The taste of success

It takes a lion’s heart to accept defeat…and it takes the film, ‘Blue Mountains’ to define true success

There are millions of youngsters in India, and everyone aspires to reach the pinnacle of success. They have dreams in their eyes and courage in heart; however, in the rat race for success they forget that participation is more important than winning.

It takes a lion’s heart to accept defeat and learn from the mistakes to be triumphant again. However, there are parents, who believe that their children will become successful in whatever field they aspire for and in turn put pressure on the kids. They fail to realise that not everyone can reach the top.

This is all the more evident in various reality shows on television where youngsters pan-India participate but only one is the winner; and this is the soul of independent filmmaker Suman Ganguli’s upcoming feature film, ‘Blue Mountains’.

The film was screened for the first time to a full house at the recently concluded 19th International Children’s Film Festival in Hyderabad. And during the premiere show the film established an immediate emotional connect with the children and parents alike. One saw tears roll down many a cheek.

Pictured in the scenic town of Himachal Pradesh, the story revolves around a hill-town boy Som, who gets selected in a television talent hunt. Unknowingly, Som is pushed into the vortex of “making of a celebrity singer” like his mother by everyone. But Som’s conquest of stardom ends faster than it had begun. He returns to his hometown unceremoniously in the darkness of failure. Once a dreamer of the Blue Mountains, Som sinks in the abyss of lowest self-esteem.

“Just like the changing colours of the Blue Mountains through the changing seasons, the film explores changing human emotions and journeys beyond mere winning or losing in life,” says Suman.

Yatharth of ‘Sa Re Ga Ma - Little Star’s fame essayed the character of Som. Gracy Singh plays the role of Som’s mother – a classical singer from yesteryears and Ranvir Shorey is seen in the role of Som’s father.

The debut director says he got the idea to make a film after watching a reality show. “One day I was watching a singing reality competition for kids and in the semi-finals one of the potential winners got eliminated. That made me wonder what happens after losing a competition. Parents and teachers stress on winning, but they forget that participation is much more important than winning,” Suman shares.

The director of the 134-minute long feature says he is confident that the film will do well as the response, which he got at the film festival was amazing.

“Frankly, we did not expect this kind of response. After the screening many children, parents and teachers came to me and lauded for my effort. This gave the whole crew a boost. Getting accolades from kids is more than winning the award. They came running to me and took autographs from me, I can say that was the best day of my life,” an elated Suman shares.

The film is all set to release in April 2016.

By:Navin Pivhal