Did not want my film to look 'gareeb': Girish on 'Jal'

Director-producer Girish Malik says he has tried to shoot his debut film "Jal" in such a way that it appears like an epic as he did not want it to have an impoverished look.
The film, which had its world premiere at the Busan International Film Festival last month, stars Purab Kohli, Tannishtha Chatterjee and Kirti Kulhari in lead roles.
Since the title of the movie may suggest that it is a arthouse film, Malik says he has incorporated every commercial aspect in "Jal" to make it more mass appealing.
"As I was calling my film 'Jal', a lot of people think the film will be an arthouse cinema. It will be very boring. It will have a very quaint music which will not be heard and things like that. I always thought this film was an epic. I wanted to shoot it like an epic, give it a grand treatment. I didn't want my film to look 'gareeb'," Malik said in an interview.

"I wanted my film to look huge. It is not a typical Bollywood film but it will appeal to the masses. That is why we took two years for pre-production before shooting," he added.
The film produced by Oneworld Films Pvt Ltd, is set in the arid, harsh environment of Rann of Kutch in the state of Gujarat. The story is about Bakka (played by Kohli), who claims to have a special gift for locating that most precious of resources: water in the village.

Malik said the conditions in which they shot were very difficult and there were even time when the team wanted to leave the shoot midway and head home.

"It was a very tough shoot. I remember once we were having lunch and all of a sudden someone said bend down and we realized that a twister was coming and then it would take away our entire food. Many times we had to survive on gur (jaggery) and onions. We all wanted the schedule to end quickly so that we would be able to go home. We shot in 48 to 50 degrees," Malik said on the sidelines of IFFI, where 'Jal' was screened at the Indian Panorama section.
Malik said that they are planning to release the film in theatres soon and have zeroed down on January 10, 2014.

"There are still some discussions on. But it should release in January next year. I am happy that my producers are doing their all to release this film well. They don't just want the film to hit theatres and go to the archives. They want a public curiosity build up about the film and we are working on it. A platform like IFFI also helps us a lot," he said.