I was Invited to give a lecture to some Business Management students at Acharya B school. It was definitely a fun activity and enriching experience to actually visit a college and interact with the students. Myself being practically uneducated this was definitely something unusual.

We spoke about Entertainment as an Industry and managing people, assets and emotions while making a film. The questions were quite forthcoming and I think we managed the talk pretty well. Maybe Next time I can record the talk for further reference.

-Swaroop Kanchi

Below is an online version of the same for easier reading purposes.

Publication: The Times Of India

Date: May 30 2010

Section: Bangalore

‘Change is inevitable’

And that, says film-maker Swaroop Kanchi, is what his next film, Bengaloored, is all about

VIVEK KURUVILLA THOMAS

There is a thin line dividing separation and isolation, and very often, we fluctuate between them. Swaroop Kanchi’s latest directorial venture, Bengaloored, focuses on the growing feeling of disconnect that Babruvahana, the protagonist of the movie, experiences when he returns to Bangalore after being away from the city for 10 years. Written, co-produced, directed and edited by Swaroop, the movie documents a young man’s journey from sheer bewilderment at Bangalore’s transformation to a joyous rediscovery of his love, life and friends.

Babruvahana’s story is quite similar to that of Swaroop, who spent his childhood in Malleswaram, and then began globe-trotting, shooting films in LA, Mumbai and Hong Kong. So is it a biopic on his life? “No, it’s more of a commentary on the changes occurring in Bangalore. I am too young for a biopic on myself,” laughs Kanchi. Just as the main protagonist, essayed by Harish Raj of Kalaakar fame, is dazed and confused by the paradigm changes that have taken place in the time that he was away, so are a majority of Bangaloreans, feels Swaroop.

And 26-year-old Swaroop, insists that Bengaloored cannot be bracketed as a youth-oriented movie. “Anyone who has ever experienced separation in any form can relate to my movie,” he maintains. And several housewives came to speak with him after a preview in Mumbai, telling him how much they loved and identified with the characters in the movie. Although Swaroop is a regular recipient of awards and accolades (his film Hong Kong Dreaming enjoyed a successful premiere at the UK International Film Festival), he still faces hurdles in terms of financing and distribution. “I have experienced hurdles at every step, from indifference to a complete lack of support,” he says. But that hasn’t prevented this gutsy self-taught filmmaker from aiming for a nation-wide release for Bengaloored.

Waiting for the sun. The last few months have been a long tedious exercise in patience. Loving & hating a lot of the experiences..but mostly choiceless I’m choosing to be silent.

Lost and seeking. This is the crux of the story of Bengaloored. Writer Babruvahana feels lost in his own city once he returns after 10 years. He’s on the verge of completing his book about a man who loses everything. But unknown to him, he’s being affected by the city & her dwellers in a very subtle way. He tries to make a life worth living in the city but life itself has other plans & orchestrates such havoc that he himself never imagined.

The film is written, directed, edited and Co-Produced by Swaroop Kanchi. It stars Harish Raj & Meghana, Music composition by Vasu Dixit.

The Feature Film is in English and the running time is 1 hour 45 minutes.

Listen to the Music here.

A student of Design and advertising, he taught himself to make films, starting at the age of 16, with a few small low budget films called “The End” and “Deja vu”, which were highly appreciated and got him instant recognition for his creative approach towards making Film & sheer rawness of his cinematic style, soon after he made a film to garner AIDS awareness for Peace child International, the film “Something Taboo” dealt with misconceptions about sexually transmitted diseases and myths about HIV. It was Kanchi’s first attempt at socially relevant and Issue based films.

Still hungry and wanting to make bigger features, he attempted to make ”Black Sugar”, an english film set in Bangalore, what set out as his first feature film quickly turned his life upside down taking over 2 years to make and was a catastrophic adventure in itself but not in vain as the film Premiered at the New York Film Festival. Kanchi then moved to Los Angeles & went on to working on more films, he worked with talent from the Hollywood industry on Indie films like “Sleeping with the enemy’s son”& followed it with “Acid” and then“Taxiwallah”, both made in LA.

Having worked in Hollywood wanting to work on Indian stories with Indian Actors he came back to India working from Mumbai, he worked on films promoting healthcare, Aids awareness and education for street children with a film for Akanksha and also collaborated on a film with America based Dreamworks executive to make a film on the similarities and difference with Bollywood & Hollywood before setting to make a Documentary on Kumbha Mela, the biggest spiritual congregation in the world, the film was a huge success both personally and as a film maker.

In 2007 ”Hong Kong Dreaming” happened. An english feature film shot in Hong Kong & made with Hong Kong based actors of different nationalities. His biggest film so far the film was a great success premiering at the UK international Film Festival and is set for an International release, it was also a great experiment working with Indian & Chinese talent, with a multi-cultural cast & crew.

In 2008 he Collaborated on “Supraman & the school of Necessity” with UK based film makers, the film’s cast picked up from real slums in Bangalore and starring a young talented child from an orphanage, the film went on to win international acclaim and was applauded by many helping bring awareness to the cause of every child’s right to education.

He often handles the cinematography and writes his scripts himself. He’s known to experiment & improvise while making films and is known to cast unknown actors and fresh talent every-time & etches complex characters who deep down struggle to make life worth living.

Kanchi is now developing a film on The Buddha, set to be a big budget film to be shot mostly in India & south East Asia & right now ready for the ALL INDIA Theatrical release of his latest Independent Indian English film called “Bengaloored”.

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For any further queries you can write in @

tapasfilms at gmail dot com

Synopsis:

Kalpa in sanskrit is one aeon. Several million years make one Kalpa, Several kalpas make one mahakalpa. From the beginning of creation till destruction or Pralaya is one Maha Kalpa. It is said that existence is goes through innumerable Mahakalpas. Continously creating and destroying several million universe of universes. This is the dance of the cosmos, TANDAVA. This constant flux of creation and destruction, over and over and over again.

But who experiences this dance. There needs to be an entity. This dance Project is an experiment trying to express life through the eyes of the being in whom the ego is born. From pristine pure stillness Desire is born. Desire for the world. Differentiation arises. Maya or ignorance takes hold. The dance follows the story from the birth of the ego till it’s cessation back into the being, The natural state.

Kalpa means Aeon, but it also means order.

Vikalpa means conception-the birth of the ego

kalpana means imagination or illusion

savikalpa means experiencing the concept in it’s purity

Nirvikalpa means going beyond mind, ego and all conceptions

Thus is the journey.