Pan Nalin, director of the internationally acclaimed ‘Samsara’, recalls his journey from a remote village in Saurashtra to foreign lands.
Pan Nalin was born to a tea stall owner in Saurashtra. His amazing journey includes his film Samsara, which has been released in over 60 countries (making it to top ten list of several European countries) and the forthcoming Valley of Flowers.
You have had a very modest childhood…
None of us can choose our lives, but it is the choices we make through our lives that make us what we are. I was born with nothing. Today my courage comes from that nothingness. So, I have no fear because I have nothing to lose.
Did financial constraints affect your education?
It didn’t come in the way of me getting into NID (National Institute of Design), but the problems started once I got in. I worked late nights - either at a printing press or a gas station or as a wedding photographer. I also helped my father sell tea on railway platforms. Sometimes I was ashamed, so I never told anyone about the work I did.
What is ‘Samsara’ all about?
A spiritual love story set in the majestic landscape of Ladakh in the Himalayas, Samsara is one man’s struggle to find spiritual enlightenment. Like all other beings, I live all kinds of desires. My desire to tell the story of Tashi and Pema (main characters in the film) comes from my imagination and that probably comes from what I have lived. In one way or another we return to our reality.
What have you learnt while making ‘Samsara’
Never underestimate the potential of human love and never overestimate the potential of human desire, In short, you should ‘be’ the change that you want to see in the world.
Tell us about ‘Valley of Flowers’
Valley of Flowers is a great Asian love story - an unforgettable tale of passion, death and reincarnation. A mesmerising Himalayan epic that spans two centuries, from the Silk Route of the early 19th century to the bustling metropolis of modern-day Tokyo. It has Naseeruddin Shah, Milind Soman, French-Chinese actor Lena Jampanoi and Japanese model, singer and actor Fri.
s_shubha@dnaindia.net
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