The creative team behind ISSAQ,    an upcoming      film was    at Welingkar Institute  of  Management,  Research   and   Development(WeSchool)  recently to interact with the students of Post Graduate Program In Media And Entertainment.  the   lead actor   Prateik   Babbar,   writer   Padmaja   Thakur   Tiwary  and   director   Manish   Tiwary  discussed the nuances of film making at the   event that  was organised and managed by the students of the Media and Entertainment course at WeSchool.

Originally set in Verona, ISSAQ is an adaptation of Shakespeare’s famed tragedy; Romeo and Juliet.  The plot has a backdrop of Varanasi, the Hindu heartland and is set on the banks of the Ganges. The film speaks of love which is easy to begin but impossible to end. The film promo and title track was applauded by the students.

The event commenced with Prateik Babbar interacting with the students followed by  a thought provoking session with Director ,Manish Tiwary and Padmaja Thakur Tiwary, the writer. The director gave the students an   insight   into   the   art   of   film   making   and    intricacies   of    stages   of direction. He interacted with the students and shared the finer details of the film and the relevance of Varanasi as the backdrop for the film.

“Maintaining the       integrity   of the   original work    whilst adapting     it to the Indian version    was    a     challenge. The story of the lovelorn Romeo and Juliet can’t be made into a film in Europe anymore because the feudal system is long gone but here in Varanasi we can see points of connection like the social order, the warring families, architectural grandeur and religious undercurrents.  The   havelis on the Ghats of the Ganga, local    gangs    and   religious manifesto      have   been    the key   elements     revolving    around    my characters    and    the dramatic content of the story” explained Tiwary.

Padmaja Thakur Tiwary, Head-Department of English, Delhi University spoke about   the    challenges     she faced   while   translating and adapting     the original   work    into   Hindi to gel with the Indian milleau. ” It is always difficult to adapt stories from one culture to another. And here, we were dealing with Shakespeare whose ideas are like  spirals that keep growing. Romeo and Juliet is one of his most famous works, adapted in many forms and different languages across centuries, so we had to proceed with caution. He wrote it as a play in the form of a verse so to adapt it for the big screen in a different language, form  was a task .A great deal of research combined with a constant effort to do a reality check in elements like power, money,violence  contributed to the script” said Padmaja while sharing her efforts in adapting the play for the film.

Post the event there was a photo op with the ISSAQ team and they    distributed    the audio    CDs   as giveaways    much to the delight of students. Captain Kanade, GM-Admn felicitated the Director-writer couple with mementos.

ISSAQ, presented by Pen India Private Ltd., releases on 26 July 2103

-   Nirmiti Khanvlkar  ,Post Graduate Program In Media And Entertainment.