“Juhi & Purab are acting as well as contributing financially to my film” – Onir

By Satish Sundaresan -

July 6, 2009 - 12:00 AM IST

His films may not have taken Box Office by storm due to various reasons but Onir is still seen smiling. Garnering immense goodwill since the days of My Brother Nikhil and following it up with Bas Ek Pal and Sorry Bhai, he is seeing good help coming from his friends and colleagues from Bollywood, who are willing to extend a helping hand as he puts together his short films in place.

The latest happening is that composers like Pritam, Mithoon and Vivek Philip, with whom he has worked in his earlier movies, have consented to compose for his five short films. Though Onir is reluctant to divulge much about the remuneration involved (or the lack of it), he is ecstatic about the very fact that they were all there for him when he needed them the most.

Says Onir, "Mithoon gave some fabulous tunes for Bas Ek Pal and we knew that we would be there for each other. The result is Afia for which he would be composing music. Vivek (Philip) has composed at least one song in each of my three films and it's just right that he comes on board. There is also this new guy from Delhi, Rajeev Bhalla, who would be creating one song for Abhimanyu."

Talking about Pritam who had earlier done a guest composition for Bas Ek Pal, Onir remembers, "We know each other since the time he composed for a non-film music video of mine. At that time, he too had just started off before films like Dhoom happened to him."

Meanwhile his short films are being made with an entirely unique business model in place. "As co-producers, Sanjay (Suri) and I have extended a chance for audiences to be shareholders for our film which would comprise of five different short stories of 20 minutes each", informs Onir, "Though there have been a few promotional offers in the past ('Sit through the film alone and you could get five lakhs', 'Get your money back if you don't like the film' etc. etc.), the concept of audiences being shareholders is something new in Bollywood parlance."

He adds, "Though in West, some independent filmmakers have laid out such plans while accumulating funds for their films, it is perhaps the first ever in Bollywood. I look forward to individuals, corporate houses and NGOs who believe in our films and have trust in our intentions to come out and support our endeavour by contributing to it in terms of monetary help."

Help has come to him not just from common man (who have been actively contributing to his project already) but also the film fraternity. Recent addition to his cast are Juhi Chawla (who has earlier worked with him in My Brother Nikhil and Bas Ek Pal) and Purab Kohli (My Brother Nikhil) who would now be acting as well as financially contributing to in Megha and Rudra respectively.

"They have been kind enough to work in the film free of cost and also bring some money to the table. Moreover, Purab is also trying to raise some funds on his own. Budget for each of my short films is Rs. 30 lakhs and I am surprised to see that contribution has come from places as diverse as New York, Japan and Germany", smiles Onir who was recently in Bangalore to scout locations for first of his short films, Abhimanyu, which would go on floors in July.

Post the Bangalore stint, Omar will be shot in Mumbai and Afia is based in New Delhi. Meanwhile, locations for Megha and Rudra are yet to be finalised.