Every once in a while comes along a meaningful, impactful feature film for South Asians and for all those of South Asian-decent. Yes, in the cloudy rinku tinku world of Bollywood cinema, where we all get caught up in the song and dance around the mystic mountains and trees, exists a reality. A reality that only exists to some, a reality that some intentionally remain ignorant to.

Not Rohit Jagessar, director of the epic Guiana 1838, now in select theaters. Rohit has put seven plus years of his life into this project, and its outcome is self-explanatory. Having cast a Bollywood legend, Kumar Gaurav joined Rohit's cast and the end result is a magnificient film showcasing a part of Desi history that we should all be aware of.

Everyone should realize where we all come from, where we've been and where we're going. This movie beautifully tells us the story of Guiana, how it came to be and why. I would be embarrassed for our people if we did not watch this film. A good way to describe it would be to call it an epic drama, and I was lucky enough to talk to the man behind it, Rohit Jagessar.

Khalid Ilahi: What initially motivated/influenced you to take on this project?
Rohit Jagessar: As a little boy growing up, my grandmother used to tell me stories about the people that were brought on ships by the British Planters from India to British Guiana during the 19th century. Over a period of 80 years, well over 1 million Indians were shipped out from India to many parts of the world to labor on British plantations. My grandmother and her parents made the voyage more than 100 years ago.

I visited the University of Lucknow to begin research on the subject and to my surprise not even the professors there were aware about this part of India's history. This compelled me even more to make this story into a feature film.

KI: What other projects have you worked on prior to Guiana 1838?
RJ: Guiana 1838 is my first film.

KI: Wow, it being your first film, what did you take away from the experience? What was your favorite thing about directing and what was your least favorite?
RJ: Directing Guiana 1838 is an experience I will cherish for a long time to come. Before doing the film I spent a large part of the last twenty five years producing music, concerts and radio shows. Through these experiences I knew I had to be hands on during the production of my film.

I remained completely in charge right from day one and always went by my instincts. From the reviews and advance ticket sales this has paid off big time for me. I think all film makers should stick to their guns if they are striving for originality. On film sets everyone is suddenly a film maker. Even the clapper boy. It is good to listen attentively as this promotes harmony, which is always encouraged but at the end of the day you have got to go with your gut feeling. Afterall, it is your film and film making is a director's medium.

My most favorite part of directing is knowing exactly what I want for my audience and I fight for it. At times, I would shoot a scene from backwards to the beginning. The actors cannot comprehend the tactic and this prompts them to think. The more you involve actors to participate the better their performance will come out.

The least favorite thing about directing for me is having to deal with the occasional unprofessional behavior. It comes with the territory. When it does, I set things right and move on with my shoot. I don't think there is any other sensible way to handle these things but to take care of them as and when it comes up. The focus should always remain on good film making and cordial people management.

KI: What kind of research was required for historical accuracy? Where did you go, what did you have access to?
RJ: I spent seven years researching the story and put together around 50,000 pages of research materials, illustrations and map routes of the ships. The one thing I noticed was a lot of published materials were inconsistent with history. Therefore, I spent a lot of time cross checking the papers to make sure my story was accurate. While doing the research I also visited historical sites such as the Bay of Bengal from where the first ships departed India for the British West Indies in 1838. I also visited Liverpool, where the slave traders were based and various parts of Uttar Pradesh and Calcutta from where Indians were recruited for the voyages. These visits prompted the imagination and were helpful to me while writing the screenplay for the film.

"...I made a film that I would like to see myself..."

KI: What did you look for in the actors/actresses you chose to be in your film?
RJ: Right from the inception I instructed my casting director Puja Bathija that I wanted actors and the main focus must be on their complete dedication and hard work since the shoot was going to be a tough one. Then there was the depth of the actors as my film is a period piece dealing with the struggles and ultimate triumph of the Indians on foreign soil. Puja responded with what will perhaps become the best crop of actors ever put together for a film. I recently showed my film to a select audience and they were amazed to see a film where each and every actor engages the audience and remained true to their characters from start to finish.

KI: How was it working with Kumar Gaurav?
RJ: Working with Bunty (Kumar Gaurav) was a complete experience in film making. He is an exceptional actor and his skills and talents lifted the character of Laxman beyond expectations. He is a hard worker and completely dedicated to his craft. I can see why he is extremely selective about his films. As a person, one cannot ask for a better human being to work with. On the sets he is a thorough professional and listens attentively to the director and has full confidence in what he is about to do. I think this was his toughest shoot and when things got too intense for me as director he would come out of no where and say "hi Rohit, good morning". He would smile as if to say don't worry, I am here and we are all with you. I am certain the audience will be impressed with Bunty's performance. He lights up the screen in what will perhaps go down in history as one of the most brilliant performances in cinema.

KI: On a personal level, do you think imperialism helped or hurt Guiana?
RJ: I think the colonies needed to be developed in those early years and for the required resources, powerful countries were needed. Where imperialism went wrong was with the methods that were applied, they were highly inappropriate. The powerful nations should have fed the hands that did the work in developing the colonies instead of cutting them off. Therefore, imperialism failed to cultivate nations through development.

KI: Can you give us an idea of the expectations you have from your audiences?
RJ: I have spent the last seven years making my film and all through these years I have been thinking of this question. I can say with full confidence that I made a movie keeping the audience in full focus at all times and I am sure the audience will in turn benefit from this. It is their film. It is the story of our Indian people thrown into a system they did not come looking for and were caught by complete surprise when the British planters enslaved those that made the early voyages from India to British colonies in the West Indies. My expectation is that the audience will feel the intensity and suspense of the story and journey through the 19th century along with the characters up on the screen.

KI: Will we be seeing more work from you in the future? What are some of your upcoming projects?
RJ: My upcoming films are the continuation of the Guiana 1838 trilogy, a feature film on the life and times of the great poet, writer and composer Rabindranath Tagore and Porkknockers based on the legend of the Amazon region of South America.

KI: Any final message for DesiClub.com's readers?
RJ: I am in good company with all of DesiClub.com's readers as I visit the portal for useful information, updates and happenings on a regular basis. I think everyone will find my film as a complete cinematic experience and they will be proud of my film as it is made keeping the audience in mind. I can assure everyone that I made a film that I would like to see myself and therefore it is a film made especially for the audience. I took all the things I don't like about cinema and kept them aside and made a film with the things I like to watch on the big screen. My film, Guiana 1838 is a film for the people, about the people.

Thank you for your time. I enjoyed this interview thoroughly and thank you for asking me questions which are not normally asked.

And that's why we're DesiClub.com Rohit!

For more info on this movie, show times, updates, keep a constant tab on The Guiana 1838 Website.

Do you have any thoughts on this? Feel free to send Khalid an e-mail @ Khalid Ilahi.