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Editor’s Note: Privilege, with promise
How does a person of privilege get moved so much by the story of a poor chaiwala’s son and his cinematic escapades, that he decides to make a movie on it? India’s entry to the Oscar’s 2023, the Gujarati-language film Chhello Show, aka The Last Film Show, tells the story of a boy in Saurashtra who helps his father sell tea by the railway tracks, but discovers that his true passion lies at the movies
How does a person of privilege get moved so much by the story of a poor chaiwala’s son and his cinematic escapades, that he decides to make a movie on it?
India’s entry to the Oscar’s 2023, the Gujarati-language film Chhello Show, aka The Last Film Show, tells the story of a boy in Saurashtra who helps his father sell tea by the railway tracks, but discovers that his true passion lies at the movies. Our little protagonist runs away regularly from school to cinema halls, and is as fascinated by the projection as he is by the movies. The film is a heart-warming melody of the boy’s curiosities and experiences, his learnings and disappointments, and makes the viewer feel young and full of dreams all over again.
Along with senior Bollywood producer Siddharth Roy Kapur and Marc Duale, the movie has been produced by Dheer Momaya, our cover guy today. Dheer comes from one of Mumbai’s prominent business families, and has grown up with Akash and Anmol Ambani, scions of one of India’s richest families, as his best friends.
How does such a boy, one who may never have seen the inside of a second-class train compartment, develop the sensitivity to understand the feelings of an impoverished child fighting for his dreams?
The cover story in this issue tells us this, and more.
Dheer Momaya, 31, admits his life of privilege placed him in a bubble, but credits his Ukrainian wife of three years, Dar Gai, also his co-producer on the film, for bursting it. “She made me start looking and thinking way beyond the capacity that I imagined I had,” he says.
Dar is a filmmaker herself, and has just completed her first Netflix production, which is due for release mid next year. Together, Dheer and Dar have produced music videos like Prateek Kuhad’s cold/mess and Kasoor, and Ritviz’s Sage and Liggi, amongst others.
In the conversation recorded in our cover story, the creative push and pull between the couple plays a starring role. Both are millennials who’re quite unlike millennials: they’re reflective and measured, aren’t overly fond of social media and admit to thinking like people beyond their age. But, as the photos show, they’re as much fun as any young person can be.
If their movie, Last Film Show, is poignant and sometimes heart-wrenching, their romance is what mainstream Bollywood movies are made of.
I’m most impressed, however, by the empathy shown by Dheer and Dar in using Chhello Show to highlight how big dreams belong to all, irrespective of backgrounds. The ability to make these big dreams come true should be a right for all to exercise.
Also in this issue: Two fanatic fanboys argue whether The Rings of Power or House of the Dragon holds stronger ground. Millennial entrepreneur Ahilya Mehta launches her new fortnightly column on issues young women face. And our travel pages take you to Turkey, through the volcanic rocks of Cappadocia to the modern new capital city, Ankara. Enjoy!
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From HT Brunch, November 5, 2022
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