From Mumbai with Love

MANILA, Philippines - “I’m not pigeonholed as a director that does a single genre. Cinema is my playground,” describes Benito Bautista of himself as a filmmaker. “I play with all types of genre.”

In the book of film forms, direk Benito has done narratives (Boundary) and documentaries (Harana, The Gift of Barong: A Journey From Within). But as a visual storyteller, he wants “to be able to express Filipino stories that will go beyond our boundaries and will be part of a regional story. (And) in the hope that somehow they (the world) see us in a different light.”

His latest exploit titled Mumbai Love starring Solenn Heussaff and Kiko Matos is definitely taking that direction. The Solar and Capestone Pictures-produced film will hit theaters on Jan. 22, 2014. Neil Jeswani and Minco Fabregas are Capestone Pictures executive producer-founder and COO, respectively.

“It’s a modern-day love story,” shares direk Benito. “The (Pinoy) generation of today and the generation of the future will end up traveling in a foreign land — spending money and saving money in a foreign land. Before you know it, (they) have fallen in love with (strangers) in that foreign land.”

By elimination, Mumbai Love is not the typical romance that speaks about love amidst gangster strife (The West Side Story) and class strife (Romeo & Juliet). It is perhaps akin to My Big Fat Greek Wedding for the cultural aspect. But the film is different as it has an Indian and a French-Filipina in the game called love. The lovers will be seen traveling miles, crossing boundaries and challenging beliefs.

Mumbai Love is a discussion of a modern-day love story with a focus on interracial and cultural romance.

“(The love story) is bound by tradition,” says Benito. “What if you’re bound by tradition, what if you’re not supposed to marry someone, who doesn’t belong to your culture.”

The romance factor seems to be a take-off point to discuss other issues. According to the California-based director, Filipinos have “been co-existing with the Indian community way  before the Chinese and the Japanese. We never really discuss that co-existence.” Part of that discourse are the notions we have for Indians like adults telling stubborn children “isasako ka niyan (they will put you inside the sack) at nagtitinda ng payong (they sell umbrellas).” Mumbai Love is a way to understand Indians, who have decided to live among Filipinos, more culturally like they have a long wedding celebration and Indians are “not actually allowed to marry us or to fall in love with us. They are arranged early on to be married to somebody else,” says direk Benito.

Adding to that is “5-6” which is actually an example of micro-financing. “When you go to a bank, you need to show land (and property) titles,” says direk Benito. “In (this type of) micro-financing, your collateral is your face. You’ll be given a chance to start up your business by using your face alone.”

At the end of screening, moviegoers  will know what the film stands for after watching “our culture, our culture of happiness, the beautiful people, the culture we don’t know,” says the director-producer-writer.

Since Benito has worked in the independent scene in the US, a cineaste can expect authenticity (Bollywood actors and realistic sights and sounds of Mumbai and Manila) and world cinema. “It’s a romantic-comedy,” says direk Benito. “It’s not your usual cinema. It’s cinematic. It’s comedy. There’s growth when you go out. May pitik ng world cinema.” An individual can sense that in the film’s “technical aspect, language, movement, processing of actors, and arguments of a society and culture.”

Working on the set of Mumbai Love was easy for Benito because the cast and crew were excited about the project. “(The actors) understood the power of expression and the arguments behind it.”

Benito recorded Mumbai Love live and doing so was a challenge since “sound level is high (in Mumbai). Honking the horn (seems) to be their sport,” says direk  Benito. “The romance of cinema is live recording. (If done otherwise) wala yung raw ng pulso ng puso. The energy of soul is wala.” Live recording captures the spontaneity and naturalness of scenes and movements.

Direk Benito, who considers himself an independent filmmaker because his vision is independent, dreams of this real-life scene: “The future of the Filipinos is they will be going abroad, cross the traffic lights. Foreigners will see these (individuals) and say, ‘I’ve watched their film. They have cinema. They have music. They have art.’”

And that’s the voice of a Filipino filmmaker who lives in the US.

(Mumbai Love also stars Raymond Bagatsing, Jayson Gainza, Martin Escudero, Jun Sabayton and Romy Daryani.)