TALENT

Article 3

Profile
"Reels for Real"

By Rajshekhar Rajkhowa

The media now has shifted towards drama, scandal, hype, and lifestyle, but there still exist people who make films and documentaries on remote areas of the world. They are 'Dirt Track Productions'. Dirt Track Productions was born when the co-founders were on a location hunt in the biggest tiger reserve of India and couldn't find their way out. Ultimately they walked for 13 hours without food and water to get back to civilization. Dirt Track makes film not just for satisfaction as filmmakers, but also to quench one's thirst for travel and exploration of the world.

Gaurav Jani directs films for Dirt Track Productions. Gaurav initially started his career working for Ram Gopal Verma. He then discovered his urge to travel and moved out of Ram Gopal Verma team and his passion as a director to shoot in extreme remote areas began with Dirt Track Productions. He is also the founder member of 60kph, Motorcycle Travel Club India. He is one of those few wanderers who don't believe much in planning and research, but the one who like to go with the flow and keep things simple.

The first film of Dirt Track Productions was 'Riding Solo To The Top Of The World'. This was shot in one of the remotest places of the world, the Changthang Plateau in Ladakh, bordering China. The most unique feature of this film was that, it was just a one-man film unit, means it was just Gaurav with the bike and camera. He started his ride from Jaipur instead of Mumbai to avoid lugging. He was on his way to Ladakh with utmost determination. As Gaurav says, "Once on the road, each time I had to take a shot, I had to untie the camera bag and tripod, remove the camera, tie the camera bag back onto the bike, set the frame, wear the helmet, ride away from the camera, come back to unpack the camera bag on the bike and pack the camera and tripod back onto the bike". Many hostilities were faced during the making of this one-man unit film as it was shot without any plan but with complete freedom, mostly in the Changthang Plateau, Hanle, Chumur, Marsimek-la. The people of the Changthang Plateau are known as Chang pas. One of the highlighting features of this film is, it brought a place called 'Phobrang Datta' into the limelight for the very first time. Albeit this place existed only in reality, but not in any of the Indian maps until Riding Solo was made. But now because of Riding Solo, Phobrang Datta is located in the map of Indian territory which is a credit to the Dirt Track Productions team. This film has won as many as 11 awards including the Best Documentary at the 53rd National Film Awards in 2006.

Now coming to their second film, that is "One Crazy Ride", which is a motorcycle expedition on uncharted roads across the Himalayan state of Arunachal Pradesh, situated in North-east India. But more than an expedition, it's a film on friendship, camaraderie and the "never say die" attitude of five motorcyclists, including a lady in the rough and tough region. The documentary captures the interactions and experiences of the riders who are trying to chart a route, which existed years ago, probably during the British rule. The riders faced the hardships of no-road existence and finding a way out of those mountains is a big deal with the fear of being stuck up at a place for the entire night. The road they took was within the forests in the mountains where not a single person was to be noticed unless they reached a destination. This film is all about reaching destinations through forests and mountains of the beautiful state, Arunachal Pradesh . This film has achieved three awards including the Best Film Of The Festival at International Motorcycle Film Festival, Slovakia.

The upcoming film of Dirt Track Productions is "Motorcycle Chang pa". Coming back to the Changthang Plateau, this film shows Changthang in the winters when the Chang pas adapt to endure to -40 degree Celsius temperatures and speeding winds. It is to complete the unfinished work left while shooting Riding Solo and also to travel with the Chang pas for over a year. The main focus is to show the culture and livelihood of the Chang pas in daily life like walking long distances at high altitude, yakze (taking the Yaks for grazing). This film is shot in late December with the temperature hovering around -25 degree Celsius at night and shooting at this temperature is just not possible with trembling hands. Initially shooting was a bit of a struggle as the camera did made a few people uncomfortable. The Chang pas are not interested in displaying the fine art of suffering and that eventually rubs off. It is not about overcoming something, it is about coming to terms with it. Motorcycle Chang pa is shot in areas as high as Chang la pass, at an altitude of 17,500 feet where the wind's speed reach 70 kilometers per hour and can bring the temperature down to -15 degree Celsius in broad daylight. Once it was a place of lovely dirt tracks which were an integral part of the landscape, but now being resurfaced with stones and tar, killing the wilderness and the ride. Hundreds of Indian Army camps have mushroomed all over the Changthang plateau to counter the Chinese build-up.

A noble effort by the entire Dirt Track Productions Team is noteworthy and for such wonderful act, simply words are not enough to express gratitude for their hardwork and courtesy. They deserve the much needed attention for their valued effort and a glimpse of mankind in visualizing those hidden places and the inhabitants.