Chalking Out Their Dreams

Navin and Abhishek had a dream. The two 14-year-olds wanted to get into the movies. Abhishek wanted to act and Navin, direct. The boys grew up in Bangalore savoring cinema. They would avoid the multiplexes, heading out instead to the single screen theaters. Navin wanted to experience "the real reaction of people. To see how they react to the images." It was to be an invaluable training ground. 

The boys watched, talked, dreamt cinema and stories. But, as it happens in most of their movies, their story too had a twist. Growing up in salaried middle-class families in Bangalore, the boys had to pursue education that would lead to respectable careers. So they did. Graduating as computer engineers they joined a BPO. Normally this story should end here. But it did not.

A little over four years ago Navin came across a photograph of a child sleeping with the chalked image of his mother. That was from the Iraq war and won its photographer many awards. It also moved Navin. He wanted to do something for children, especially those without a voice...the orphans.

The script was relatively easy. It was ready three years ago. But execution took a long time. First they got an orphanage in Bangalore, Sishu Mandir, to agree to their proposal. Navin says "I don't think the orphanage people expected anything would happen." Then they got hold of a theater actor and a three-year-old child. They had a day to shoot the film. Everything was impromptu, and decided on the spot. The kid was allowed to roam free across Sishu Mandir and the camera followed.

The only scene they struggled with was when the kid was to lie down on the ground. He found it dirty, but Navin coaxed him to give a perfect shot. Editing and music took a further six months. Finally, they had their two minute film. It cost Navin and Abhishek about Rs 20,000. This they managed between themselves. The video went on youtube on Nov 14, 2013...Children's Day. It was an instant hit.



In a year, it garnered over five million views. Then Ashton Kutcher happened. Around November 1 last year Kutcher watched then tweeted and shared the Chalk link on Facebook.

Kutcher's endorsement pushed up the views further. The video has now crossed nine million views and has won all round praise from netizens. 

What did this do to Navin and Abhishek? For one thing their parents now believe in their dream. Navin says "they know we can become something. They know we are serious." They got publicity and with it recognition. "People come up to us on the street and ask if we directed Chalk. I don't how they know, but they do. We like that. We are embarrassed sometimes, but we like it. We get calls and emails from all over the world. Many want to help kids. We have fulfilled our objective," says Navin.

They have won awards. Their movie has been widely distributed in India and overseas. They will get some money too. They don't know how much yet. Their distributor will cut their first check in about seven months. This will include monetization on youtube as well as distribution through traditional channels. While Navin is not sure how much Chalk has earned, I did the math and the numbers are interesting. Youtubers can expect to be paid anything from $2-3 for 1000 views. At nine million views the video would have earned anything from $20,000 to 25,000. That's Rs 12 to 15 lakhs. And that's just from youtube alone. Not bad for a video that cost just Rs 20,000 to shoot!

Navin and Abhishek are moving on, with a lot of confidence. Navin says "our next film is going to be about women. It will be something unimaginable." Navin is also a lot more savvy about funding his projects. He knows they don't have to worry about money. "We are thinking of crowd funding our next film. We have a reputation, so maybe that will work," he says.

I loved the story of Chalk. But I also love the story of the two boys behind Chalk. Two boys with a dream and an idea. They poured their heart and soul into it. They were not afraid of the unknown. Not daunted by what they did not know. Neither is a trained film maker. Their knowledge of social media rudimentary. But that did not stop them. Ten years and one film later the two 24-year-olds are well on their way to living their dream!

PS: Navin would love that I mention his entire cast and crew so here goes all the people behind Chalk

Associate Director: Abhishek A L
Music director: Nirmal

Assistant Directors: Karthik R, Sendhil Kumar

Screenplay, Cinematography, Editor: Bhupinder Singh Raina