Actor Sharman Joshi, who is soon going to come up with his film Musical School, shares some exclusive deets with The Pioneer, about the film, recalling his academics days, and more.
SHIKHA DUGGAL
Actor Sharman Joshi, is not just an actor but a parent too, and he knows for a fact how the society that we live in has high regard for academic excellence. But when in conversation with the actor, his point of view differs! He is bringing such a unique film on the table to not let any young student face harsh criticism if they fail to meet their parent’s expectations.
Sharman feels self doubting about your abilities is not good! And now comes his film titled Musical School, alongside Shriya Saran. So glad to hear that, “As the name suggests, the movie is about a music school — it is going to be a very relevant movie, something that you see in Hollywood. We complete it with singalongs, and then we have a social concept to present as well. I am playing the character of a drama teacher in that school. We have created an atmosphere where all of us are very frustrated to put up a play because there is a dearth of students who would love to perform in a play. We are showing how parents do not want their children to take part in arts and culture.”
Sharman goes on to explain to us in detail, “Nowadays, parents are dealing with their own set of pressures, and their children are left with no choices. So a film like this will actually give a voice to the young students as well. I’ll cite my example, but my example is a tad bit different from the current scenario. I was very fortunate during my childhood. My parents were very progressive! There was only one condition to give me the best education, and they stuck to their commitment. They never pressured me because I remember struggling with mathematics. I was failing, and when I was doing my intermediate, because of this, I had a nervous breakdown. I was crying every day to go to sleep, and I was tensed. What comforted me was a walk with my father, and he resolved everything for me. I am imparting the same sight of relief in my children as well. I tell them every day that not everyone is meant to be an academician. There are so many options available now! It was high time, there was a need for specialisations. They hold another sort of weightage.”
He was very critical while choosing this subject because he sees this problem prevailing in every other family these days. “The theme of the film is very universal. Academics is no doubt very important, but now there are other streams to flourish in as well. A child can make a career out of an extracurricular activity too! So music school is not undermining those subjects. Even if the child is not able to make a career out of it, he or she still has a life skill handy. There is also relief from the mundane studies. Sometimes, it’s okay to break away from academic values.”
A must watch film, feel good fans will surely be hooked to this kind of a genre — “More than all of us, the director has worked extremely hard on the film. He studied the whole concept from scratch! He started preparations a year and a half in advance. Almost 500 kids had auditioned for the film. The director has taken the most trouble. He brought all the kids to Hyderabad, flying from different cities, for the shoot. There were daily exercises on sets!”
The movie’s buzz has gone international in no time. Sharman’s film has obtained the rights to three songs from the iconic Rodgers and Hammerstein musical. Directed by Indian civil service officer-turned filmmaker Paparao Biyyala, Sharman heaped so many praises about him. “Filmmaking has always been his passion. There was a short film that he made and it won a national award. So he was the principal advisor at the sets of music school. Just for the film’s sake, he went and met the chief ministers of Telangana and Assam to spread some awareness. We were only following our director! And then there were so many kids on the set, and I got along very well. That’s something inbuilt in me, I guess. All of them were so innocent. Even though they are child actors, they were very competent on the sets!”
On the contrary, Sharman Joshi is very selective about his scripts, and he keeps hearing around him that oh! you may go out of sight, if you do not bag each and every script. But he is thinking straight and feels that before every release, the fanfare and the buzz will always keep him alive in the hearts of the audiences.
