The Colour of Darkness

The Colour of Darkness is a 2016 film written and directed by Girish Makwana.  The film talks about discrimination, racism, and violence in Australia and India, and is focused on the 2009 attacks on Indian students in Melbourne and the caste system in India.

The film premiered at the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne (IFFM) on 21 August 2016.  Theatre release across Australia 19 May 2017.

Plot
An Australian-Indian journalist, Maria (Vidya Makan), is investigating an attack on an Indian student in Melbourne, and subsequently meets Giriraj (Sahil Saluja) and embarks on a journey through the social history of Indian and modern Australian society.

Cast
 Vidya Makan as Maria
 Sahil Saluja as Giriraj
 Sanjeet Pahil as Jaydeep
 Derryn Hinch as Petre McCallum
 Michelle Celebicanin as Sherley O'Neill
 Ashrut Khatter as Srinivas
 Meeraj Shah as Nikunj Verma
 Davini Malcolm as Margaret
 Russell Williamson as Steve
 Mukesh Meckwan as Kanti

Production
According to Makwana, he got the initial idea of the story during a phone conversation with his father around the time of 2009 attacks on Indian students in Melbourne city.  His father narrated the tale of discrimination faced by him in his home village, Tundel in Gujarat, due to caste and social hierarchy.  This gave Makwana an idea to connect two tales and two countries.

The film was shot in Melbourne and Gujarat.

The film was inspired by Makwana's family's experience with the caste system of India.  The family is part of the weaver caste, who are referred to as the "untouchables" in Gujarat.  His father, Mr Kantibhai Makwana, was the first person in his village to complete B.A.(Bachelors of Arts), M.A.(Master of Arts), B.Ed. (Bachelors of Education) and later went on to complete LLB ( Bachelor of Law).  Makwana's mother - Shardaben, also an educated woman (B.Ed), fought alongside her husband for their rights, disobeying cultural norms that dictated their inferiority.  The family's stand had consequences, with the family once having to flee their home in middle of night due to group of locals attacking the locality they lived in.  Makwana's parents continued their advancement through society however.  His father later wrote four books on different social issues particularly caste system of India, inspiring his son Girish.

Casting
Makwana auditioned almost three hundred actresses before casting Vidhya Makan as Maria.  The process took about two and half years.

In Indian cast, Makwana used local people as well theatre artists from India for authenticity.

Makwana recruited Pragyan Patra to sing for the film after seeing her sing on the reality show "Voice of India."  According to Patra, she initially auditioned for Makwana via a WhatsApp recording.

then-Australian senator Derryn Hinch was recruited to play a politician in the film.

Development
To find a location which gave the feel of real Indian village during the 1960s, producers Lorraine and Girish scouted locations for six months before settling down to shot in the inner rural area of Kheda district (Gujarat, India).  They were looking for a place with no electricity poles and water connection as they didn't exist in Tundel of 1965.

The caste system still exists and is so deep-rooted in India that when they went to Hariyana village of Gujarat, Kheda to shoot, the people from lower caste requested them not to, as it might create problems for them later on.

The first part of the movie was shot in 2012 January in India but the movie was delayed as it took two years to find the main protagonist.  Makan was finally cast in 2014, after which the Melbourne part was shot.

Release
The film premiered on 21 August 2016 at the Indian Film Festival in Melbourne, Australia.  It was later screened at the 15th Dhaka International Film Festival in January 2017, the 18th Rainbow film festival of London in April 2017, and the 5th Indian Cine Film Festival in September 2017 (where it won the best film jury award), and the 7th ACCTA Australian film Festival  2017 September (consideration of nomination), and the Indian International film festival of Queensland in November 2017.

Censorship in India
Initially, to be released in India in May 2017, the film's Indian release had to be delayed several months due to disagreements with the Central Board of Film Certification in India.  The Board insisted on several changes such as removing the word achhoot (untouchable), and cutting a dialogue which described India as the "most racist country in the world."

About the censorship, Makwana commented "The fact is that untouchability (achhoot) is a part of our history and is still prevalent and it seems strange that a movie which explores caste discrimination has been asked to beep the word.  I am only showing what exists.

The film was finally released in India on 13 October 2017.

Accolades
The film has won BEST FILM JURY AWARD in 5th Indian Cine Film Festival in 2017. It has been nominated in five categories (Best Film, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, Best Costume, Best Production Design) in Australian Independent Ozflix Awards, 2018

It has been screened at various film festivals:

 Indian Film Festival 2016, Melbourne, Australia
 15th Dhaka International Film Festival 2017, Dhaka, Bangladesh
 18th Rainbow Film Festival 2017, London, UK
 5th Indian Cine Film Festival, 2017
 7th ACCTA Australian Film Festival, 2017
 Indian International Film Festival, Queensland 2017
 Ozflix, Australian Independent Film Awards, Melbourne 2018
 International Gujarati Film Festival, New Jersey, USA, 2018

Music
The film's director and writer, Girish Makwana, composed all the film's music, utilising a real string orchestra to record the music. The film's official sound track contains six tracks.

References

 The Colour of Darkness’ raises vital issues: http://www.southasiatimes.com.au/news/?p=7706
 Girish Makwana's ‘Colour of Darkness’ nominated for the Ozzies:http://www.southasiatimes.com.au/news/?p=7688

External links

Nayak, Shivali (3 October 2016). "Girish Makwana's film explores racism from an Australia-India perspective". Australia plus.

"The Colour of Darkness". Dhaka International Film Festival.

Category:2016 films
Category:Australian films
Category:Australian drama films