Suicide at the cinema

"Depression and suicide are rarely the theme of films in Indian cinema. Depression is rising alarmingly among the youth and adults in India, making it a major cause for concern… Many people suffering from depression are unable to seek help due to the stigma attached to mental illness, and resort to suicide,” says 32-year-old media professional and film director Jehangir Irroni (pronounced Irani). His latest short film The Suicide Company Pvt Ltd addresses this concern. While Irroni has made short films earlier, this is his longest, at 30 minutes. He gives us a synopsis: It is a "serious topic, but depicted with satire and a little humor” about a depressed obituary columnist Karan (played by Jay Bhanushali) who, after numerous failed attempts at suicide, hires a company and a suicide planner (Swara Bhaskar) to plan his death.
Yet to be publicly released, the film has been shown at various film festivals and has won the Best Screenplay Award for Irroni and co-writer Pragnya Tripathi at the Indian Directors’ Association in Bombay, the Best Film at film festivals at Toronto, Berlin and Los Angeles, an Outstanding Achievement Award at the Calcutta Cult Film Festival, and an honorary mention at the South East Asian Film Festival at Vietnam. Suicide also won actor Bhanushali an honorary mention at Los Angeles. The film will be featured at forthcoming film festivals in Poona, Rome and Calcutta.
"Creative and serious films have their own market but unfortunately these filmmakers go through a tough time when it comes to releasing them, because ultimately it comes down to numbers… a film’s success is based on the money it makes.
"Distributors are very particular about the films that they choose… a non commercial film is something they would not be interested in as the returns would be very minimal… unless there is a big name attached to it,” said Irroni in an interview with Parsiana while shooting for an advertising film in Hyderabad. Conceding that some small films have made their way though and have been a hit, he adds that "You never know what will click and what will not… You just go with your experience and intuition.”
Irroni believes that documentary films and filmmakers have increased in recent years. "There are specific channels that are dedicated to documentaries and again with the online digital medium expanding, there are lots of documentaries that get made and released. Film festivals are another very good platform for documentary filmmakers.”
The movie maker states that streaming services like "Netflix have their own market as of now. Multiplexes have their own set of audiences. The experience of watching a movie in a theater would not be the same as watching Netflix at home.” He notes that in the next couple of years, with Netflix productions further improving (and other streaming services available), and with cinema houses increasing ticket prices and eatables being expensive, multiplexes will suffer "unless they come up with something to keep their set of audience coming back.”

Film director Jehangir Irroni (top and above): winning awards

Among Irroni’s fond memories is that of his having worked as the associate director of the 2013 award winning feature film Gangoobai. He says, "It was based on the story of a maid in Matheran, played by veteran Gujarati actor Sarita Joshi, who has a dream of buying a Parsi gara sari and comes to Bombay to fulfill her dream. The sari in the film was designed by Zenobia Davar and the film featured Parsi actors like Rushad and Behram Rana. I was happy and proud to be the associate director of this movie.”
Having been in the media business for over 11 years, Irroni’s body of work, both in Hyderabad and Bombay, includes documentaries, advertising films, television shows and corporate videos. When he arrived in Bombay from Hyderabad, he had no contacts and knew no one, he informed Parsiana. The creative professional assisted more than 10 directors before he took on direction independently with Suicide. Irroni has worked with the advertising agency and production house Natalia Telemedia as creative director. Making of digital content was his area of expertise as executive producer with production house Bull Horn Pictures in Bombay. He has made advertising films for brands such as Legrand and Life Insurance Corporation of India among others and his clients for corporate films include pharmaceutical company Glenmark. Also under his belt are a few episodes of the television show Fear Files for Zee TV, Gujarati show Heer Ji Ni Marji (The Will of Heer), among others.
Lights! Action!
Irroni was initiated into filmmaking at 17 years. While still in senior secondary school, he joined Hyderabad’s Glitters Film Academy. Armed with a two-year diploma in filmmaking, he started his journey as a directorial intern for a Telugu television show Sambarala Ram Babu. Moving to Bombay as assistant to television director Hitesh Tejwani on his show Kasauti Zindagi Ki (A Test of Life), the lad was first assistant director with actor Shahrukh Khan’s Red Chillies Idiot Box where he worked on shows such as Karan Johar Presents Fashion in Chivas Studio, Fauji 2 (Soldier 2) and Blenders Pride Fashion Week among others.
While studying at director Subhash Ghai’s Whistling Woods International film school, where he topped the graduating class of 2007, Irroni interned for Anil Kapoor Film Company’s Aisha when it was in the making. The filmmaker feels that "the experience of working on sets is something no film school can give. But the education that a good film school gives is what helps you to grow faster in the industry and gives you an edge over people who come from non-film school background.”
Irroni’s family is very supportive of his choice of career. Father Shahveer Irroni is a manufacturer of aerated waters while mother Ssonu (née Pestonji) is the principal of St Peter’s Model School. (The family changed the spelling from Irani to Irroni some years ago.) Sister Natasha Irani is married and lives in the USA. From a very early age, Jehangir was fascinated with cinema. He says, "Every time I would see a shooting happening in Hyderabad, I would stop by, wondering how it would be to be a part of the process. My parents were well aware even when I was in (St Patrick’s) school, that cinema is something that interested me and that I would ultimately want to be in that industry. They supported my choice of profession but stressed that I should complete my graduation.” A science graduate from Vivekananda Degree College, Jehangir headed to Bombay to fulfill his dream soon thereafter.

Irroni with thespian Deepti Naval

A keen sportsman, he takes time off to represent Hyderabad in the annual pentangular Jiji Irani cricket matches. A lover of horse riding, he indulges in this sport at every chance that he gets. "I simply love cooking and had learnt this skill at a very young age at my father’s Plaza Shanghai Chinese restaurant in Secunderabad, but it is no longer operational,” he informs us.
To Parsis wanting to join the film line, he advises: "Finish your education and then come to join. If things don’t work out even after investing years of hard work and dedication, you always have your education to fall back on to start afresh again in another field.” And these words of caution: "For an outsider to make their first film it’s very difficult…When you want to make a film you approach a producer… The producer asks you to get a star and he will then produce it… When you go to the star he or she will ask you if you have a producer. If your producer is not known they will ask you to get a studio/distributor to back you… Then they will say ‘yes’… So it’s a catch 22 situation...
"I feel blessed to be a part of the lovely Parsi community. Every year, one trip to Udvada is a must for me,” shares the creative professional. He finds the Zoroastrian community in Hyderabad and Secunderabad very close-knit and the Zoroastrians of Bombay very helpful. "I have worked with numerous Parsi actors and technicians in the Bombay film industry. I feel really proud when I meet (community members in the film industry) as it takes a lot of courage on their part to come to and live and work in Bombay” from other cities, states Irroni.