UnINDIAN, the movie, is a cross cultural romance. It's a typical scenario from stereo type Indian parents who are trying to come to terms with UnIndian behaviour; it's a battle of the heart.
UnINDIAN is a brilliant light hearted romance comedy film delighting audiences throughout Australia.
Devendra Gupta is CEO and Founder of Australia India Film Fund (AIFF) and Executive Producer of UnINDIAN.
Mr Gupta founded Australia India Film Fund in 2013 aiming to fund films that explored both Indian and Australian cultures and experiences.
“We are proud to have produced our first film in our home city and to be supporting the local film industry,” he said.
Mr Gupta is a Masters graduate in Computer Science from a prestigious institute of Technology in India. He also runs a very successful telecommunication software and services company, Paradigm One.
Anupum Sharma is director and producer UnINDIAN. Mr Sharma is an actor and director with a Masters degree in films and theatre. He has been nominated as one of the 50 most influential professionals in the Australian Film Industry. In 2013 Anupum was appointed head of the recently established Australia India Film Fund.
I spoke with Mr Sharma about the evolution of this project.
UnINDIAN was the first Film under the AIFF banner. How did the movie come about?
The Australia India Film Fund is the result of creativity in screen business, to create new opportunities in the Australian film industry. UnINDIAN is the first of many such conceptions. Dev Bhai (Devendra Gupta) entrusted the lead of AIFF in my hands, to make reality his vision of creating high quality cross cultural productions. We both liked the sound of unINDIAN and based on the fact that Brett Lee was playing the lead role we agreed that this would be the first film.
What made you want to do UnINDIAN?
The script was excellent and it truly allowed me to explore the essence of what I am all about as a person – a western body in an eastern soul'. I thank Dev Bhai for believing in me and for supporting the local film industry. I would like to also thank the huge team of 300-400 dedicated and committed crew and cast that worked tirelessly on the movie.
How have the releases been over Australia?
We've had five red carpets in all the capital cities and the reaction and turnout has been overwhelming with the who's who of movies/films in Australia as well as Australia's cricket legends; the likes of Dennis Lillee and Adam Gilchrist supporting us. We are also proud to say UnINDIAN is showing in 68 cinema's across three major exhibitors; Events, Hoyts and Village.
Do you think the movie is successful? How do you measure success?
We are all very proud of the outcome. I took a choice early on to not go for a dark, deep, intellectual film for festivals but opted for a frothy, light, comedy film .I stopped reading reviews after the guru of film critique in Australia, David Stratton liked the film. He described it as engaging in its cheerful celebration of community and an attractive display of multiculturalism.
Why Brett Lee when looking for a lead Caucasian male role?
I've worked with Brett before as a performer and Dev Bhai and I thought he'd be the best person to play the part. A quote from Alan Jones sums it up…….”the beauty about Brett is he doesn't act.” Meera's character required a strong performance played beautifully by Tannishtha Chatterjee and Will's character which was quite casual suited Brett.
What was the budget like for the movie?
It was a low-medium budget movie. We have a very solid financial structure in place. When looking at returns, Australia is only making up 5% and 95% is yet to be exploited.
Will you be releasing the film globally?
Yes. We will manage the releases in India, Fiji and New Zealand. We have engaged Yellow Affairs, an international sales agent in Sweden, to manage the movie releases in 170 other countries as well as distribution on TV, Cable, Airlines and soundtrack available on ITunes.
What's the next project you have in the pipeline?
I'm very excited about the next project coming in the next 5-6 months. It'll be something completely different, a movie with a thriller genre.
Movie goers around Sydney and Australia are in for a treat from AIFF.
