Ananth Mahadevan: The stories of war veterans didn’t deserve to be forgotten

Writerdirector Ananth Mahadevan has announced his next venture lsquoVeterans Of War The India Storyrsquo Produced by Ashvin Gidwani of AGP World the 75minute documentary film that celebrates 75 years of Indian independence and will feature real life stories and interviews of 20 Indian armed forces Gallantry awardees Mahadevan spoke to middaycom about this special projectHow did the idea of lsquoVeterans Of War The India Storyrsquo come to youThe documentary stemmed from an idea to do a film on the Indian Navy Commander Vijay Vadhera was very forthcoming but the film which was intentioned to be an authentic portrayal of the forces needed huge budgets and that would take time to work out In the meantime Commander Vadhera and me thought of documenting the unsung veterans of the armed forces He was resourceful in requesting about 30 veterans from all over india to go live on our cameras and narrate one of the most unforgettable moments or events in their lives The stories that emerged were awe inspiring and we could see a unprecedented docu in the makingWhat are your fondest memories of interacting with the Armed forces for this documentaryThe untold stories of war veterans didnrsquot deserve to be forgotten or go unsung Thanks to Cdr Vadhera i got access to veterans who wouldnrsquot have under normal circumstances opened up It was a hitherto unexplored cinematic territory and was befitting the occasion of the 75th year of Indiarsquos independence And then a veteranrsquos son Ashvin Gidwani an accomplished theatre and media person jumps in to produce the film as a tribute Both Federal Bank and Transworld too saw a noble opportunity in Veterans of War and happily associated themselves with the projectThe interactions with war veterans like Wing Commander Jaggi nath now over 90 was a revelation That only 4 candidates first applied for joining the Air force was news to me Other stories like a letter of hate by a Pakistani girlfriend to her armed forces friend life hanging on a thread in LTTE territory in Srilanka and the submarine guys scaling Mt Everest were all hitherto untold stories that evoked aweAlso ReadAnanth N Mahadevan Didnrsquot want to repeat angry Nana on screenWhat were the challenges making itThe challenge was to document in person the one big moment in each war veteranrsquos life and draw them out to divulging information that could qualify to be classified The veterans showed me materials that could not make it to the film because of their nature but provided fodder for the pitching of their anecdotes in the right perspectiveThe untold stories of war veterans didnrsquot deserve to be forgotten or go unsung Thanks to Cdr Vadhera i got access to veterans who wouldnrsquot have under normal circumstances opened up It was a hitherto unexplored cinematic territory and was befitting the occasion of the 75th year of Indiarsquos independence And then a veteranrsquos son Ashvin Gidwani an accomplished theatre and media person jumps in to produce the film as a tribute Both Federal Bank and Transworld too saw a noble opportunity in Veterans of War and happily associated themselves with the project