Special Gift for Mother's Day

Gifts are usually a way to convey your feelings, with a bit of presentation. That tangible item grabs the attention and also depicts your devotion and affection. And the best gifts are those which come straight from the heart.

Working in a start-up culture, you are usually focusing on growth where every hour and day is utilised to the max. There is no Sunday, no holiday. Being in that environment I have always felt and lived that way. When I'm not creating documentaries or shooting commercial films, I am still occupied with planning for the future ones, or stepping into other roles like social media marketing or just talking to people in other verticals of the setup.

But there are still some ideas which are stuck in your mind, a project which does not have any motive except that you want to execute it. I have been close to nature almost my entire life, and hence if I have to think about something to create, chances are that it will be pertaining to nature, mountains or environment.

It was first week of May. A story was developing in my mind, a short film. A story about a person who is going to meet his mother. The film is about his journey while reaching to his mother and the final moment when he meets her. There was a forecast of 2 day of rainfall followed by 2 clear days of sun and then again a week of rain. I knew I had that small window to execute. Deadlines are actually helpful as they literally help one to finish a work, "on time " just adds a perk to it!

I developed the story. Our films usually have an outdoor athlete/ person in outdoors as the one who is in front of the lens. So it's usually fine until whatever we are shooting is live and real in nature. Once the element of acting is involved, it just becomes a different ball game! It does help me hone my skill of directing. I had selected my friend Praveen Ghangas as the main guy mainly because of his skills in the outdoors and he was the only person free to give me time during those days.

The story actually suited him as well. The variety of things he can do in outdoors can be replicated by very few people. It is mainly because of his "always keep on experiencing something" attitude too. A person just cannot commit to these words and become one. There is a level of dedication to this practice as well. Praveen is born and brought up in a village in Haryana and his lifestyle has always been such that he would be doing something crazy. That had developed into being the person he is today; mountaineer, rock climber, slack liner, tree climber, paraglider to name a few. A wanderer and explorer at heart. And a poet as well !

Being a filmmaker who mainly shoots and edits too is a blessing sometimes when you want to execute in short span of time. So, it was fun 2 day of roaming around, with me, my camera and Praveen and developing the story in between.

About the story. I don't want to reveal much but just want to give a bit of message. A message to all and gift to mothers who gave us birth and nurtured us since we are young. And the mother of mothers is our Mother Earth. Sharing the film with you all. It's a small 2 min 30 sec film. A very short one but I think one of the closest to my heart that I have created till now.

This film also won "Best Environment Film" at IMF Mountain Film Festival.

Special thanks to Kshitij for writing the poem for the film and Udit for giving his voice for the same. Also thanks to Khurana for his role of supporting actor!