In Adam J. Graves and Suchitra MattaisAnuja, resilience in the face of hardship is the central heartbeat.
You also are a teacher.
Im curious how your expertise helped shape you as a filmmaker and come up with the origins of Anuja.
Ananya Shanbhag and Sajda Pathan in AnujaAdam J. Graves
But its not [the same as the] new age Tantrism today.
His work had very little to do with that.
I was always fascinated with Indian culture and literature, especially philosophy.
Ananya Shanbhag (Palak) and Sajda Pathan (Anuja) inAnujaAdam J. Graves
And so, I knew that I wanted to film in India.
Its such a visually beautiful place.
The energy and the culture are so rich.
My wife is of South Asian descent.
She played a large role in shaping this project and inspiring it, quite frankly.
Her familys history is rather complicated.
Her ancestors go back to a place called Gorakhpur in northern India.
They were brought by the British to Guyana as indentured laborers after the British abolished slavery.
And we were coming out of the pandemic, and everybody was talking about supply chains.
But they were talking about the consumer end of supply chains.
And were like, Well, whats happening on the other end?
Not just here, but whats going on where in terms of the production?
And we couldnt think of that many.
So, we thought this would be an interesting way to anchor the story.
Let me just say that I feel that its an incredible privilege to be able to make film.
Anuja has her sister and even strangers who care about her future and safety.
Why was it important to add this layer to the film?
GRAVES:Two things happened.
Secondly, we wanted to ensure the film was something these kids would enjoy.
I mean, they kind of became the audience for us as we were kind of crafting this story.
We wanted to ensure that it wasnt just going to be a film.
We knew that we were going to share it with them.
What was the collaboration process like?
GRAVES:It developed organically while we were researching.
We were working with a number of nonprofits actually in and around Delhi.
And the Salaam Baalak Trusts mission seemed to resonate with what we were trying to do with the film.
Mira Nair is a towering figure in global cinema.
Shes of Indian origin, but shes lived in Uganda, New York, and everywhere else.
So, I dont want to say shes an Indian filmmaker because shes a person of the world.
And after her mother saw the film, she was inspired to start a nonprofit.
So, they have a really robust theater program within this orphanage.
So, when we were developing the film, they understood right away what we were trying to do.
And because they have a theater program, they had a lot of kids who they wanted to submit.
We felt early on that, OK, we have to try.
Then the Salaam Baalak Trust was an organization that was open.
Their kids were excited to be featured in a film.
But we also received a lot from the Salaam Baalak Trust and from a couple of other nonprofits.
The movie theater we wanted to film in was north of there as well.
They helped us with everything from locations to research.
They do great work.
DEADLINE:Talk about casting Sajda Pathan and Ananya Shanbhag as sisters.
They are so great onscreen.
GRAVES:We were so lucky, Sajda.
She lives at the Salaam Baalak Trust.
And thats pure accident.
We didnt write the script for her.
But she was living without parental support on the streets and had an older sister.
So, I think partly because she has an older sister, she could connect with Ananya.
Ananya has a younger sibling, so when they met, they just immediately clicked.
And I think that can be true for children actors or adult actors.
So, what we did is we tried to get them together.
We all stayed in a hotel together, like a motel/hotel down in Paharganj and in close quarters.
Sajda was staying with a social worker, and Ananya had her father along on set.
We spent every moment of the day together for about three days before we started shooting.
We played games, we had ice cream, and we had fun.
They enjoyed each others company, and just very quickly became super tight.
And you could see that.
DEADLINE:Mindy Kaling and Guneet Monga Kapoor joined as producers onAnuja.
That must have been very affirming.
What do you think people are resonating with?
GRAVES:These are two of my favorite people in the world, not just because theyre on board.
And, of course,The Elephant Whisperers… she consistently makes incredible work.
Mindy herself has done so much for raising awareness of and foregrounding stories of women and girls.
And so having her vouch for the film and having it resonate with her so much is really important.
So, were super flattered, honored, and excited to see where it goes from here.
DEADLINE:Youre in the conversation for the Oscars.
Whats going through your mind, and what would you like people to consider?
I think anybody who watches films knows.
Our cinematographer, Akash Raje, is incredible.
Im proud of all aspects of the film.
But the heart and soul are these two incredibly gifted young actresses who gave us everything they got.
Ill tell you a silly story.
When I was flying over for production, I was in LAX.
I wanted to bring something for Sajda, a gift for the two actresses.
But I was sick right before the trip, so I didnt have much chance to shop.
So, I found this Oscar replica statue.
