Shalini Adnani on ''Our Share of Sand'': Wanted to explore society through a family''s story

Shalini Adnani on ''Our Share of Sand'': Wanted to explore society through a family''s story

New Delhi, In her India-set debut film "Our Share of Sand", which is part of the Venice International Critics Week, director Shalini Adnani says she wanted to explore a society through the microcosm of a family with a young girl's perspective providing a window into the inequalities and exploitation that surround her.

Shalini Adnani on ''Our Share of Sand'': Wanted to explore society through a family''s story

"Our Share of Sand", starring Maya Mehta, Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub, Ellora Torchia, Krish Raj More and Jyoti Dogra, evolved from the many summers that Adnani, a Chilean-born, London-based filmmaker of Indian origin, spent in India.

"I wanted to explore a society from the microcosm of a family... I think class and inequality in India is something that exists all the time, but we're not very aware of it. And it especially exists in our house as it's very much ingrained in the way that we live life day to day.

"I've always been interested in elements of class. I grew up in Latin America that also has quite a big class divide. It was just important for me to question. From a child's perspective, those things shouldn't really matter, but then suddenly, she's realising that we live in a society that puts a lot of value on that," Adnani told PTI in an interview.

Recalling the time she spent in India as a child, when her grandmother would often take out her jewellery and ask her to choose something, Adnani said she was interested in capturing the oral history that's passed down within families.

"I didn't realise how important it is for women that it was this one thing that they had, where they essentially were protecting the family because things can happen, you have to maybe run away. And jewellery and diamonds were the one place where women felt like they could protect a family and that they had this value to add."

The story of "Our Share of Sand", which was shot in Maharashtra, revolves around 12-year-old Maya who returns to India with her mother to reunite with her father, a sand mining business man. Immersed in a world where labour, legacy and extraction collide, she forms a fragile bond with Kiran, a young worker.

After a tragic accident, a police investigation turns Maya into a key witness, with her father relying on her testimony to save himself.

Torn between loyalty and a growing unease she cannot name, Maya begins searching for the truth. As her mother quietly unravels, Maya uncovers a pattern of silence, exploitation and repeated harm forcing her to confront her father's deception and the family's complicity she must choose to break.

Illegal sand mining instantly evokes the image of a crime story but Adnani said she was interested in exploring the story through a family and its history.

"There was a moment when we were developing and people were like, someone should have their arm cut off. And I was like, 'I understand'. But I wanted to steer away from that vision of India because there's also things that are a lot smaller that are happening that maybe are just as bad," she said.

The filmmaker said both India and Chile are countries that are rich in natural resources but have been exploited by foreign countries, companies or people.

"But ultimately, my desire to keep it within the family is because I think families are just where history and politics in a way become emotional. It's where we inherit our beliefs. And, I think, it's really interesting how the outside world can affect our private lives and shape who we are," she said.

Asked how her layered upbringing as an Indian living in Chile and then in London influenced her storytelling, Adnani said it gave her access to a lot of different kinds of storytelling.

"The West very much likes an Aristotelian sort of beginning, middle, climax and end. I think in Asia, there's a desire for something more cyclical, almost karmic. And, I think, there's something about this film that has that. It's sort of the cycle of life. Latin America tends to also like a little bit more momentum...

"It gives you a lot of perspective. When you enter one culture and then you go into another, you can see the culture from outside very clearly. And it also has made me very adaptable," she said.

The filmmaker said she may look like a global citizen on paper but she actually led a very protective life in Chile, which has a bit of an island mentality.

"Within Chile, I was very much in a Sindhi community. So the Sindhi community was an even smaller group. And then, and then within the Sindhi community, I went to the international school. It was actually quite an isolated and sheltered upbringing."

In her next film, Adnani, whose short film "White Ant" premiered at Sundance, hopes to return to her Chilean and Indian roots.

"I definitely want to explore some Chilean connections... And I, 100 per cent, want to go back to India. Like, I didn't want to leave while making this film because it's a place that is just very close to my heart. And I love being in India. I think there are many stories to be found in India... I'm kind of just waiting for the right project, something that I can put my stamp on."

Adnani hopes that her film, which premieres at the Venice International Critics Week on Saturday, resonates with the audiences.

"Being a filmmaker is so hard. I think we have ideas of what we want to do. And, we want our films to be watched. Venice is the perfect place for it. I think the environmental elements of how sand mining is affecting our ecosystem is the best conversation to be having in a place like Venice. I feel incredibly lucky and grateful," she said.

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