New Delhi: Producer and director Jainardhan Sathyan may have kicked off his career over 10 years back in India with a popular media conglomerate, but he has carved a niche for himself in the international entertainment industry, courtesy his much-appreciated films Harvey's Dream and Dying to Live, and a popular music video Dhanush's Sachin Anthem. In an exclusive interaction with News18.com, Sathyan talks about the need to be a ‘director’s producer’, his much-talked about film Harvey's Dream and existence of nepotism in Hollywood.
Harvey’s Dream, based on the Stephen King story with the same title, puts forth an emotionally enthralling narrative which revolves around an ageing couple whose story gets more tragic as the story progresses. The film which has been written by Paul H Magid, produced and directed by Sathyan, features award-winning actress Roxanne Hart, Golden Globe nominee Philip Casnoff, and comes across as a testament to his potential as both producer and director.
In the past year, the film has not only been screened at multiple festivals, but also won several nominations and bagged Judge's Choice Award and the awards for Best Lead Actress and Best Overall Short from the Women's Only Entertainment Film Festival, Best Short Film from the Chandler International Film Festival, Best Performance from the Sciuridae Film Festival and many more.
On being asked if he prefers direction or production, Sathyan replies, “I like to be a director's producer. One who understands the craft, the commerce and everything in between equally well for a director to realise his or her vision. As a producer, I am usually very good at leading a diverse team of creative talent to achieve a mission and while doing so remain strictly within budget and the timeline cast on stone. Harvey's Dream was a real test for me as the perfect project with a shoe-string budget, release date and I was both a director and a producer. Fortunately, it turned out to be a wholesome successful experience.”
Sathyan, who calls himself ‘a big fan of relationships that are built on emotions’ made a conscious decision to use short story by Stephen King for his film. “I see a growing stress across youth and old struggling to sustain their long standing relationships. Through this movie, I am trying to drive a message that 'do not wait for an event to happen to get close, give care and get close now'. Stephen King is America's best-selling author and working on a story written by him was a true honor.”
Considering the fact that he was using a story written by a reputed author for his film, he had to be extra cautious. “Getting the adaptation script right was the most important thing and the screenplay writer Paul Magid did a fabulous job. I was very particular that the cast will be a real life couple for believability and popular Hollywood star couple Roxanne Hart (Highlander) and Phil Casanoff (Sinatra) was the best thing to happen for this project. Sebastian Andrade's music helps take their performances to a greater height and Drew Ganyer's cinematography captures them all amazingly well. Finally the editing had to tell a gripping story and I guess these elements converged well for a compelling film.”
Are there any tips for Indian filmmakers that he would like to share to ensure the audience relish the contentment of seeing iconic fictional characters come to life on the big screen? “Most of the Box Office hits in the recent past including the films that become a classic or a successful franchise have been an adaptation work. Selecting the right literary work is an art itself. Filmmakers should definitely look around at the society to see what is relevant, relatable and accordingly pick up a published piece of work which has a size-able readers thumps up. Personal preferences cloud be a high risk and avoidable. Having said so, the most important tip will remain to always make a film which has a great story and is definitely entertaining.”
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