TrueLoveStory
Director: Gitanjali Rao
India
2014 | 19min | Colour
Where does Salim, a 17 year old orphan who left his village at the age of eight to make a living in the streets of Bombay, learn to woo a woman? Who teaches him and many other youths growing up on the streets, how ‘boy meets girl’? Bollywood.
Bollywood is a religion in India. Yet what is it that makes millions of people believe in it so strongly, follow it with such a passion, and celebrate it with such fervour? When life in reality for most Indians, is a day to day struggle for survival, steeped in deprivation, homelessness, lack of education and basic human rights, people go to the cinemas to forget reality. And Bollywood offers that fantasy for a few hours that becomes a religion.Yet, when the same fantasy can be mistakenly believed for reality, the balance is lost. This film is an attempt at demystifying what Bollywood means to many a 17 year old in love on the streets of Bombay.
Gitanjali Rao
Gitanjali Rao graduated with honors as a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Sir J. J. Institute of Applied Art, Mumbai, in 1994. She is a self taught animator and film maker and theatre artist. She has since, independently Produced, Directed and Animated three Award winning Short films, Orange, Printed Rainbow and TrueLoveStory. Printed Rainbow, premiered at Cannes 2006, Critic’s Week, in Competition. It went on to win the three Awards for the best Short film, at Cannes 2006. It was also short listed in the last ten films for the Academy Awards in 2008, besides winning 25 International Awards and traveling to over a hundred International Film Festivals. Her latest short film TrueLoveStory which won the Golden Conch at Mumbai International Film Festival, has also been selected at the Cannes Critic’s Week 2014. She also has a string of very popular and award winning animated commercials to her credit and is currently represented by Acme Film Works, L.A. Gitanjali also conducts workshops and presentations and has been in the jury at various International Film Festivals including the prestigious Cannes Critic’s Week 2011.
Credits
Director: Gitanjali Rao
Producer: Gitanjali Rao
Editor: Gitanjali Rao
Music: EarthSync
Festival Appearances & Awards
Mumbai International Film Festival, 2014 – Golden Conch for Best Animation Film
Cannes Film Festival, 2014 – Semaine de la Critique
International Documentary and Shorts Film Festival of Kerala, 2014 – Best Animation Film