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Mohitha Sripathi born in India, but has been a true New Jersey girl for the last twenty years! The first time director has spent the last two years making her first short-independent-film, Now and Then. The team is at post-production stage and seeking monetary support so they can see the film through production stage. More about how to contribute to their fundraising campaign is mentioned below.
We had the chance to interview Mohitha and find out more details on the upcoming film which is set to release in 2016!
How did you come up with the title, ‘Now and Then’?
Now and Then refers to the generational difference we show in the film in regards to the stigma attached to women and the dating culture. I realized that no matter how modern and tolerant we have become, there is still some slight stigma and awkwardness attached to hearing a story about a women’s past lover.
Tell us about the concept of the film, where did it come from?
The concept of the film came into place naturally as it was something I’ve always dreamed about. After meeting Rome Chopra, producer and supporting actor of Now and Then, we decided to kind of run with it and just make a movie! The story concept is something I’ve heard and seen happen to me and many women close to me and around me, so I took these very real stories and incorporated a whole lot of REEL layers- dancing, singing, the dramatic filmy twist, we have it all!
Once we started and built the platform along with Vijay, we were very lucky and surprised to see how many of our friends and people went to school with similar interests. One of our close friends Arun, who does the scoring for the film, once told us to “fake it till we make it.” Every time things got hard, that became our teams motto!
What made you do this film and what type of audience are you targeting?
I am a really filmy person and I have noticed that most of my female friends still kind of wish there was that super filmy-romantic guy named SRK… I mean Rahul, who will come and seing a song for her as she’s walking on the street trying to get to class. 🙂
On a more serious note though, I’ve noticed that there is still a double standard on women when it comes to discussing dating and I think this is because as South Asians we are so focused on what the person next to us will think about us.
Now and Then focuses on a fifty-year-old woman named Mallika who runs into someone from her past and is now trying to explain this scenario to her elder daughters. My target audience is really that generation of women who are raised in that type of cultural background and who most probably hold on to these unspoken stories.
This story is also for my (today’s) generation. We are more open about our dating lives compared to our mothers and grandmothers, but the question is, will we be just as open about it if we ran into a serious ex when we’re fifty and our children with be at the age where they are getting married?
Now and then is not limited to the South Asian demographic though. This is definitely a theme in most cultures, so our team hopes this film will be enjoyed by all.
Have you always wanted to become a director?
I’ve always to do something with films. But I used to think that I could only be an actress because I’ve never really been familiar with any female directors growing up. But, of course, as I grew older and started seeing a few female directors making amazing films, I started thinking about it. But it was my dad who brought it up and started putting the thought of direction into my head- thank you!!
Can you explain to us about the Indiegogo campaign?
Our Indiegogo campaign is our crowdfunding initiative where we are aiming to raise $7,440. This budget is for our post-production stage: Film editors, sound engineers, ADR, score composition, and our film festival submission fees.
If you’re interested in helping us out, you can log into http://igg.me/at/nowandthenfilm/x/11711365 and choose a ‘perk’ in return for a donation value. The campaign closes on September 19, and we would be happy to get any donation of any amount! It’s quick and simple, plus 20% of your donation goes towards Uplift Humanity India!
We heard you had the chance to work with experienced professionals, can you tell us a bit more about the professionals you worked with?
Yes, so we created this mentor-mentee relationship in all aspects of the film. Vijay, our associate and line producer, was my biggest mentor in this process. He helped us out with everything from story to camera work to the filmmaking process to connecting us with the right people and so much more. Through him we met Ajay, he is our director of photography, he’s so knowledgeable with lighting and cinematography and he’s also the most patient and hard-working guy I have ever met!
Our actors were all much more experienced than me it was interesting working with them because as the Director they expected me to give them …well, direction. I remember in the beginning I was really nervous and felt a little intimidated by them, but they were really encouraging and I finally was able to vocalize my ideas and thoughts better.
These are examples of some of the team I was able to work with unfortunately I cannot discuss everyone’s involvement right now, but you can find out more about them on our website: www.nowandthenfilm.com.
Any word of advice you’d like to give to a beginner filmmaker like yourself?
Movie making is all about your team make sure that if you do decide to direct a film, find and bring together a passionate and compatible group and make sure to be that one point of contact for every single team member.
