Having been in the business of circus since 1967 (Amar Circus), the Gadges, the only Maharastrians in the business, decided to get into filmmaking with the sole motive of making a film on the lives of circus artistes. Accordingly, the young and well educated Niraj Gadge, who was also doubling up as a teacher in a public school besides minding the affairs of the circus, left all that and founded Amar Chitra Production. Tellychakkar.com meets up with the young Niraj and corners him for a hearty interview. A lowdown: Now that you are into films, who is taking care of the circus business? (smiles) Well, since it was a family decision to branch out into production of films, I got into this business while my father Chandrakant Gadge still looks after the circus business. Currently, the circus is playing at Amravati. Any problems that you faced after entering the film industry? Yes, when one ventures a new business, he/she does encounter problems. So did I. One of my close relatives (don’t want to name him) who is in the film industry, wrongly guided me about the financial aspect of a particular project. When I was beating my head in disgust, my wife Utkarsha Gadge, my friends Sanket Dautkhani, Dhiraj Ahirrao and Anoop Golar and writer and director Gagan Puri who had earlier assisted Anurag Kashyap came to my rescue and explained me all the intricacies of filmmaking. You may have set a particular vision while getting into films. Could you elaborate? (pauses) Having a strong understanding of financials and acumen of business matters, knowledge of the film industry and all stages that a film project goes through, I have aspired to establish a professional name in the industry. The mission of Amar Chitra Production is to create or promote movies, media and to advance local actors and entertainers in these productions. The motto of Amar Chitra Production? The motto of Amar Chitra has always been to promote new talented singers, actors, directors and anyone who has the potential to contribute to the Indian Entertainment Industry. You must have made a few films up to now. Could you name them? Yes, we have made three short films viz Smoke Kill, The Dream and Forgiveness, the notable among them being The Dream. The film, a patriotic one, was about Bhagat Singh and his intention to get into the independence struggle. Incidentally, this film starred Manjot Singh (Fukrey fame) who had just completed Oye Lucky Lucky Oye and Udaan. The film has widely travelled the film festival circuit with it already making its presence felt and nominated at the Nagpur International Film Festival, The Ladakh International Film Festival in the best critic award category, Got Best Critic Award in Imphal Film Festival and now it’s in the Bhopal International Film Festival. Heard that you’ve made a new film, elaborate? Yes, moving away from making short films, this time we have made our first feature film titled The Zero Line. The film is based on a Black Night, journey to Wagah Border novel of the same name written by Gagan Puri who has also directed the film. What is the film about? This film is the story of Amar (Manjot Singh), who is a student of History Hons. His interest in history takes him to several questions regarding the partition and Indian independence. Soon, he decides to go to his maternal aunt’s place near the Poonch border (J&K), where he spent a lot of his childhood days. One day when Amar goes to the border, he sees some Pakistani children playing cricket. There he meets Faheem who does not like an Indian. But their common interest in cricket builds a strong friendship bond between both of them. Gradually, both Amar and Faheem become thick friends who frequently meet at the border post which is noticed by the Indian army and the Pakistani terrorist. What follows is an emotional journey with the Indo-Pak relation in the background. In short, my film is all about love, friendship and caring, with the game of cricket playing a mediator’s role. For a subject like the Indo-Pak relation, you must have shot on a huge set. (smiles) No, it’s not so. We got the border erected in Nagpur on a land admeasuring 1,800 metres long and 20 feet wide. The set that depicts the real Pakistan as on its border consisted of hospitals, shops etc. Most of the sequences concerning the border was shot here while the indoors were shot in Mumbai at the Famous and the Essel Studio. Could you tell us about the other actors in the film? Yes, besides Manjot, we have Irfan Khan (the child actor of Chillar Party), Brijendra Kala, Rehan Tamta and Neelam Thosar,Charu Rohatgi among others. We have also Manjot’s father Paramjot Singh who also plays a stellar role in our film. Finally, with so many big-budget films releasing every week, do you feel that your venture can stand the competition? (laughs aloud) I will answer this in one sentence. The hero of my film is the content and I am sure that the subject will connect well with the audiences.