Making sense of madness

Amarjot Kaur

Often, in the capacity of a filmmaker, who takes a rather serious spin on hard-hitting issues through his work, the most challenging task at hand is that of influencing and convincing masses, more than just getting the message across. Maybe because sometimes, preaching is less effective than persuasion! In his attempts at making films that unravel the seriousness of various social issues, Jim Sanjay, who is originally from Chandigarh and is currently based in Chennai, aims at counselling people through his films, thereby expecting to bring a change in the mindset of people and society through his artistic endeavours. Jim, 49, moved to Chennai because of his business and is now retired, shares that he has resorted to filmmaking so that he can create at least some impact on society.

“I wanted to make films not just because I love writing, but also because I do not want to die thinking that I did not do much for society, to bring at least some change in the mindset of people,” he says. Jim, who has been making and producing films for over seven years now, started with producing Vedah, a telefilm that revolves around the parent-children relationship. He later went on to produce and write Anbirkku Alavilla, a feature film that featured Johnny Lever in the lead role. “Well, the film was about the husband-wife relationship and I also made a film on Tibetan refugees titled Dolma,” he says.

Talking about his recent work, a 23-minute short film titled Kamlaa, Jim Sanjay shares that he was inspired by a real story of a minor girl in North India, who was raped and impregnated by her doctor. “The family of the girl got permission from the Supreme Court to get the 25-week foetus aborted. That’s when I decided to make a film with a different ending; one in which neither the mother nor the unborn child die,” says Jim. The film is the story of a young girl Kamlaa, a domestic help, who, after being raped by her employer, becomes pregnant. She is forced to face a dilemma of choosing between a life of shame and the stigma of killing the unborn. “Most of the time, women who are raped either commit suicide or kill their child, succumbing to the pressures of society. In this film, the girl takes a different decision,” says Jim. He is also in the process of making a film about prostitutes titled Yahi Woh Pyaar Hai. “I am still shooting for the film and have about five more days of the shoot left. It is a film about the emotional suffering of the prostitutes. This one is a story about a woman, who is a sex worker and how a series of events affect her life,” Jim signs off.