Pune boy Ajay Patil’s film Yakshika was officially selected for screening at 6th Delhi Shorts International Film Festival 2017
I have become more confident about the craft,” says Ajay Patil, student of First Year Cinematography at MIT School of Film & Television. Patil’s student film — Yakshika, was officially selected for screening at the 6th Delhi Shorts International Film Festival 2017.
“I have made the film as part of my course in the first year along with a group of other students. The institute sent my film to the festival. Student films from across the country were sent for the festival. My film made it to the top 15 films officially selected and it’s going to be screened, so it’s quite an exciting moment, not just for me but for the entire team,” he says.
He adds that the selection committee has given him and his team the confidence to make more films. “We are confident about our next project now, because we know what kind of efforts are required to make a film,” he says.
Yakshika highlights not just one but two crucial social messages. “This is the story of a woman who finds it hard to stop the domestic violence that her in-laws and husband subject her to. To stop it, she pretends to be possessed by a goddess, something her son doesn’t like. The villagers and his friends make fun of him because of his mother. So he asks her, ‘Why do you get possessed?’ That’s when she tells him, ‘To protect myself from domestic violence. Out of fear of God, they do not hit me’,” Patil explains the story.
He says that he is impressed by the writing and thoughts of social activist late Narendra Dabholkar and the story is inspired by his writings. “Domestic violence and blind faith are two main issues that need to be highlighted. If I had given a plain story of domestic violence, people wouldn’t have given it much thought. People usually believe that it’s ok if a husband beats up his wife and if he is hitting her, it must be her fault. We have to make people realise that it’s wrong,” he adds. The festival was held on October 29. Patil is sad that he couldn’t make it to the event.
Before joining MIT, Patil worked as a VFX artist in the film industry for six years. “I have worked on Hindi and international projects. But I wanted to learn the nuances of filmmaking, so decided to get into the course. As a student, you learn about all the departments of movie-making which you otherwise don’t get to.”
He says that he always dreamt of becoming a cinematographer. “After studying cinematography, I exactly know what the director wants. This will help me in having a better understanding with the director. The cinematographer captures the vision of the director so it’s always better to have a better understanding of what he/she wants,” says Patil who wants to continue being part of content driven films.
