Veteran filmmaker Sudhir Mishra has come on board as the executive producer for Raj Amit Kumar’s English movie Brown. This is his second feature film after Unfreedom, which was banned in India in 2015 but received critical acclaim globally.
While the cast is currently kept under wraps, Kumar threw light on the subject, saying, “In the current political climate where immigrants are seen as threats and being stereotyped to be feared as criminals, rapists, child molesters etcetera, it is important to take on the challenge of a more human depiction of the experience of a contemporary immigrant. Fear is being mobilized politically to garner votes.”
He added, “An assumption has been made that votes can be collected by instilling fear against immigrants and with the promises of ‘building walls’ against them. For me, Brown is an extension of my goals as a filmmaker. It is a story relevant to today’s issues of immigration, drug epidemics, and minorities trying to make an honest living. Brown is a thought-provoking social criticism meant to make us think about what and why we believe what we believe about the world around us.”
Sharing the reason for being associated with the film, Mishra said, “Raj is one of the very few interesting minds I have met in recent times and his film Brown is very thought-provoking as it highlights the real-time experiences of an immigrant, an outsider, which I believe is an important aspect to be showcased via cinema. I also believe one should make a film that stems from within which will eventually be great peace of work.”
Mishra’s last film Serious Men (2020) released on Netflix last year. It starred Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Shweta Basu Prasad.
Speaking about Kumar’s previous film, Mishra added, “Kumar’s Unfreedom was banned by the Indian government but went on to receive notoriety and critical acclaim from critics and festivals around the world and now Brown is his second socially complicated story that strives to discuss another kind of human issue. Independent filmmaking is very lonely, but I am glad to see directors like Raj and the new generation joining the trend. It just ensures exposure to more exciting cinema.”
The team behind Brown has kick-started a fundraising campaign in order to complete its post-production.