Ranjan Chandel Bamfaad

'My stories are rooted in the Indian soil,' tells me Ranjan Chandel, a talented filmmaker whose stories are inspired by the small town he hails from. Orginially from Kanpur, Ranjan loved narrating/acting out stories but never knew that filmmaking would be where his life leads him to. Today, he has multiple stores to his credit -- he's collaborated with Anurag Kashyap on Mukkabaaz -- and is now celebrating the release of his debut feature called Bamfaad. A small-town romance that has some crackling performances by Aditya Rawal and Shalini Pandey. We got in touch with Ranjan to know more about his story and Bamfaad. 

Tell us a little bit about yourself and your journey.
I was born and brought up in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh. Storytelling was something I enjoyed since I was very young, I loved narrating stories. Whenever I used to go out and watch a film, I used to come back home and narrate the entire film to my sisters, in a very dramatized way of course! I remember once, I narrated a horror story and my sisters couldn’t sleep that night, just after listening to the plot. However, I didn’t study filmmaking or anything remotely close to being creative. I studied Zoology and then life took me to Bangalore after completing my MBA, to work at a big MNC. I hadn’t even thought of getting into direction or writing until then. 

What is it about writing that intrigues you the most, and now that you’ve tried direction, can you choose between the two?
Original characters and the world they live in - inspire me for writing and translating them in a film. Writing and direction go hand in hand for me. I write script myself which I want to direct. I shot my first short film a few years ago and after that, co-wrote Mukkabaaz. My short film, Jaan Jigar, won the Best Director Award at the Mumbai International Film Festival. It was around this time that I met Hanzalah Shahid, a young writer from Allahabad with a script which is now Bamfaad. I was fascinated by the world and the characters he had created. It’s a world I know and understand well. The idea was to blend an innocent small-town romance with contemporary details. I think I connect with such a world a lot.  

How did Bamfaad come to you?
Like I mentioned above, I met this talented writer who had this script which was from the town I connect with a lot. Bamfaad, the slang is like an ecstatic feeling. The word is very commonly used in the world where I come from. I read the script and I instantly got fascinated by some of the characters, which inspired me to dwell more into that world. I took those characters and started writing a new draft of the script, starting from scratch and titled it Bamfaad. The film is a love story about Nasir Jamal, who is an Allahabad youth and falls in love with Neelam (Shalini). However, the girl has a past, which sets them on a collision course with Jigar Fareedi (Vijay Varma), a local crime-lord with political patronage. Both Nasir and Neelam are impulsive characters, driven by loyalty and would stop at nothing to be with each other. The film sets them on a journey via which, their passions are tested.
 
Your cast has some really talented young actors. What was your casting process?
Yes, I got really lucky with the cast. Bamfaad marks the Bollywood debuts of Aditya Rawal and Shalini Pandey. Aditya is the son of veteran actors Paresh Rawal and Swaroop Rawal. My casting director had introduced me to Aditya Rawal, but back then he looked very different from what he looks like in the film. He had studied in America and England, but my protagonist was from a small town, a typical guy from Allahabad. Workshops were conducted to familiarise actors with the local dialect. I worked closely with Aditya during the preparation. We’d do readings of Raag Darbari, a famous Hindi novel set in Uttar Pradesh. I also asked him to hang out with college students in Kanpur and observe their mannerisms. He's a superbly talented actor and has really stood out in the film. Script called for a powerful female lead. I had seen Shalini Pandey in Telugu Film Arjun Reddy which was later remade into Hindi as Kabir Singh and saw sparks in her. It also happened that I saw a youtube video of Shalini in which she was performing wish fiesty energy. I thought if I can contain that energy in her, she can become combustible (Bamfaad). So I met her and narrated the script to her. The way she was responding and reacting to my narration, By the end of the narration I knew she was my Neelam.

Do you think the film has benefitted by releasing in this time of quarantine? 
Oh yes! I mean the film was backed by Zee all along, so it was an internal call to not release it theatrically and instead on their OTT platform because of the pandemic.  Even their platform, Zee5, is like a single screen theatre and connects a lot with the people who live in small towns. So, I’m glad the film was released on Zee5, where it has received the exact audience, I was looking for. 
 
Lastly, are you working on something new?
I’m developing a web-series at the moment. It’s an emotional drama, mixing both modern and period settings. It will be a massive venture. I’m also finishing the script for my next film.

Bamfaad is available to watch on Zee5. 

Text Hansika Lohani Mehtani