Ritesh Sinha is the Indian director of a new film in English that was made in India, opening July 24 in the UK. It is called “Promise Dad.”
The film is based in the world of ice skating, and centres on one young man’s desire to win in that world, supported by his Indian father.
Mr Sinha began his film journey in advertising and media after graduating from Sydenham College of Commerce and Economics.
He directed many ads including Old Spice and Kodak that had an International Release, Ponds and Reebok that had Indian releases. Being an ad filmmaker gave him the confidence to go independent and look at the changing tastes of Indian cinema audiences. He discovered Indian industry sectors were aligning with global trends.
Before hitting London, he spoke to the Asian Voice on the phone from India.
“I realized at heart I am a storyteller, and I needed to write my own films to bring to the big screen,” he said.
“I wrote a film about Mauritius Independence. At that time the Indian market was not supportive to English films made out of India.”
His first independently produced Short Film, “War or Peace,” won some international awards:
- ‘Best International Short Film of the Year’ at Kerry Film Festival, UK.
- ‘Best Short Film of the Year’ at Wine Country Film Festival, San Francisco.
It was shown at Cannes Film Festival 2003; Dances with Films, Beverly Hills, and Foyle Film Festival 2003, Ireland.
Ritesh was invited to be the India President of Europe’s Sports Film Festival based in Milan, Italy between 2005 – 2009.
In 2012, Ritesh began work on his international feature film “Promise Dad” written and directed by him and shot in London, U.K. “I waited a little, then I wrote this film about ice skating- a father and son, living in London. How they have their trials and tribulations, how the boy achieves what he started to do. It’s a good combination- a family story that’s thrilling. The ice skating looks glorious on the big screen and it’s London-centric. The film was produced by my company, Ten Films, that is owned by me and parts of my family.”
Ten Films is making international films in India. These are films designed to cater to Indians and the Asian diaspora as well as the mainstream host audiences in international countries, including the United States and the United Kingdom.
“The greatest challenge was to make an English film out of India. Films coming out of India usually cater to our own Indian audiences and South Asians living abroad. With ‘Promise Dad,’ we wanted to reach out to a bigger, mainstream audience besides our own people because it’s a human story. The challenge was to bring it out at a bigger level by making it in English,” Ritesh said.
He continued that when he was doing the initial rounds of talking to collaborators in India, “They were not sure how I would create an ice skating atmosphere and did not see how I could create a story within that.” But eventually, collaborators bought into Ritesh’s confidence and commitment to the project.
“Now everyone is supporting me greatly after the trailor was released across the world. People know now that my vision was correct, even if they didn’t see it that way at first.”
So does he seek to emulate the success of “Slumdog Millionaire?” Ritesh says to get to that scale may be difficult, though he is seeking “that tenor and attention. Even if we are on that path, it will be a good beginning for me as a filmmaker.”
Strategically, Ritesh mentioned that Indian films abroad have a basic marketing plan to release in “set areas, set pockets. With ‘Promise Dad,’ we are opening nationwide to connect to local and national audiences.
On Friday 24 July, we hope people will come and check out the film. If the film works for them, they will recommend it to others. That’s how a film grows.”
And the mainstream press reaction? “We have been talking and giving interviews. They are evaluating, as it is not usual for them to receive an English language film from India for international promotional release!” Ritesh concluded.
Ritesh Sinha is already committed to his next project, to be filmed in the United States in early 2016.
