MAKING MASAAN
A conversation with Neeraj Ghaywan and Varun Grover
Moderated by Namrata Joshi
Sunday, Nov 8Â Club House, 1:15 PM
Masaan, one of 2015’s big indie hits, deals with issues that are rarely touched upon in mainstream cinema. In Masaan, we see a new kind of India, one where social divides are being undermined by the growing access to the internet. At the same time, cultural constraints create a paradox of relative morality, and it is this point that the film drives home. Director Neeraj Ghaywan and screenwriter and lyricist, Varun Grover, will engage the audience in a freewheeling discussion about the making of Masaan and the film as a reflection of a society in rapid flux. The session will touch upon issues of gender, sexuality, class, caste, and corruption that the film raises.
Filmmakers:
Neeraj Ghaywan, an engineer and an MBA, moved on from his corporate career in 2010 to pursue filmmaking. He has assisted renowned filmmaker Anurag Kashyap on the two-part film, Gangs of Wasseypur and was the second unit director for Ugly. He has also made two short films The Epiphany and Shor, the winner of the Grand Jury Awards at three international film festivals in New York, LA and London.
Varun Grover is a screenwriter and lyricist from Himachal Pradesh. After studying engineering in Varanasi, he worked as a software consultant before moving to Mumbai to chase his dream of becoming a writer. His flair for comedy got him a job as a writer for the much-acclaimed The Great Indian Comedy Show, while also performing as a stand-up comedian. The script for Masaan, which Grover has written, was part of the Sundance Screenwriters’ lab 2014.
Moderator:
Namrata Joshi is currently Associate Editor and film critic with The Hindu Mumbai. One of India’s most influential film critics, she has served on the jury of several prestigious international film festivals and written extensively on cinema.
