Chapter 3
Desolate stretches adorned the lanes of Noida Film City in the nineties. With no mode of
transport or dedicated auto or taxi stand without a single soul in sight, very few ventured into
that no man’s land. Markets were far-fetched and tucked in the outskirts. Amidst all this milieu
of inconveniences and insecurities, Sandeep Marwah exuded immense optimism to make his
studio ubiquitous. He sat in the precincts of his studio day and night, till he got enraptured with
a series of regular shoots.
“In those days, one did not have the requisite manpower.
At times, the shoot would prolong
till the wee hours of the morning, in the height of winter. The entire staff would have left for
the day while my manager and I would hang on, till the shoot gets over. After consistent work
through the night, the big film crew would fancy a cup of tea at 5 a.m. to refresh themselves.
Without any inhibitions, I would prepare tea even though it is the work of the production
manager to provide tea and transport. This goodwill gesture created a special bond between
the film unit and us, which showed us the power of a personal touch.”
Media coverage enamours most of them in the film arena. “Amid a shoot, some would request
the media to highlight their shoot or the main star in the movie. I would immediately call up
my contacts in the media who would oblige. The next day, the film unit would be bewildered
to see the huge publicity rendered to their new movie in all the major national dailies.
This
small gesture would captivate their attention to such an extent that they would develop an
instant like and comfort level with the studio. They would share their experience with others
and this word of mouth would enhance the image of the studio. This is a service industry where
no one cares for their relative but here we are to make a difference.”
An array of different language films that are on the lookout for prerequisite infrastructure in
north India besides indoor and outdoor shoots began to line up to his studio. “We had film
units from J&K, Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana, Nepal, Uttarakhand, etc book the studio. The
Punjabi film 'Anakh Vangar Di’ was completely shot in the studio for 40 consecutive days.
We
erected a beautiful outdoor locale inside the studio premises and kept different support
systems such as lighting, unit, generator, equipment, and staff, on standby for the shoot. We
even set up a Junior Artists Association with 100 to 1000 artists, at our disposal. With the
provision of lunch and dinner, we used to pay them Rs 200 per day those days which has now
been increased to Rs 1500. These artists are more than happy to feature in a film.”
The amenities requested by the director and cinematographer were given top priority and
arranged or bought immediately.
“Requests for a particular size stool and wooden stairs were
immediately acceded. There was a cameraman who wanted to drape the entire backdrop of
the studio in black. We bought half the shop with the requisite specification of black curtain
cloth with 300 feet length and 200 feet width. We stitched it overnight with the help of ten
tailors and they were pleasantly surprised to see the final set-up the next day. That was the
length to which we helped."
The Marwah studio hosted the famous director Shekhar Kapoor for four months to shoot his
highly appreciated movie `Bandit Queen’. “Shekhar Kapoor was fantastic. He shot the entire
movie in the studio. The cameraman Ashok did wonders while we organized the indoor and
outdoor shoot. We erected nine studios in our domain and arranged the outdoor shoots at
Suraj Kund. I supervised and sent tons of light to illuminate the Tuqhlakabad Fort to shoot a
night sequence. In due course of the shoot indoors, Shekhar Kapoor had to face an unexpected
situation.
The heroine Seema Biswas refused to do the main scene where she had to shed off
her clothes. He called her to my office and tried to convince her that it is the turning point of
the film and character. After four hours, she finally agreed to do the scene and shot in the
presence of just the director and cameraman.”
This consistent exposure to the studios and shoots helped Sandeep Marwah acquire an indepth knowledge of film making and improve his calibre and expression. “I got the required
know-how of the profession and experienced the grandeur of feature films. Within two years,
I had gathered a lot of information and developed solid contacts in north India. This made me
inclined to open my film school and train students in visual media. So, I made a paradigm shift
from shoots to film school.
I had nurtured this ambition for too long and so I decided to make
some progress in that direction.”
“I approached a few veterans in the field of education for some valid inputs. I fixed time with
the well-known educationist and former Dean Sadan Malik of FTII, Pune at the music shop in
Khan market. I shared the outline of the prospectus and he agreed to meet me the next day in
his house in Munirka and we finalized it. He had an immaculate style and attitude, even at that
age of 68. I offered him the post of Dean and after prolonged thought, he agreed to take up
the offer and volunteered to come twice a week to Noida.
By then, I had decided the name of
the school as `National or Indian Film Institute’ though someone suggested `Noida Film School’.
I wanted an exclusive name and make it pan India.”
Ever since his college days at the Institute of Marketing Management in 1979, meticulous plans
were part and parcel of his life and career. “I was quite popular then and wanted to start a club
named `Executive Club’ and our owner and director of IMM, Jagjit Singh agreed immediately.
We were 15 members who formed part of the management committee with a monthly meet.
The members met at Claridge's while the management committee used to meet at the
member's residence. After one year, my residence hosted a party for the management
committee.”
Director Jagjit Singh graced the party and arrived ten minutes before the scheduled time which
is his usual norm. "We engaged in a brief conversation and I enlightened him about my
ambition to start a Film School and make an entry into the world of education. I even informed
the name of the school as either `Indian or National Film School.’ And he immediately retorted,
`Why not Asian Academy of Films?’ It instantly clicked with me, as I realized that it would have
a far better reach and the vision would be multi-fold.
He managed it for two years with students
from all walks of life from around the world. We had students from Hong Kong, Singapore,
Korea, Japan, etc, and we catered to foreign units from Asian countries. (Do we require it to be
mentioned here?)
Armed with confidence, Sandeep Marwah took a firm decision not to entertain any more
suggestions on whether to start the film school or not. “I discussed my innovative idea of the
film school only with those whom I planned to bring on-board. I have had enough discussions
about the film city and studio from 1986. Now, I wanted to make it into a reality and began to
recruit staff for the school. At that time, Sadan Malik suggested engineering as part of the
curriculum and I agreed even though it did not appeal to me as I felt it would be a misfit in a
creative school. I obliged him even though I knew that it would be a mistake to do so."
In due course, he prepared a draft of the prospectus for the film institute which lay
dormant on his mind, for decades. He showed it to Sadan Malik who opined that `television’
should figure in the name of the institute, as it occupied centre-stage. He informed me how FII,
Pune had introduced T and made it FTII, 20 years ago. We finalized the name over a cup of tea
and implemented it officially the next day. Thus, I created the first private film institute in India
and the fourth film school in India and became the first Professor of the film school in north
India. “
In June of 1993, four ads appeared in all the major dailies in Delhi, so that students could enroll
themselves, for the new courses, in the film school. “We tagged along with some bigwigs from
the television and film industry and began the preparations. We restricted the number of seats
to 40 and dedicated eight seats to each course beginning from acting, editing, direction,
cinematography, and film engineering.
We got a huge response for all the courses except for
engineering. Some students were not even aware of what cinematography course meant and
we had to explain that it as the study of cameras. We charged a reasonable amount of Rs 9999
for three months course which now has been raised to Rs 90,000.”
The concept of a film school became the topic of discussion in all sections of the media, be it
print or electronic media, events, think pot, music, cinema, new media, and media
management. Students got enrolled from all the nearby states, Haryana, Punjab, UP, HP, Bihar,
and mentioned their choice of course.
“We allocated courses to students based on their
aptitude and attitude. We had four courses and 33 student applicants wherein most had opted
for the acting course. We segregated them into batches which made some infuriated and
protested as to why they were shifted to the second batch. Sheer euphoria reigned the
institute and we had to increase the number of seats from 8 to 16. As of today, 15, 000 students
have enrolled in the film, tv, art, and culture courses.”
The film academy unfurled its doors officially with its inauguration by Anil Kapoor."Anil Kapoor
and I had gone for a luncheon session at the Jade in Claridges. I had informed him about my
idea to start a film school then in Noida and he laughed. He told me that I would be crazy as it
was not my cup of tea. He said that I would have a tough time as it was a crazy line of business
with dissatisfied people. But I was adamant to go ahead with my plans and he struck a deal
that he would inaugurate my film school, in case I opened one in the future. That was how he
inaugurated the film school. But after the formalities, he looked around and appreciated the
organizational skills and clarity of vision of Sandeep Marwah.”
The end
