In addition to being an accomplished painter, Sangeeta Agrawal caught the acting bug in college, winning many awards in Mumbai, including Best Actress, at Jagruti, an all-India theater competition.
We are blessed to live in the DC area. Not only because of its diversity of people, cultures and opportunities, but also because of its abundance of talent. Yes, the DC area is also known as a place that thrives on the arts, whether it be on stage or on film. Our region has many talented filmmakers and actors who have unique stories and ideas that seek to not only change cinema, but also what cinema stands for, what it seeks to portray aesthetically. These are artists that view cinema as being a place of tremendous insight, in addition to being a representation of art. With this piece, I talk about a short film written and directed by and starring an actress who lives in our own backyard but is making an impact in many film festivals around the nation with her new short film“Five O’Clock Shadow”, Sangeeta Agrawal.
According to her official website, Sangeeta grew up in Mumbai, and at the age of 21, she moved to the United States, and was inspired by the great cultural melting pot that is America, learning to respect many contrasting human philosophies, and in the process, she came to a greater understanding of herself. In addition to being an accomplished painter, Sangeeta caught the acting bug in college, winning many awards in Mumbai, including Best Actress, at Jagruti, an all-India theater competition. She continued to pursue her passion for theater after moving to the US. After acting in numerous plays over the years, she recently ventured into film and won the Best NRI Actress Award at the Delhi International Film Festival in 2015 for her first short film, “A Good Match”.”
Sangeeta’s new film, “Five O’Clock Shadow”, which was recently screened at the DC South Asian Film Festival, covers ground which is extremely topical in the world of today – the advent of hate and bigotry and the impact it has on the psyche of families ravaged by such instances. This new film tells the tale of an Indian-American mother and how her worst fear rises to the surface when she is the victim of racial abuse.
When I asked Sangeeta about how she decided to pursue this project and how she came up with such an important subject she explained, “For about a year before this story came to me, I knew that I was ready to direct. So I started looking for the story. I have dabbled in poetry but I had never written a story. Then came the news about the shooting of two Indian men in a bar in Kansas. It shocked the South Asian community in the US and made headlines all over the world. As the mother of a young man who has a beard, it hit me personally. My first thought went to him and his safety. Never in the thirty years of my life in the U.S. did I feel threatened in this way. I simply had to say something about it. And so the story was born.”
Sangeeta, who has many years of experience both on stage and in front of the camera, said that she never believed she could write a film, especially one as emotionally complex and sensitive as this one. But, coupled with her desire to direct the project, Sangeeta knew that once she had the story in her head, which was immensely close to her heart, she knew that only she could do justice to it and bring forth the vision that she had in mind.
Was it hard to both act and write a film at the same time?
“Acting and directing at the same time was definitely a concern,” said Sangeeta. “I knew for certain that I wanted the very talented Vick Krishna to shoot and edit the film. When I first narrated the story to him, we discussed that concern. He assured me that wearing the two hats would be fine except for the time added for me to give the shot and then step behind the camera to be sure that it was to my satisfaction. Honestly, that part went quite smoothly.”
In addition to writing, directing and acting herself, Sangeeta also had to consider the other crucial role to be cast, that of her husband’s character. That role, according to Sangeeta, was just as important as the mother’s role because the film focuses on 2 characters and their conversation, which covers a gamut of different emotions. For the father’s role, Sangeeta had to find an actor who not only could deliver the goods emotionally, but also whom would be easy to work with and a quick study, someone who could give a lot for a short film piece. There was no one better than talented actor Sridhar Mirajkar for the part, a well-known and respected actor from the DC area. Sangeeta says about Sridhar, “Sridhar Mirajkar and I have worked together on stage and in film and I was quite confident that he and I would have the rapport which was crucial to bring out the ebb and flow of the situation.”
Once the casting was in place, it was time to go into production. The film was shot over the course of one, very long day, beginning at 9 AM and wrapping at 4 AM the next day, with the only breaks being for meals. With such a long day, there were bound to have been enormous challenges and realizations that came about while and after filming.
Sangeeta related that as far as challenges were concerned, she always had the desire to direct but never considered herself a writer. The process of putting the whole film together from script to screen is a big challenge unto itself. She had been in search of a story for a while, approaching anyone and everyone who she thought might have one for her to make a short film. Once she had the story idea, she started keeping notes, writing down every thought that could possibly go into the script. She was writing dialogues in her head all the time and jotting them down. The ending was the only thing which was clear in her head so she started working backwards. It was a process and it took her a whole month to write an 8-minute screenplay.
However, despite these challenges, Sangeeta says, “The most wonderful thing about this project is that the team was small and everyone has an excellent rapport and mutual respect. When you have that, the mind stays fresh and the body is never tired. And then good things happen.”
And good things have been happening, both for the film and for Sangeeta. After a successful screening at the DC South Asian Film Festival, the film now heads to the Chicago South Asian Film Festival for a screening on September 30 and to the Tasveer Film Festival in Seattle in early October. Additionally, the film has already been nominated for 4 awards at the World Music and International Film Festival 2018 for Best South Asian Short Film, Best Short Screenplay, Best Actress and Best Actor.
Not one to rest on her laurels, Sangeeta is already keen to move onto her next project. “I have taken a very small step with writing and directing my first film. There is so much to learn. One hopes to grow with each film. I am in search of the next story” she says. “When it comes to me, I’m ready. It’s an addiction and I’m hooked”.
For more information about Sangeeta Agrawal and her work, please visit http://www.sangeetaagrawal.com/ and http://www.imdb.com/name/nm6463579/ .