Tanmaya Shekhar's Independent Debut 'Nukkad Naatak' Hits Theaters with Grassroots Marketing
This February marks the release of Tanmaya Shekhar's debut film as an independent filmmaker, titled 'Nukkad Naatak.' The movie features Molshri and Shivang Rajpal in lead roles, weaving a narrative that juxtaposes two closely situated yet vastly different worlds. Shekhar aims to present education through the creative and conversational medium of street theater, hoping audiences will appreciate this unique cinematic experience.
Challenges and Self-Marketing Efforts
As a first-time independent filmmaker, Tanmaya Shekhar faces significant hurdles without the support of a major production banner. To overcome this, he and his team have embarked on an intensive self-marketing campaign. In an exclusive conversation, Shekhar explained, "Marketing, we are doing everything ourselves. It's kind of self-distribution only. We are putting the film in theatres ourselves. And then we knew that we had to find the audience for this film."
He elaborated on their grassroots approach: "The audience won't come on their own because, first of all, nobody will know or hear about this film. We hand-painted the caravan. And then we went from Mumbai to Ahmedabad, from Ahmedabad to Baroda, from Baroda to Indore, Bhopal, Kota, Jaipur, Delhi, and other cities." The team engages directly with communities by visiting colleges, schools, NGOs, and street corners daily, performing call songs and spreading awareness about the film through personal interactions.
Inspiration Behind 'Nukkad Naatak'
Tanmaya Shekhar shared the personal origins of the film, rooted in his upbringing on an IIT campus where his father was a professor. A visit to a nearby slum during Diwali with his mother, who taught there, sparked a realization: "It was a very shocking moment for me. It's like one of those moments where you see you have two Indias within one India. On one hand, you had this elite engineering college, and then on the other hand, you had this basti, which is only four kilometers away."
This experience inspired the film's core theme of bridging social divides. Shekhar continued, "So I felt, these two worlds are so close to each other, but there's no interaction. Then, immediately, I wanted to make a film, which is about two students, two college students. So, basically, they share my worldview, and they're forced to work with kids in the basti."
Integrating Social Issues Through Street Theater
The film tackles two key social issues:
- Education in Underserved Areas: Focusing on the education of children in slums and rural regions.
- LGBTQ Lives in Conservative Settings: Exploring the challenges faced by LGBTQ individuals in traditional communities.
Shekhar chose street theater as the unifying art form, noting, "I felt like the art form of Nukkad Natak, because what I have done in college, I know so many people, like Maulshree has done a lot of Nukkad Natak, like I thought it would be something that could tie both the social. After all, I mean, that's the idea of Nukkad Natak, right? You use it to raise social awareness and social consciousness." This approach creates a cohesive narrative arc that blends entertainment with social commentary.
With passion driving their efforts, Tanmaya Shekhar and his team are determined to bring 'Nukkad Naatak' to a wide audience, leveraging street theater to foster dialogue and understanding across societal lines.
