Filmmaker Tarun Jain, who explores many social issues in his works, talks about his latest film Amma Meri, and how this is a great time to be an independent filmmaker.

Imagine the dilemma of a middle-aged farmer, going through an agrarian crisis, who finds out that the only way he could get money at this stage in life is from some funds upon the death of his mother. Capturing a tough socio-economic life, the film Amma Meri brings out the darkest of the emotions that one can experience.

The filmmaker behind the heart-wrenching project is Tarun Jain. Touching upon the wider topic of agrarian crisis in India, the filmmaker has presented a very specific tale.

The young assistant director and writer has been a part of projects like Aakhir (2014) and Kajarya (2013). He also got international recognition for his work Aakhir.

Still from the film Aakhir

While he has made a name for himself in the world of filmmaking, his true passion lies in telling stories. After all, it is stories that drive films as well. Ask him if there is a project that he would love to direct, and he says, “That is the biggest dilemma of a filmmaker, I think. You are always full of ideas and stories, so much so that it becomes difficult to choose. I have already worked on a lot of scripts and there are so many projects that I would love to be a part of.”

The city-based filmmaker also talks about pursuing this career in Delhi. He says, “I am interested in making fiction films. However, in Delhi the inclination is mostly towards pursuing documentaries. I also faced a lot of issues, as I wanted to pursue fiction and somehow Delhi, at least back then, was not too open to that.”

He is currently working on a project on racism against Africans in India. “I started following up on all these cases. Initially, I thought of writing an article for my blog on the same issue. It was a small idea. However, over the months with the increasing cases, I understood that this could become something more than just that.” Based on these several cases, Tarun came up with a script that will be shot soon.

Filmmaker Tarun Jain

Talking about the future of independent filmmaking in India, the director says, “I started out on this journey almost a decade ago. There was no clarity about this field back then. Things were very ambiguous. But with the arrival of digital age, things have changed slowly. I can certainly see that the future of this field is very bright. In the coming five years, things will improve drastically. It is a great time to be an independent filmmaker now.”

He adds, “I know people who can dare to take risks, make films on their own and be sure that somehow in the near future, the film will sell and they will be able to recover their investments and even make some profit.”