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‘Nanku’ is a film about a six-year old boy from a small town of Saurashtra, Gujarat. In preparation for the film, I read over 150 short stories and finally found a story that I enjoyed thoroughly. It was a story by Ruskin Bond ‘A rupee travelled a long way’. Unable to buy Jalebis with that coin he manages to exchange the coin for various items and ultimately gets money for jalebi in exchange for one of the items. My script eventually drifted away from the original story, but stayed true to the original plotline. The film is chiefly about the lead character. ‘Nanku’ is a proper noun, a pet name given to boys. It means ‘young one’ or ‘little one’. The child is a little brat who dislikes being called young or small. He prefers being called by his real name, Ruturajsingh Jadeja.
The film revolves around Nanku’s fruitless efforts over the course of one morning, to exchange this invalid coin for various items, and through various episodes, portray the child’s innocence, moods, friendship, fears and perception of mundane daily life. He has a fight with his friend Kuki, Nanku throws away the imaginary jalebi given to him by her. The sequence shows the environment of Nanku’s lifestyle, his conduct, the actual culture and surroundings of Saurashtra with many other characters.
The biggest learning I’ve had in this process is that I need to have confidence in only myself and that I need’nt rely on anyone else. I learned to trust my instincts and my decisions. |