The Sunday Read
Eleven students of a film and television institute who have bagged interesting roles in TV serials and films while still on campus thank their teacher Anwar Jamal for his guidance and encouragement
Noted American writer William Arthur Ward once said, “The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires.” Eleven students of a film and television institute in Gandhinagar found their ‘great teacher’ in National Award-winning director Anwar Jamal, who also heads the institute.
Of the 22 students who are pursuing various courses in direction, cinematography, scriptwriting, editing, production design and production management at the institute, 11 have already bagged professional roles and projects in films and television serials. The 11 youngsters, which includes Dhruv Patel, Jimesh Patel, Samarth Trivedi, Harsh Shastri, Abhinav Shah and Utpal Patel, thank Jamal for mentoring them and giving them the confidence to realise their dreams.
Dhruv, 19, who hails from Mehsana has bagged a lead role in an upcoming, big-budget, Gujarati movie titled Teenager Gang. A visibly excited Dhruv says, “I play the protagonist, Sunny, in the film. The role is very challenging because the lead character has shades of grey, too. Moreover, the experience I gained by working with the film crew is invaluable. But what made all this possible is the training I got on campus. I got to
work on many documentary films, including Ek Udaan, May Dad Dreams and theatre plays like Cherry Orchard — written by Russian writer Anton Chekhov under guidance of Jamal sir. These on-campus experiences allowed me to do justice to my role in the film.”
Second-year students at the institute — Jimesh Patel and Milan Patel — are working in the teleserial Hum Ne Li Hai –Shapath which is aired on LIFE OK channel. Jimesh says, “I play a negative character. It is an exciting assignment. The serial’s director was planning a special episode based on Ahmedabad’s heritage and he casted me.”
Samarth Trivedi and Ankit Limbachiya, who are in second semester, will be working as production manager and assistant director, respectively, for a Punjabi film titled Love you Soniye. Ankit says, “It is an amazing experience to get to work with professional film unit. This film is Karanvir Bohra’s production and is a big project.”
Abhinav Shah, a student of semester-4, is doing a feature film Desh Book with Darshan Dave, an established TV serial actor. “I worked as an assistant director for the movie. I learnt how to deal with directors, handle crew and manage production schedules. Working on a professional project actually helped me understand rules of cinematography.”
The students attribute their success to ‘Jamal sir’, who they claim guided them at every step. “Jamal sir encouraged us to strike out and audition for professional film and television roles. He also helped us broaden our horizons, and encouraged us to give direction and production a try. He emphasised on the need to get first-hand experience to learn the working of the industry,” says Utpal Patel, a student who is working for the film Desh Book.
For his part, Jamal is proud of his students achievements. He says, “This is the first time that about 50 per cent students of a batch have bagged lucrative roles and projects while still in school. My students have made me proud. I wish them all the luck and success.”
GENIUS GUIDE
Anwar Jamal is a veteran documentary and feature film producer-director, whose work has been screened in more than 150 film festivals around the world. He has won four National Film Awards and has made critically acclaimed feature, short and documentary films on a wide array of social, political and cultural themes. He also served as jury in many international film festivals including National Film Award Jury. His most noted
work is the feature film, Swaraaj — The Little Republic, which he also wrote, produced and directed, based on women’s empowerment and the politics of water in rural India.
The story appeared as The Sunday Read in Ahmedabad Mirror on May 19, 2013
