This is a film that tries to capture the pain and struggle of people trying to be accepted. Using a simple story line I wanted to express the minute details in the feelings of the individuals undergoing certain kind of experiences: loneliness, the struggle to sacrifice pride, honour and dignity, nibbling with joy at the tiny crumbs of what little attention or affection the other has to offer, experiencing rejection, jealousy, prejudice, guilt, shame and hate. At its roots, this is a story of survival and the need to be acknowledged and accepted by the other.

Film Concept

Except for the two adult characters in the film (Johar and Bandi), the boys are all nonprofessionals and were selected from the local community. Because our story dealt with the emotional development between an estranged father and his son, we decided that the camera work should be simple and remain close to the actors. This would create an intimate atmosphere despite the alienating coldness of the location itself, the jermal. We attempted to maintain a constant feeling of isolation and coldness through the cinematography by showing close intimate moments juxtaposed with wider shots to emphasize the loneliness of the characters.

The dialogue in this film is sparse because the main characters are burdened by their various emotional conflicts. Instead of articulating themselves through language, we wanted them to express themselves through subtle body gestures. The inability to express oneself is emphasized through broken words and the awkward silences in between dialogues. This helps in building up the growing tension and intensity of the father-son relationship. Music is used very sparingly to ensure that this emotional intensity is not interrupted. Available sound such as waves, birds, and others born out of the existing weather conditions are used to voice the dramatic context.

Because the film is shot on a jermal and the jermal is an actual social setting, it gives the film a certain air of authenticity and believability. The solid, confined structure firmly rooted in the vast inconstant sea embodies so much of what the film is about: a man stuck in his life, isolated physically and emotionally, but forced to open up by an encounter with his long lost son who makes him realize that life, like the sea, is unpredictable and the truth, like his past, inescapable.