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Do check out this project I backed on Wishberry.
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Toofaan Mail
“A Queen? No way! really?”
No gun, no get away, and she almost got what she wanted.
“Where would I live if not in a palace?” she asked.
This was a heist like no other. It was 1974, a woman landed at the New Delhi Railway station in 1974 and she claimed she was the Queen of Awadh and asked to meet Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. Her claims in a cloud of suspense and her head held high, she was the living answer to the question, “How do you become a Queen?”
This film is an almost-heist based on believe-it-or-not true events from the 1970s at the New Delhi Railway Station with Nawabs from Awadh, reporters from BBC, the station master, a rickshaw puller, and a queen.
About me - Akriti Singh
I play the penniless queen in the film, have written the screenplay, directed the film, edited it and produced it. It was so much work, so much fun and the realization of a cherished dream.
I come from a small town. My happiest memories are sitting in a cinema hall, staring widely-eyed at the big screen. I still feel the same rush in my heart each time the lights dim in the theatre and a film is about to begin. Films helped me cope with the humdrum small-town life and gave me hope and a sense of adventure, ambition.
But just having a dream is not enough, you must work hard towards it. Over the last few years, I have acted in several films and TV Series - most recently in Breathe 2 with Abhishek Bacchan, also Kaamyaab (on Netflix these days), Photograph with Ritesh Batra (who made Lunchbox), Broken But Beautiful with Balaji, Mere Apne with Vinod Khanna and Smriti Irani, as well as Mrs. & Mr. Sharma Allahabadwale, Grihadah and several others.
I have also written, produced, directed and performed 14 plays in the last 3 years, which have opened at some of the most prestigious venues in the nation - Prithvi Theatre, NCPA, India Habitat Centre etc. and have garnered great acclaim.
I have even directed a music video for Rabbi Shergill (Bulla ki Jaana fame) and made over 10 short films!
My passion for cinema drove me to learn acting, screenplay writing, direction, editing and I've given it all my heart. This film brings the best of my skills and a brilliant team to tell a bewitching tale based on true events. This is my first film and I plan to make at least a 100 films in my life.
What inspired me to make this film?
It was a fascinating real life incident that sparked the idea of this tale. As I wove fiction around the fact, the film became a very fresh take on the heist plot. When something this much fun comes around, you can't help but give it your all to bring it to life.
Art Direction for the Period of 1970-80s
The film shows the period of 1970-80s and it was important for us to get the location and props of the film period-right.
1. The New Delhi Railway Station
After extensive search we found a railway station in Farrukhabad (Uttar Pradesh) that could look like the New Delhi Railway Station from 1974.
2. Artifacts & Costumes
With authentic Nawabi artifacts borrowed from the modern day heirs of Nawabs from in and around Lucknow, the costumes, props, even camera angles and lenses are all period accurate. To shoot this way with no money not only took a lot of ingeniousness and imagination, it took a lot of hard work.
What is unique about this film?
Many things are unique about the film and stand out.
1. A fresh take on the heist drama
2. The incredible real world events that the film’s fiction uses as a starting point.
3. The innovative "auteur" approach to storytelling, focussing on the fast pace, drama and plot.
Work in progress
The film’s edit is locked. We are already in the process of dubbing the film. Foley, color-correction needs to be done and we have to make the music of the film. Once the funds are in place the film will be completed in the next 45-50 days.
Release plan of the film
We are planning to send it to Sundance, Cannes, Berlin film festival etc. All the prestigious festivals. Looking at the current scenario, we will try to release the film on an OTT platform.
Why should people contribute to this film?
There was a scene in the film with an entire passenger train. A working train, hundreds of people, several takes, no way was it going to be possible to shoot, everyone had lost all hope. Then on the fourth day, a passenger train was routed to the small goods-train only station where we were shooting. It was unbelievable! Everyone came out to help us make the film that day. Workers laying new rail tracks came, the folks running the train came, the passengers came, even people from the nearby village, someone even got jalebis for the crew! Everyone came and helped us shoot till the scenes were done. When the crowds dispersed, the air was glowing with thousands of smiles, the distant sounds of a train chugging away into the scenery. We didn't know those thousands of souls, they just came out in full force to make art. It was a revolution.
This film needs you to be there too, on that station, with those thousands of smiles, in that revolution.
This film is our attempt to return to the classical form of cinema - where you forget that you are watching a film and immerse into the fascinating world of the story. The art is far bigger than any artist. We cannot do this alone and need all the help, from all of you. We'll all have this film to remind us that so many came together for a revolution of art, of love.
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