A childhood dream comes true
ANUP KUMAR on Param Sivan’s soon-to-be-released debut film
Sitting under the jamun tree at Bhawani Dayal High School in Fiji, a young Param Sivan told his friends of a long-cherished dream.
“I want to make films,” the Bollywood-crazy lad declared. “With my own songs in them”.
They had just been watching the school’s annual 7-a-side soccer tournament, and he had hummed a song that had had them all stumped.
“Which new song is this?” they asked. “Who is the singer?”
“It’s my own song,” he told them shyly. He pulled out a cassette, and played it on the single 10-watt, static-filled speaker on his mate’s Datsun 140J.
His friends listened to it with awe, and much back–patting followed when it ended. The moment marked the first review of an artist whose potential was yet to be seen.
Today, some 15 years on, he can tell those very same friends, that he has realised his dream. But they probably already know.
Param Sivan’s debut film as writer-producer-director will hit cinema screens shortly. Made in Mumbai, it is a love story titled Tum Jo Mile.
It is a remarkable version of a true Indian plot, with heart-sinking drama and triumph.Yes it’s your typical rich-girl-meets-poor-boy tale, but in this love story, there is no family objection. Instead, there’s something else that keeps the young lovers apart…..
Param went to Mumbai in 2010 armed only with his script – which he wrote five years ago after attending a script-writing course at Sydney Uni -and some pretty big dreams.
Well, Mumbai is known to be the city that makes your dreams come true!
“My first stroke of luck came when I was told Mithun Chakraborty’s nephew Daebu Banerji is looking for a film to star in,” Param revealed on Indian Link Radio. “And I thought yeah, right, like he would want to act in my film! But we met – and clicked. I told him the plot. He made contact again shortly, asking if he could read the script…”
Param revealed that he enjoyed working with his ‘star’ who bears an uncanny resemblance to his illustrious uncle. “His is a wonderful performance – he’s one to watch out for in coming years, I can tell you! He has no airs, I was surprised to find. He revealed to me much later that one of the reasons he took on my project was that we had related so well to each other”.
But finding his leading lady was not so easy.
“We auditioned many actresses for the role of Kajol – yes that’s our heroine’s name! – but none seemed to fit the bill. I was beginning to get somewhat dejected, when I set eyes upon Nivedita Tiwari. She was exactly what I had in mind when I wrote her role. Who’s this girl, I asked my production team. They replied she was there auditioning for some other role. But by then I had made up my mind. I found out only later that she is already an established TV star (from ZEE’s Bhagowali)”.
But the greatest asset the film has over any other movie credited to a Fijian, are in the songs of the movie. Param is a superb writer when it comes to lyrics and he even wrote two songs for the movie, which are hip and well balanced to keep the momentum uncluttered and smooth.
Before this of course, much attention had already gone into the music. A die-hard Bollywood fan, Param knows well that the music can play a major role in the success of a film. So he included the full range – there’s a prayer song, dance song, a ‘judai’ type of song, even the quintessential Punjabi number. (An item number, a la Malaika Arora Khan? We’ll just have to wait and see!) The title tracks Tum Jo Mile (sung by Javed Ali), Mila de Rubba (Roop Kumar Rathod) are truly hummable. Param has been involved with lyrics as well as music, having come a long way since that hot summer afternoon on the sidelines of the soccer field. (Incidentally that particular number itself had made history: his classmates convinced Param that it was worthy of airplay on Fiji’s Navtarang radio. They took it in and convinced celebrity RJ Anirudh Divakar to have a listen. They had barely hit the road when the song was played, and the eruption that followed was like winning a Grammy Award. The tiny Clarion speakers playing the song on maximum volume were drowned in the cheers from classmates, all crammed into a derelict vehicle carrying a future producer, director and writer).
Given the barrage of movies being made in Bollywood one may ask why Tum Jo Mile is considered unique. Simply because Param has tried his had at movie-making as a hobby only. He is a technologist by profession in Australia, and the movie was made primarily through his savings and loans. Param’s commitment to fulfill his vision with limited resources through creating a movie that stands on par with any Bollywood production, is a success story in itself.
Yet, the multi-talented lad from Makoi, Nasinu, Fiji will not sit back. His next project will be a shift to a grassroots Fijian comedy on the frequently heard phase, Chatayee Kahan Bichaoo (Where to lay the mat). And he is also working on a script for Siria Jahaj – entailing the story of the Girmit era. Param is planning to open doors for local talent in his future projects.
Param is also motivated to holding charity performances of his film for orphanages in Fiji. “This is my way of thanking the Almighty for the guidance in seeing my projects through,” he says with conviction.
He is also keen to assist in any way to promote talent and share knowledge, so that more interest is generated towards film and music composing by people of his ilk. (He has retained a touch of Fijian flare in the movie, with inclusion of names like CWM and Dudley College).
Tum Jo Mile screens at Event Cinemas, WestPoint Liverpool on March 26 at 6:30pm; and Hoyts Cinemas, WestPoint Blacktown on April 2, at 6:30pm. For further details, contact Infoline on 0406 955 069
