A Silicon Valley techie addresses the existential crisis of Indians trying to call US their home
Rishi Bhilawadikar wrote the first draft of For Here Or To Go? in 2012
It might not sound like the most likely comparison, but Rishi S Bhilawadikar likens his tryst with filmmaking to that of running a startup, except that the end result is a feature film. The 34-year-old techie, who currently lives and works in San Francisco as principal user experience designer for Gap, is collecting accolades as we speak, for his film, For Here Or To Go?, which is slated to release next week, after a golden run in festivals globally. The film traces the struggle of Bay Area Indians stuck in a limbo due to the US immigration system, in a comic vain. Bhilawadikar, who has been living in the US for 13 years now, dug into his own experiences to write this film. Born in Mumbai, this Thane boy moved to the US in 2005 to pursue a master's degree in interactive media and video game design from Indiana University.
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Speaking to us in an email interview, Bhilawadikar elaborated on why he thought of making the film. "It's the problem with my immigration status, which I was finding very hard to explain to my American boss, peers and my parents. It affects most immigrants. I was writing about this on a blog titled, Stuff Desis Like. But all that I wanted to say couldn't fit in a blog. This is why I thought a film would be an apt way to explore the subject."
With no training in film writing whatsoever, Bhilawadikar turned to Google search. "Some aspects of writing a screenplay are similar to what I do in design technology. That's a completely different conversation though. I did self-learning up to a point, after which I took a six-week course at the San Francisco Film Society, and that was it."
He went through news articles, immigration case studies, laws and heard real accounts from people to sharpen the script. "I also read a lot of screenplays of films that I wanted mine to be like. I re-read parts of Catch-22, and I was so glad when an American critic called the film a 'modern-day Catch-22'. It was exactly what I was going for, an
absurdist comedy of sorts."
It took him a long time to find his way in unfamiliar territory. He managed to complete his first draft in 2012, and the film took another six years to take shape. "Like with all ideas, it's a lot about your own confidence in the idea and some great, kind people sharing that vision. It's like my startup, except, that here the end product happens to be a feature film. The challenges are similar — team building, fundraising, marketing. I started by pitching it to some people in Hollywood and then, Bollywood. I soon realised that this had to be done independently, because it was a fresh perspective that would lose its authenticity otherwise," he says.
Set against the backdrop of the 2008 recession, the film has been directed by Rucha Humnabadkar and stars Ali Fazal, Rajit Kapoor, Omi Vaidya, Amitosh Nagpal and Melanie Chandra in key roles. As for Bhilawadikar's own story, his struggle for a Green Card continues. "I am a living example of the existential problems shown in the film." But, he did not want this issue to get lost in political rhetoric, so, he has used humour to tell the story.
Quiz him on the oddball title, and he says, "It's a question frequently asked in coffee shops and restaurants here — 'for here or to go?' When I was new to the US, it would perplex me. On the surface, this question is something you must get used to, but at a deeper level, it's also about the dilemma most people, especially Indians, have about which country to ultimately call home. It's a perfect title for a comedic take on existential ambiguity."
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