Tune of success

Mona

Composer Jerry Silvester Vincent gave India another Oscar hope at the 90th Academy awards; and this Rahman’s protégée is humility personified! Ask him if that was too much pressure and he says, “I try not to think too much about it.” 

The music of Lake of Fire, given by Qutub-E-Kripa, which Jerry is part of, was shortlisted under the best song category in 2018 Oscars. In Chandigarh, on Wednesday, Jerry, who has given score for Asmad, was happy to join the team for its premiere. 

This short film was one long journey over Skype —narration of the story and Jerry was on board immediately for composing music. Interestingly, the film has been produced and directed by a motley crowd of beginners from Chandigarh. 

Big challenge

The biggest challenge in this one was not to go overboard. “When I sat to compose the music, I had to ensure more is less! I wanted my music to enhance, not overshadow the scenes that has strong elements of nature,” shares Jerry. The film, which explores the journey of a teenage boy, who battles some guilt, has eight tracks and a song that Jerry insists happened ‘organically’. 

First note

Having started his career in Hindi film industry with AR Rahman in Rockstar, he insists that working with a legend opens up a brave new world for you. “He exposes you to the best in music and sure expects high standards from you. The journey has been terrific.” Next in his kitty is Unmatched — another Hindi film. Expect the best!

Young guns

Asmad that means ‘me’ is about the journey of the self. What’s more, director Prabhjit Dhamija and associate director Abhishek Garg learnt on the go. “Almost 90 per cent of the crew makes a debut with Asmad,” says Prabhjit. It was a small village near Palampur that led to the story, penned by Prabhjit, and the film took shape. “It was a journey of happy coincidences; how we found the cast and Jerry came on board too.”

The 30-minute film has already made it to the Short Films Corner at Cannes; post that, the team crowd-funded to take it to the viewers. The premiere at The Government Museum and Art gallery was one such event in Chandigarh on Wednesday. “We have been travelling with the film and the way it has moved the audience to tears, makes us feel that we have done our job well.” 

The film, co-directed by Abhishek Garg, another engineer-turned-filmmaker has Anikait Malhotra and Edha Singla in the lead roles. “We started in 2014 and it is only now that we could open it up for viewing in our own city,” signs off Prabhjit, who has moved on to co-directing a feature film Kathputli in the meanwhile.

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