Indian Filmmaker Shailesh Dupare Explores The Dark With ‘The Other Side’

Indian filmmaker Shailesh Dupare has achieved the feat of bringing a regional film (Marathi language) about a very niche tradition that is not even common across India, to the ongoing Cinequest Film & Creativity Festival in California. Originally titled Palyad, Marathi film The Other Side explores the negative impact of segregating a section of people and forcing them to perform last rites of the dead in the village.

The film traces the story of a grandfather, his widowed daughter-in-law, and her young son. The young one and his mom want him to pursue education but the granddad insists he must follow the family tradition and become a “Smashan Jogi” – one who traditionally assist people in carrying out the last rites of their family members. Education for the child is not just forbidden by his family, but also his own community and others in the village. The film explores a conflict that not only about the society conflict but majorly about the internal conflict of the grandfather.

When and how did Palyad (The Other Side) originate?

A friend saw a taboo discovery show and came to know about a particular tradition of last rites that is observed in the border areas between the Indian states of Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra. We began to develop it as a short film but while working, we saw the potential of a full feature film.

How smooth or difficult was your journey of making the film?

I narrated story to 70-80 people and everyone liked it, but no one could foresee any returns on their investment. Two brothers from my village, Chandrapur (Maharashtra), decided to fund my film as they felt it focuses on the issues we need – the need for education and the problem of superstitions. We started the shoot but just four days later, the government stalled all shooting (March 2020) and that was major set back. I had to shift the editing and major post-production work to my house so that we could continue work despite the pandemic and reduce financial burden.

What are your plans for a theatrical release?

By November 4, we plan to release it in Maharashtra.

(The conversation has edited and condensed for clarity.)