Hyderabadi filmmaker recreates reality in docu-fiction

Gateway to Heaven has already bagged two national awards- third prize in Frames Film Festival, Mumbai and special jury award in Cinevolution, Hyderabad. It will be screened at the International Indigenous Film Showcase of Venezuela”

Most of the young directors prefer mastering a single genre in film making, but the case with Anshul Sinha, 26, a city based film director is different. He always prefers experimenting with different genres. His upcoming film Gate Way to Heaven is a docu-fiction film, due for release on December 13, which strips the ugly picture of human organ trade.

How did idea of this film pop up in his mind? The excited filmmaker says: “It is not just a mere story it is a life struggle of a man named Rajeswar Rao who has performed last rites of more than 10,000 unclaimed dead bodies”. “To be more precise the film is a visual biography of Rajeshwar Rao”, he exclaimed.

Gateway to Heaven is a 60- minute long film which has divided in to four parts – Animation, Fiction, Pencil Sketching and Documentary. First fifteen minutes of the film talks about international organ mafia and interestingly it is made in animation.

“I have chosen animation for explaining international organ mafia as it is easy on the eyes of the audience. I have taken Minamata Disaster, which took lives of thousands of Japanese citizens by mercury poisoning. The Chisso Corporation, a company located in Kumamoto, Japan, dumped an estimated 27 tonnes of mercury compounds into Minamata bay.

Thousands of people whose normal diet included fish from the bay, unexpectedly developed symptoms of methyl mercury poisoning. The illness became known as the Minamata Disease”, says Anshul. While the second part takes the audience into the present scenario of national organ mafia which is a mix of original and fictional visual clips.

The protagonist which is played by Sandeep Yadav, which is of the film, is seen only after the first 30 minutes of the film. “I think it is the first film in which the hero of the film enters after a good thirty minutes of film is over”, smiles Anshul.

3The second part also illustrates why Rajeshwar Rao has chose to start ‘Sri Harischandra Foundation’ and his deeds from then till now. Third part is complete documentary which folds in fourth part which is again fiction.

Nationally acclaimed theatre artist Satyabrata Rout plays role of health minister, while Zabiulla Syed Ismail who is well known for his street plays is seen playing a vital role in the film.

The journey of the film has started in 2013 and has taken two years to complete the film. As the film is based on a sensitive and non commercial subject no producer or distributor has come forward to fund the film.

Anshul is a MNC employee and he funded his film by his hard earnings. When enquired how has he completed such a complex film while working in a MNC, “I was working night shift at MNC and working all day at the film sets, which was very tiring but the zeal to showcase the efforts of Rajeshwar Rao has driven me to complete it”, he explained.