Mumbai’s King: A Q&A with Manjeet Singh
09.10.2012 - Manjeet Singh's debut feature Mumbai's
King is a highly lyrical and observational slice of
realism that follows a young boy contending with his long-suffering
mother and violent father as he grows up in a Mumbai slum. Before
the film premieres in ADFF's New Horizons Competition, Singh took
the time to answer some of our questions.

Mumbai's King is your first feature film. Has this been
a story that you wanted to tell for a long time? Does it include
any biographical elements?
I had the story idea in mind for the past four years. It was a
desire to share my childhood memories through this film and also to
capture the audio-visual spectacle of the Ganesh Festival, which is
the identity of the city. Perhaps this is the first film that
captures the essence of the festival and its importance in the
lives of Mumbaikars (Mumbai's citizens).
I couldn't film the Ganesh festival in the last two years, and
this year, I made it a point to shoot the film whatever be the
case. I wanted to share my childhood nostalgia through the
characters of the film, borrowing from the real life experiences of
the child actors and including real incidents from the
neighbourhood where we shot the film.
Can you tell us how the title Mumbai's King came
about?
During the Ganesh Festival, huge Idols are installed
throughout Mumbai. The most famous idol Lal Baug Cha Raja
is in an area called Lal Baug. Similarly, we have Andheri Cha
Raja. Lord Ganesh is the Raja (King) of Mumbai during
the festival, so we decided to use the title.
How did you work with the two young actors in this
film?
I was so charmed by Arbaaz. He sells balloons near my house. The
first interaction we had was a long one. He narrated his story
along with his family's problems. I became fond of him. I included
him as a character in the script. Rahul, the protagonist, was
picked up from a pool of eight kids we got from the neighbourhood.
During the acting workshop we tried to understand their challenges
in life. Rahul had a problem of domestic violence, which was very
similar to the protagonist's problems in the script. Luckily he
turned out to be an amazing actor.
Slumdog Millionaire has carved an image in people's mind
regarding life in Mumbai's slums. Your sharp, neorealist film
has a very different approach toward its subjects. What impact do
you aim to make with your film on audiences who may have certain
preconceptions or prejudices regarding life in the
slums?
Slumdog is a well-made film, which represents an
outsider's point of view regarding life in Mumbai's slums. I was
working on a script based on the lives of kids who sing in the
trains of Mumbai. It's a coming of age musical film, with a
mind-blowing score composed by Mathias Duplessy, who also did
the music for my film. We started the film but it got stuck,
because the producer ran into trouble. This was way before
Slumdog came out. This script in a way exposed me to the
lives of these kids who enjoy life to the fullest in spite of the
problems they have in life. There was an urge to capture their high
spirit and show it in the right light, using real life kids and
their own stories without the manipulations of the market. If you
visit the slums, you will not find villains popping the eyes off
the kids, but you will definitely find boys chasing girls. The film
is in no way a reaction to Slumdog but it is a very
different film.
What challenges did you face when making this
film?
I tried pitching my stories to producers, script development
workshops, co-production markets and global funding program. I
tried almost every existing avenue but got rejected. I then
realised that people can't figure out words on paper so I decided
not to waste time and started the shoot with the equipment, cast
and crew I could gather at the time of the Ganesh festival. We made
it to the Work in Progress Lab at the Film Bazaar. The film was
shown to top festival directors and sales agents. Luckily it also
won the award in the section, which had other films such as
Miss Lovely and Ship of Theseus.
The festival circuit is a difficult proposition if you are a
filmmaker from India. I was warned of a strong bias against the
Indian filmmakers by internationally experienced mentors at the
Film Bazaar, but did not believe it existed. It is sad that major
festivals have just one slot for films from South Asia. Sometimes
it's from India, sometimes not. Some festival directors think they
know all about Indian Cinema. They have written books on perhaps
the most reputed Indian filmmaker, but have a very superficial feel
of Indian Cinema and end up selecting films funded by Bollywood. I
have dear friends who are in senior positions in these festivals
and have conveyed their helplessness. Hopefully the perception will
change soon.
Thanks to the Toronto International Film Festival, the film got
a great international platform, but I am still facing problems
raising funds and getting respect from Industry.
How do you see the situation of Independent Indian
cinema today?
Thanks to the advancement in digital technology, it has become
relatively easier to make a film. Filmmakers who believe in
themselves and are not concerned about not having a big name
attached to their project are going ahead. These films need to be
discovered; but unfortunately the media are not able to recognize
the level of skills required to make such films. The films made
with Bollywood studios, which are little bit different from regular
Bollywood films are projected as independent films by media,
because they have not really tried to explore what the real
independent cinema from India is. I call these films as
Bollywood Indies who get all the praise from media, get
into festivals, get easily released in India and abroad without
really pushing the boundaries of cinema while more edgier,
independent films get ignored. A non-existing Bollywood benchmark
is the saviour of such films.
The Indian cinema thus has three different zones: Bollywood,
Bollywood-Indies, and emerging Independent films. While the
Bollywood funded films find traditional distribution, there is no
exhibition space for independent films. That's something filmmakers
are fighting for as we celebrate 100 years of Indian Cinema.
What films have inspired you the most?
I want to tell stories, which are ignored and represent the
struggle for basic human values in our country. I can relate to the
films from South America, the Middle East and Far East Asia to a
large extend, as the conflicts are similar. They are visually rich;
and they present existing conflicts that are far more
thought-provoking than those in the First World countries.
Özge Calafato