has a cast and crew replete with both fresh and famous faces. Bollywood superstar Manisha Koirala plays opposite newcomer Aman Swetta in the leading roles, while the rest of the cast comprises Kabir Bedi, Johny Lever, Kitu Gidwani, Joy Sengupta and many others. The cast even reaches beyond India; Sita Thompson, an American actress from Hollywood, is also a part of Tanman.com. The film is written and directed by Pradeep Chanda, with cinematography by Rajan Kinagi, art direction by Sanjay Dhabade, music direction by Sandesh Shandilya, dialogue and lyrics by Anant Joshi, choreography by Jay Borade, sound by Buta Singh, and editing by Bhaskar Rai.
One-year-old production company M-Series is under the direction of Alok Tony Gupta, a newcomer himself to the movie industry. “I had no premeditated plans of being a Bollywood producer,” Gupta said. In fact, he’s a relative newcomer to the country. He left India when he was six years old to move to Canada, where he grew up and eventually trained as a hotelier. Seeking business opportunity and his spiritual roots in India, Gupta returned to his homeland several years ago. During a journey in Mumbai, Gupta met writer/director Pradeep Chanda and signed onto the project Tanman.com. This chance meeting turned what was supposed to be an excursion abroad for Gupta into a year in India, an unforeseen career and an awakened passion.
Encouraged by the many blessings Tanman.com has received from spiritual leaders and expecting great results from the opening this November, a second film by M-Series is already in the works. The team plans to shoot outside of India in the US and Canada and will be recruiting local artists. “At a conscious or subconscious level, I always had a motivation to send a spiritual message to the masses, and film is the biggest canvas,” Gupta said. “With a powerful film, the message could last forever.”