A victim boy exploited by women, ‘Juze’ is a real story: Miransha
RUCHA PRABHUDESAI, PANAJI | 08 April 2018 16:44 IST
After being screened at several international film festivals in Hong Kong, Europe, Mumbai and Goa IFFI and getting accolades from the film critics worldwide, Juze, a Konkani film by Miransha Naik, is finallly getting released in Goa on 13th April in Margao and 16th April in Panaji.
Juze tells the story of a migrant boy, Santosh and how he and the other migrants are exploited and abused by the landlord, Juze.
A brief interview of young director Miransha Naik, who has directed this first feature film after his equally appreciated short film Ram in 2014. Juze is an Indian-French-Dutch co-production which was selected at IFFI Film Bazar for international sales by Film Boutique.
How did you come up with the story?
This story is inspired by real events and characters, a lot of which is inspired by my real experiences and observations.
Why did you name the movie after the villain?
First of all, I always thought the name sounded good and nobody has used it before. But at the same time, if you see the movie you will notice that all the events taking place revolve around Juze. Even though the story is about Santosh’s journey, for me it is also about the downfall of Juze which made me write this story.
The characterisation in this film is done really well. How did you build the characters? Were they inspired by people you came across in real life?
Yes, some of them. But not all the people carry the traits to create drama, so you have to put traits of two or three people into one character.
When people talk about rape or molestation they show women as the victims and men as the accused. In your movie you have shown women as accused and a boy as the victim.
There must be some films that have covered this aspect. But this does not mean that these things do not happen, everything comes from what you know. It doesn’t have to happen to me but I definitely know these things happen. Especially if you are a kid and helpless like Santosh, these things are bound to be taken advantage of. I wasn’t trying to make a point or anything, it is just another reality I had witnessed and thought it fit for a film story.
What made you make such a bold movie? Especially in a place like Goa where this has not been done before.
Again as I said, the whole story comes from my village. I just wanted to tell the story of the village. I didn’t want to hide anything. I just added whatever I thought was interesting and could be made into a good screenplay.
Having gained acclaim for the both the films you’ve made, what would you say is the key to seeking a larger audience, in terms of content as well as marketing?
I don’t want to think about the marketing part, even though I should. For me it is important to just stick to the concept which excites me. When I write, I don’t think about how much money it will make or if it will have a wider audience. When I have a concept or story, I try to write a screenplay which is engaging throughout and that is what I try and do.
Some people are saying that some of the scenes in the movie could have been avoided. What is your opinion on this?
This is the first time I’m hearing of this. It is not like I wasn’t expecting this, but because I have shown this I think it has a better impact. It is about Santosh’s struggle and not only the beatings he gets from Juze but all the other experiences. So yes, that way I could have avoided making this movie.
What do you think is the most important part of a film?
Everything is important but if you don’t have a script, you don’t have anything. It all starts with the script.
Lastly, what advice do you have for young Goan filmmakers?
We have such a small market. We don’t always get the luxury of investing in equipment and have a small budget. But what we can always do is spend as much time as possible on the script. I think if you have a good script you can make a decent film. It is also good to have the other stuff also. But when you don’t, the best you can do is make your script stronger and stronger.
The film will be screened at Margao and Panaji.
Ravindra Bhavan, Margao
13th April at 7:30 PM
For tickets: +91 9075940823, Online booking: www.ticketpapa.com
Maquinez Palace, Panaji
16th April at 3:30 PM
For tickets: +91 9422445665 (Raimundo)
Cast
Santosh Rushikesh Naik
Juze Sudesh Bhise
Tai (Santosh’s Grandmother) Prashanti Talpankar
Maria Gauri Kamat
Maya Barkha Naik
Abdul Pranav Narote
Shabana Sarah Driver
Pedro Ivon C. De Souza
Raghu Adv. Showmik H. Pai Angle
Franky (Maya’s Boyfriend) Ugam S. Zambaulikar
Mahadev Radhakant Divkar
Sonali Raavi Kishor
Milton (Franky’s Friend) Ashwin Raiturkar
Landlady (Across The Ferry) Babita Angle
Sheverine Madhuri Shetkar
Govind (Village Councilor) Saish Pai Panandikar
Katherine Anjali Pai Panandikar
Vinod Yatin Naik
Umesh Sanjoy Debnath
Villager Sheela Kakodker
School Principal James Fernandes
Villager Tulsidas Sawant
Factory Worker Shantaram Pawar
Truck Driver Shailesh
Seby (Teacher) Sidharth Yaji
Seby’s Father Suhas G. Vernekar
Seby’s Wife Akshada Talaulikar
Raghu’s Supporter 1 Sanjiv Prabhu
Raghu’s Supporter 2 Krishna B. Pagui
Raghu’s Supporter 3 Rupesh Siolcar
Lady Teacher / Bride Silvia Fernandes
Johnson Atharv Salelkar
Sheverine’s Friend Purnima Desai
Police Inspector Vicky D’costa
Vinod’s Wife Sarothi Magchi
Girl At The Alcohol Factory Shaheena Bijapuri
Writer, Director & Producer
Miransha Naik
Creative Producer
Olivia Stewart
Jacques Comet
Cinematographer
Abhiraj Rawale
Editor
Siddhesh Naik
Suzana Pedro
Editing/Post-production - Supervisor/Head
Jacques Comet
Sound
Rahul Badwelkar
Line Producer
Ramesh Varak
Executive Producer
Sidharth Yaji
Unit Production Manager
Hari Bhusal
Production Designer
Constrooe - Pronita Pal & Ravi Shah
Casting
Siddhesh Naik
Costume Designer / Stylist
Neelanchal Ghosh
Chief Assistant Director
Viral Desai
Assistant Directors
Powell Jadaun
Aakanksha Dua
Neshu Saluja
First Assistant Cinematographer
Ajay Garala
Second Assistant Cinematographer
Riyaz Khan
Asst. Art Director
Deborah Fernandes
Costume Assistant
Vandana Gupta
Director’s Assistant
Siddhesh Naik
Gaffer
Mohd. Aves
Grip Department
Dolly Grip – Iqbal Ansari
Best Boy – Maruti Rathode
Dolly Assistant – Sachin Kumar
Light Department
Best Boy – Imran Khan
Electrician – Salindar Upaday
Lightmen
Saif Khan
Bablu Joti
Mohit Pandya
Kadir Khan
Rinku Kumar
Hassan
Ali Ansari
Sagar Patil
Camera Vendor
G.S. Video
Grip Vendor
Mad Lounge
Researcher
Nabamita Pal
Carpenters
Sandeep Pandey & Rajesh Vishwakarma
Painters
Narayan Mahato, Karunkumar Mahato & Surender
Asst. Painter
Upendra Kumar
Prop Boys
Vijay, Nagaraj, Rajender, Satish, Kumar & Subramanian
Dressman
Shashikant Sharma
Tulsiram
Masterji
Sarfaraz
Hospitality Partner
‘Hide – out’, Benaulim – Goa
