Most young graduates from Whistling Woods would make a beeline for Bollywood to start their film careers but Siddharth Sharma didn’t want to take the beaten track. After graduating from the film school, he took a trip to London in September 2009, which is where he stumbled upon the subject for his debut film Arjun & Alison.
It took him three years to complete the film, which was among the 15 films that were screened at the London India Film Festival on Saturday.
“It was on September 5, 2009 when the Birmingham riots broke out that I found myself right in the middle of all the mayhem. Honestly, like most Indians, I too was of the opinion that these things happen only in India; so the entire incident was an eye opener for me. I wanted to make a film that made our youth more politically and socially aware. That’s where the journey began,” he says.
The film touches upon grave matters such as racism, the gun culture in England and corruption in India, and how they affect the lives of the youth. “It’s a story about two friends Arjun and Alison and how their lives get messed when their African-American friend gets murdered on the university campus,” he says. Considering “racism” has been a hot topic among several filmmakers in the past, how is Arjun & Alison any different from the rest of them?
“It’s not a preachy film because it doesn’t take sides in particular. It paints a very realistic picture of the many layers of racism that exist in every society,” says Siddharth who is looking to release the film in India in October. Talking about his target audience, he says, “There is a huge community of students that goes abroad for higher studies. It might give them a better insight and they might find the film interesting.”