A Conversation with: Jatla Siddartha
Abuse of power, a spark of hope and love - Why Jatla Siddartha is a director you should keep an eye on and why his films are so relevant.
(c) Jatla Siddartha
After seeing multiple films at the 74th Berlinale Film Festival, there was one that stuck out to me. In The Belly Of A Tiger tells a heart-wrenching story about the exploitation of power and devotion to one’s loved ones.
Jatla Siddartha, the director of the film, agreed to talk to me a little about his young adulthood, his views on the world, and most importantly, his film.
Cosima (Bohema): Thank you so much for joining me today! Can you please introduce yourself to our readers?
Jatla Siddartha /// (c) Berlinale Forum
Jatla: Yes, I am Jatla Siddartha. I am an independent filmmaker from India. I belong to the second generation of filmmakers in my family. I always had this feeling of wanting to narrate the stories. I always wanted to be a filmmaker. But only because of my mom, who told me not to be a director first, because my dad was not very successful. It was like a beautiful disaster. She was the one who asked to me take cinematography. But then eventually I disappointed my mom and became a director – and here I am! In the belly of a tiger is my second film. My first film was called Love and Shukla and it premiered in Busan. (…)
C: Let’s start from the beginning: You were born and raised in India, as the son of a director and of an actress. What impact did your family have on your life and to the way you approach films in your adulthood? Is there a correlation between your parent’s work ethics and your own?
J: I would definitely put my entry to filmmaking to my dad because, at a very young age, my dad was taking me to film clubs. I was watching very serious films at the age of six. I hated all the films he took me to because I am a very normal Indian kid, who watched all the dance numbers, that the audience knows. I was more fascinated by those films, and he would take me to all these serious films, which I was extremely bored of. But if you think about it, a six-year-old, who is going to these clubs, meeting other struggling independent filmmakers, watching films on the small screen in a closed room, coming out and having these passions…there will be an influence. Also, my dad was continuously encouraging me to write poetry. I used to write some terrible poetry as a kid. My dad saved all the poetry I wrote until now, so when I look back, I think, what terrible poetry that was. But in the third grade, I watched Jurassic Park, where I saw these dinosaurs on a big screen, and I was fascinated. Then I declared in my poetry to my parents, that I wanted to become Steven Spielberg. (…) Most of the time, the son always criticizes the father when growing up. By the time he reaches a certain age he realizes he’s exactly like his father. Your father is a hero at a young age. Then as a teenager, he is the worst and then once you grow old, he is a hero again. (…)
C: You are a cinematography graduate of the Film and Television Institute of India. When did you realize that that was the career you wanted to go into and was there ever consideration of other career paths? Maybe even within the film industry?
J: When I was around 15 years old. I always wanted to make a film, but my mom asked me to be a cinematographer and I was first doing still photography. I was always looking at, who were the cinematographers, who became directors. There was always this one director from China, Zhang Yimou, and he started directing films. His films really blew my mind. After Steven Spielberg, he was the one who inspired me a lot, because since he was a cinematography student, he had a very good visual sense. He opened a gateway to my world. He was one of the people who made me go from cinematography into direction.
C: Many readers of Bohema are film students or work within the industry. What is your main takeaway from film school?
J: My film school was technically three years, but I ended up staying for almost five and a half years. There are multiple problems because sometimes the staff doesn’t cooperate with the students and sometimes the film school students are also lazy. So, the course ends up being five and a half years, instead of three. So, my perception of film school is a little different. I believe film school is very good because similar thinking people are in one place. You will never find that in your life again. Except maybe when you go on a film shoot. But for a period of time, similar thinking people are all staying under one roof. The most beautiful part is, that India is such a vast country, and somebody from south India and somebody from north-east India, we are not even familiar with their culture because it is such a huge land. Different cultures – it’s wonderful and beautiful. But five years also takes a toll mentally, because you get tired. But in hindsight now, I do sometimes miss my film school days. You could make mistakes, and nobody cared. They encourage you to make mistakes. But when you get into the professional world, you can’t afford to make mistakes. Everything is related to money. A producer is putting down money on your behalf. (…) Also, film school is important because you need to know the rules, to break the rules.
C: Now let’s talk about some of your films. You have directed films such as In The Belly Of A Tiger or Love and Shukla. Which projects of yours stands out to you personally?
J: That’s a hard question. I have always put some part of me in every film. I think In the belly of a tiger is the film I would say is more personal to me. A large part of me and my take on society and ideology or empathy is more in that film. My heart is there in that film. My feelings were told by the character of the son. It is me who was speaking in that film. There is a scene in that film, where the father keeps giving the chocolates. That was actually done by my father to me. So, a lot of my personal life is there in that film. (…)
C: The film premiered at the 74th Berlinale festival and has been receiving incredible reviews. Can you tell us a little about this film? What is it about?
J: It is about an elderly couple. On one single night, they have to figure out who among them will go into the forest to get killed by the tiger, so that the family can claim government compensation to survive. But when the husband decides to go into the forest, the woman asks him not to end his life. They recall their forty years together and their memories.
(c) Jatla Siddartha
C: How did this project find its beginning?
J: Basically, I screened my first film and I used to always win the audience choice award or something like that, but never the main award. And I figured out why: A lot of films that used to win the main prize would deal with social causes or society. So, I was looking for a certain thing, and then on Facebook I found an article about younger people sending their parents into a forest to get killed by a tiger so that they can claim government compensation. I was like, my god, can this really happen? Who can send their parents into a forest? So, I quickly packed my bags and went to this forest and found out the truth. I should say, that the news article was a little fabricated. And in my research and my stay over there for a couple of years now, I don’t think that’s the truth. But I did find out about other problems in the village. Poverty was a major problem, and it was the main reason for alcoholism. And lack of education, which leads to poverty. So, when I decided to make this film, I knew for sure, there will be this older couple in the forest waiting for a tiger. (…) I was very sure of my last thirty minutes, how the husband and wife will be sitting and waiting for the tiger. But I wasn’t sure about what will actually lead them there. So, the last thirty minutes were there. But what about the other sixty minutes? That only came through my multiple visits and stays in the village. (…)
C: This film is a collaboration between many different countries. How did the collaboration between all these different countries come together? Was it hard to find people, who understood your vision for this project?
J: My first film was highly successful on Netflix. So the US Producer contacted me on Instagram or Facebook, saying that they wanted to be part of my next film. So that’s how the US producer came on board. The Chinese producer saw my first film at Shanghai Film Festival and she’s been a news journalist for nearly ten years, and she interviewed me, just like you are right now. She said if I had something new coming up, to let her know. That’s how China came on board. After that, she introduced me to the Taiwanese producer, and he read the script and liked it. When I was in film school, I was part of a student exchange program in Busan, South Korea. That’s where I met the Indonesian producer. And the other Indian producer knew me and my first film and got in touch with me also over Facebook. I think in today’s time, it’s all about Instagram and Facebook. That’s how they all came on board. So yes, it was a tough project to coordinate with these many countries, because these are five different cultures coming together. What might be funny to me, might not be funny to another country. To handle the different egos is not so easy. I personally think that film direction is nothing but handling egos.
C: The cast features powerful women and vulnerable men, that have to navigate hard topics such as miscarriages and poverty. How greatly did the cast impact the outcome of this project?
J: The main couple, so the son and the elderly couple, I made them stay with me for six to eight months. They stayed with me in the village, they have seen the village, they lived with them. The elderly couple were also theatre artists. When you take theatre artists, they come with certain nuances of acting. You need to finetune them for cinematical acting. So, for six to eight months I kept them with me, showed them films daily, and of course I showed them Zhang Yimos films. He has done lots of films with villagers, so I showed them what kind of cinema I liked. So, by the time the six months were over, they understood exactly what I wanted. Sometimes actors come up with beautiful ideas. For example, there is a scene where the son is going to the factory and is followed by his two daughters. One of the daughters asks him to become an elephant. Initially in the script, it was just for him to act like an elephant. Then the actor said: What if I take off my shirt and make it into a trunk? What a fantastic idea. (…) Actually, the lady who had the miscarriage is a Vogue model. She is huge in India. I took her to the village and made her stay at the factory and make bricks, so she understands the nuances of how to make bricks. But when you see the film, nobody will see that she is a Vogue model. You feel that she is actually a villager.
(c) Jatla Siddartha
C: The film also heavily criticizes capitalism and the Indian government. Why did you feel the world needed this film and especially this message right now?
J: I don’t personally think that I have criticized the Indian government. I think we have no right to criticize any government because every government has its own agenda. You will never hear anyone say: Oh, that government is good. People are never happy with any government. But what I definitely made a strong statement on is, that I understood that the powerful will always exploit the powerless. And that is what is happening in Gaza. It’s the same thing happening in the Ukraine. Here in my film, the powerful was the brick factory manager, who was exploiting those villagers, who have no other option than taking on the poorly paid job. I think we as humans are getting less and less compassionate with each other. (…) I think that is something global right now. That’s why I think this film is more important than ever.
C: Your stance on this topic has received mixed reactions. From what I’ve been gathering, western journalists take greater pleasure in this film whereas Indian journalists seem to be more critical. They seem to disagree with the message this film is spreading. If you feel comfortable sharing, what do you believe is the main reason for their backlash and how do you believe can film impact the world’s views on politics and vice versa?
J: One thing I have really understood is that when you make a film or make a statement you can never satisfy every person. People are never happy with each other. These people are not able to understand it in a certain way because they have this preconceived notion of how Indian poverty should be seen. (…) Latest films like Monkey Man or Slumdog Millionaire, they all have glimpses of what poverty is being portrayed as. People, Europeans, see how my villagers have bright colors or beautiful eyeliner, which is the actual truth in Indian villages. But people think that it would be very dirty, the people would be very shabby, not so clean. This is a common perception. I understand why white people think like that, but people from my own country have the same notion about poverty. I have made it a point, not to show that in my film. I wanted to show the real spirit of Indian villagers, which I have personally seen. (…) The son’s daughter, the granddaughter, who is full of life, hope and dreams. She has these floral designs because that is her spirit. Which is why when such a beautifully dressed girl, finally goes to work to earn some money and bring the chocolate back to the father, it is heartbreaking. Costumes play a big subconscious role to the viewer, which is why I wanted to incorporate it into my film. It is more impactful to have bright colors, than already grey and dirty colors. (…) I see the criticism and the articles, but I just leave it because then don’t know what villagers look like and second, I just let them do what they want to do- and that’s it.
C: To round this interview out, what are you currently working on?
J: I am a huge believer in love stories! My first film was also a love story. My second film is also a love story, at the end of the day. I know, my third film will also be a love story. We are trying to make the film in two countries. (…)
C: That sounds amazing. Once again, I would like to highly recommend everyone to watch In The Belly Of A Tiger. Thank you so much for joining me today and I can’t wait to hear what the future has in store for you!