Jai Tank and Swara Bhaskar should make a mark with Madholal Keep Walking
She can dance. She can act. Yet Swara Bhaskar, lead actress of the just released Madholal Keep Walking remains down to earth, the quintessential girl next door.
Madholal Keep Walking is a realistic and empathetic look at the lives of the aam aadmi, the blue collar workers of Mumbai. It is the story of Madholal, a security guard in a private firm, who suffers a major trauma but has to keep ‘walking’ or moving on.
“Through the tragedy that strikes Madholal and his consequent trauma, this non-starry, independent film tries to map the lives of a certain class of people who have no access to treatment or even basic understanding of psychological terms like post-trauma stress disorder. Yet, with their undying spirit, they are able to overcome it,” says Swara.
Though the film has been directed by another debutante, Jai Tank, it has already been doing the rounds of festivals in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Atlanta, USA, Canada and Dhaka. Madholal... was nominated for the categories of best film, director and producer at the Singapore Asian festival of first films and bagged the best actor award at the Cairo International Film Festival in 2009. At home, it has been screened at the Osian Cinefan festival, Third Eye Asian Film Festival and Global Cinema Festival at Delhi, Mumbai, Pune and Indore respectively.
Tank says, “Swara has been fabulous in the film. Her character is not glamorous; she has to look like a common man’s daughter. Coming as she does from Delhi, I was apprehensive that she might be a mismatch. But she went the extra mile and learnt the nuances by observing people in the chawls.”
“Local trains form the lifeline of this film that captures the disappearing landscapes of Mumbai,” says the 25-year old Bhaskar. She goes on to add that there were no sets for the film. It was shot at stations during peak hours amid hectic crowds, and at a wooden chawl with eight rooms on a floor which was demolished later.
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“I play a young, college-going girl, carefree and confident. She falls in love with her Muslim neighbour but once tragedy strikes the family, she has to step into her father’s shoes,” she says, the excitement in her voice is impossible to miss.
This Delhi girl majored in Sociology from Jawaharlal Nehru University. Here, she also tried her hands at the development sector, working with a number of NGOs, and learnt Bharatnatyam under Padmashree Leela Samson. It was during her JNU days that she also started doing theatre with the Indian People’s Theatre Association and veteran NK Sharma’s Act One Theatre.
In 2008, Swara moved to Mumbai to become an actress. “My parents were taken aback by my decision, but they have been extremely patient and generous,” says Swara. Cinema runs in her blood though: her mother Ira Bhaskar is professor of Cinema Studies in JNU and co-author of Islamicate Cultures of Bombay Cinema.
This is Swara’s first release but her first film was Niyati by Pravish Bharadwaj which will release in November . Based on the practice of groom-capturing in Bihar, Niyati has been produced by Phat Phish Motion Pictures, producers of the spoofy Quick Gun Murugun
Swara’s next film is a commercial venture, Anand Pai’s Tanu Weds Manu co-starring Kangna Ranaut, Madhavan and TV actor Eijaz Khan.“I want to do all kinds of roles, from running around trees, dancing on the roads to character-driven meaty roles, like Madhuri Dixit and Rani Mukherjee.”
