Indian filmmaker Suman Ghosh (of Podokkhep and Nobel Chor fame) recently had the world premiere of his new film The Scavenger of Dreams at the 28th Busan International Film Festival. In an exclusive interview, he talks about The Scavenger of Dreams, and how he shot the entire film without a script.
The Scavenger of Dreams traces the lives a young man who collects waste for a living and his dreams. Juxtaposing his dreams and aspirations against a modernized India, the film highlights the widening gap between the poor and the rich.
Apart from a few slips, the film mainly stays true to its milleu and soul. Tracing the dreams of the garbage pickers, The Scavenger of Dreams does not fall in the trap of turning it into a tragedy. Even in the garbage and left-overs that they are surrounded with, the ragpickers pick up hopes and dream.
Asked if he really worked without a script on the film, Ghosh says, “There was no script, just the idea. Except Shardul Bhardwaj and Sudipta Chakraborty, I used real ragpickers in the film. No one else is an actor in the movie. So, I could not ask the non actors to act or say dialogues.”
“A film without a written script needs much more research. I had to know each character very well. They need to fully understand the background of the character and the scene for Bhardwaj or Chakraborty to maneour a scene without a script. Only a deep knowledge of the subject and character could help them do it organically. There were one-liners explaining the scenes but no paragraphs defining it all.”
Recalling the time his idea for the film on ragpickers was selected at Busan’s Asian Projects, Ghosh says, “In 2019, the film was selected in Asian Project Marke that is held on the sidelines of Busan International Film Festival. The fact that my idea it was chosen was an affirmation for me. I had been carrying the idea with me for four or five years. After the selection, things got stalled because of the pandemic. We coould only start shooting the film last year.”
He also revealed a newspaper article about a couple who picked garbage made him realize their resilience story. “The connection between the richest and the lowest strata of society is through garbage. We do not even look at the people who ensure our houses and nearby places are clean. I took the idea and transplanted it to a family in Kolkata.”
The fact that rich people know very little about the poor was something that troubled him. “I want to criticize myself and most of us for not even turning back, not even looking at who cleans our garbage. My first my job was to acclimatize myself (with the atmosphere of the place where they work and live). I had to know, on a deeper level, about them, and about their dreams.”
He adds, “Initially, I remember, I was not sure how to work with the smell..but then I adjusted and enjoyed making friend. Also, to make a movie like Scavengers of Dreams – a film that is not market-oriented – finding funding was tough. So, a screening at Busan Film Festival is importan. It gets all the eyeballs for the film.”
(This conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity).
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