Anupam Kher and Neena Gupta Shiv Shastri BalboaDirected by Ajayan Venugopalan | photo credit: special arrangement
Writer-director Ajayan Venugopalan is an in-depth historian of migrant life. beginning with akrakazhachkalMalayalam’s first YouTube sitcom in the late 2000s metro parkAn equally hilarious Hindi web series that is currently streaming online, Ajayan has given movie watchers an insightful glimpse into real expatriate life which, in his own words, “beyond the glitz and glamor of big cities” , flashy cars and Times Square.
Now, Ajayan, who had earlier written screenplays for Malayalam films IVD And English: An Autumn in Londonis set to make his debut as a feature film director with the Hindi film Shiv Shastri Balboa, Which will be released in theaters today (10 February). Starring veteran actors Anupam Kher and Neena Gupta in the lead, this slice-of-life comedy revolves around two elderly Indians and their unlikely escapades in rural America.
Ajayan Venugopalan, Director of Shiv Shastri Balboa
, photo credit: special arrangement
Why does he keep coming back to migrant stories in his works? “As a diaspora, we Indians started from zero but now we have built an empire. There is great joy in it but it also comes with pain, struggle and sacrifice. As an immigrant myself, I understand the nuances and wanted to document their remarkable achievement,” says Ajayan.
personal touch
Shiv Shastri Balboa, which is also written by Ajayan, is actually inspired by his own experience of visiting his parents, Venugopalan, a retired professor and Ambika, a retired banker, from Palakkad, for an extended visit to New Jersey, where he is based.
“After the initial excitement of being in a new place, they get bored quickly. A month after he arrived, I caught my dad trying to cross the highway on foot! Looks like he had ‘nowhere else to find’! I knew then that the time had come for him to return to Kerala,” laughs Ajayan.
anupam kher in hindi film Shiv Shastri Balboa, Directed by Ajayan Venugopalan | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
“Most parents come to meet their NRI children. They come to America at the urging of their children but soon find themselves isolated. From living in a very social country like India where they interact with many people on a daily basis, to suburban America, they are mostly stuck indoors, often alone while their children go to work. They are also sometimes unable to really connect with their grandchildren because of the language barrier. They often find themselves in a large cage – a gold cage – but a cage nonetheless. It got me thinking about retirement and the constraints that senior citizens face,” says Ajayan.
On the sets of Anupam Kher with Ajayan Venugopalan Shiv Shastri Balboa
, photo credit: special arrangement
The new film tells the story of Shiv Shankar Shastri (Anupam), a retired, newly arrived in the US, patron of a boxing club in India and a huge fan of boxer Rocky Balboa – Sly Stallone’s original character rocky film series. It is also the story of Elsa Zakaria (Neena), a maid from Hyderabad who has been locked in a house in suburban America for the last eight years. As Shiv Shastri and Elsa go on a road trip together in the American heartland, the film touches upon a number of issues such as unemployment, immigration, undocumented workers, rural poverty, racism etc. apart from portraying resilience and re-discovering myself. All this is told in Ajayan’s signature light-hearted manner. Ultimately, “this is the story of a man’s passion for cinema that helps him overcome all these challenges.” And it’s all told in Ajayan’s characteristic light-hearted style, which is poignant and funny at the same time.
“I want everyone to walk out of the theater with a smile on their face, carrying Shiv Shastri and Elsa in their hearts,” the director said of the film, which also stars Jugal Hansraj, Nargis Fakhri and Sharib Hashmi.
Next successful season three for the writer-director metro park And some Bollywood psychological thrillers that will go on floors soon.