Bang Bang Galore!
A Filmmaker’s BLOGELLA
Written by Steve Rosenberg
Blog 34 (Shonali)
I want to distance myself from John, but we are connected by my commitment to employ his daughter Shonali, as my translator. Early in my stay, John insisted I hire her and I reluctantly agreed. Shonali, a straight A student is a bright light, a worldly seventeen year old who devours thousand-page prize winning Indian novels written in English during the exam period of school. Despite her obvious braininess, she is modest and full of questions and dreams of studying abroad to become a filmmaker. She is a modern Indian girl who wears dangling ornate silver earrings, a wrist full of bangles and is equally elegant in saris or jeans.
Unlike her father, Shonali wants to hear about my life in Canada. Our conversations are free flowing, unrehearsed and somewhat personal. When I ask about Shonali about her mother, I learn that her mother is still married to John. The revelation shocks me, because I’ve always assumed, perhaps erroneously, that Mio is his girlfriend. They spend several nights per week in the same bed and on nights when John leaves Mio’s apartment before midnight, he always reminds us that he is heading to his art studio. Little did I suspect that John is returning to home to his wife and family.
John is married, yet he never mentions his wife. Perhaps this explains why John and Mio continue to avoid asking me personal questions. If they ask me about my private life, those questions will trigger similar personal questions, they may find difficult to answer.
To complicate his life further, John, is forced to give up his personal art studio just a few days before we left for our road trip. I am not sure why he is forced out of his studio, but it does explain why our trip is delayed two weeks. John has the ability to compartomentalize his problems and never wears a pessimistic smile, nor does he drone on about life’s familiar setbacks.
If I remove John’s presence from the film, there will be a huge void because he is such a colourful and flawed person. He also one of the few English speaking voices in the film; crucial for an international audience. I keep asking myself over and over again if John is even relevant in this story.
I have only a few weeks left in India and I want Shonali to help me invite a child labourer to visit Born Free Arts School. Shonali loves her dad, but admits that his school is disorganized and flawed. She suggests contacting APSA again, a government organization that rescues street children and educates them in a formal traditional class setting. They also staff a twenty- four- hour Child helpline and have a team of social workers who initiate rescues of children who are being abused by their employers. Tomorrow, I will travel to APSA, the organization I bypassed in order to focus on John Deveraj and the Born Free Arts School phenomena.
