Live your Dream

Is it easy?

You ever had a dream which you gave up for a living?

Can you still make it?

I remember a show which i watched with Anupam Kher as host.He was actually mingling with the common man on the street searching for their lost dreams and looking for ways to inspire them to relive it.I dont remember the name of the show,think it was mr gold or something.

Somehow I used to watch that show regularly.I always loved reading success stories of people , their struggling day incidents and how they eventually made it.Nagesh Kukkonoor wrote an article on this,the way he was self motivated to leave his BIG job in US,come back to india and struggle to make hydrebad blues.

I wrote the first draft of passenger in 2003.I never thought of directing it myself.The script was rejected by almost all leading film makers here as it was too risky to make it.I realised if I wanted to see passenger on screen i would need to direct it myself.

I wrote for television before.But that was more of a writers medium.I could do whatever  i wanted within the limitations of a budget.Movie was totally different.It was and it had to be a directors medium.

I had realised that making passenger was the most important part of my life at that point of time.There seemed no point in living without making it or atleast be in the pursuit of making it.

I decided to learn direction to make passenger.I spend the past 3 years visiting movie sets and watch other directors work using some of the contacts I had.It was tough days but what kept me going was the excitement of seeing passenger on screen some day.

I felt confident that I was ready to direct in 2007.I approached all the leading producers with the passenger script.Again no one was ready to make it, as it was a huge risk.

So I had a script I believed in, but no producers, distributors, actors..  absolutely me alone. I knew I had to make a start somewhere. I remember it was during one of those sleepless nights I realised I could produce passenger myself.

Well I was not a multimillionaire to do it, but I could very well raise the amount from banks against my salary and against couple of properties I had bought by then. The best part was that my family supported me completely in it. They must have realised how important it was for me.

I met sreenivasan with the script to play the role of Sathyanathan. I told him I will produce and direct the movie. He heard the script and said it was excellent. I asked him whether he would act as Sathyan. He smiled and said that he will not only act in this movie but will stand by me to make it. We parted after a chat for an hour.

It was busy next day for me, approaching banks for loans. Canara bank offered me 10 lakhs. It was not enough. I was driving to HDFC that I got a call from Sreenivasan. He asked whether I was particular that I produce passenger. He said it would be difficult for me to focus writing, directing and producing a first movie. He offered to arrange me a producer. I was pleasantly surprised. I was not alone anymore.

Rest was easy. The best part was that evryone who joined us in the project loved and believed in passenger as much or more than I did. We got each and every actor whom we wanted to every particular role. It was dream casting. You cant actually plan it. Its luck. It happens for some movies which are destined to have it.

Passenger was one such movie. Today its 25 days after passenger release. Its projected as the movie which could change malayalan cinema. Or atleast a beginning to it.

Dream on guys.

All what you need is the will to follow it relentlessly, passionately.

Nothing can stop you from getting there.

Live your dream!