Mukesh Asopa as Raj Mittal
‘The Taste of Relation’ -”A service to mankind can be the gift for your life”
Starring:
Mukesh Asopa as Raj Mittal,
Kamal Nandi as Ramswaroop Mittal,
Aruna Bhatnagar as Yashoda Maa,
Swetalina Tripathy as Kiran
Tree Ryde as Jennifer
Brinda Muralidhar
Jatinder Gill
Gunny Muralidhar
Produced and Directed By: Mukesh Asopa.
While still “reeling” from his last film ‘Aisha and Rahul’, Asopa has taken on a new and different film, ‘The Taste of Relation’. Stepping into the lead actor’s shoes once again, he has also donned the director’s cape and producer’s angle; adding the multi-tasking element for which he is known.
ICB Glad to have you with ICB again Mukesh. Congratulations on the success of ‘Aisha and Rahul’.
M.A. Thank you so much. Aisha and Rahul is doing well in film festivals as it is the winner of Golden Ace Award in the Las Vegas International Film Festival-2009 out of over 2000 films in the festival and was selected as Official Finalist in CIFF-2009 in Vancouver out of 1000 films in the festival. It is still in few very well known film festival worldwide and we are expecting some more great news soon.
ICB Your second film has an interesting title and tagline – Please explain how and why you chose them.
M.A. The Taste of Relation – “A service to mankind can be the gift for your life”
In today’s fast-paced life we hardly see any attachment with parents and that is what is the subject depicted in this film. Everyone is busy with their own life without showing any care towards their elders. In this story, there is adoption, love, care, sacrifice, attachment and affection. The title goes well with the story and that is why we have chosen it. In the film, we will see different taste of relations … some are very sweet … some salty … some sour … some spicy … but some of them are very bitter.
ICB What is the USP of your film ‘The Taste of Relation’?
M.A. The Taste of Relation is a story of relationship between a father, his adopted son, his own son and daughter, his mother and wife and the situations of different phases in his life. It represents an Indian family settled in Canada where the Eastern culture, family values, respect and regards are compared with the Western culture and values.
ICB Why do you think this particular film will appeal to the masses?
M.A. This family drama has never been seen before. There is love, care, affection, pain, death, business politics and a sacrifice beyond death. These feelings are part of every human’s life. So definitely, this will appeal to masses. There are three musical numbers where you can hear Farita’s voice, which is mesmerizing and soothing.
ICB Who are the other actors/actresses in the film?
M.A. Kamal Nandi, Aruna Bhatnagar, Swetalina Tripathy, Tree Ryde, Brinda Muralidhar, Jatinder Gill and Gunny Muralidhar The total cast members amount to around 20.
ICB Tell us about the two newcomers to your cast, Aruna Bhatnagar and Swetalina Tripathy, as Kamal Nandi and Tree Ryde were part of your first film ‘Aisha and Rahul’.
M.A. Arunaji plays the role of Yashoda Maa in this film. Originally from New Delhi, India, she was selected in the audition because of her emotional performance and was offered the role of the matriarch of the Mittal family in this film – Ramswaroop Mittal’s mother and Raj Mittal’s grandmother.
Swetalina Tripathi got the part in this film after short listing candidates auditioned for the role of Kiran. The role required Hindi-speaking character with no foreign accent and the understanding of the emotions in context to a family from India.
Kamal Nandi is playing the role of Ramswaroop Mittal, whereas Tree Ryde is portraying the role of his wife, Jennifer Mittal.
ICB Where did you shoot ‘The Taste of Relation’? Tell us about the
locations.
M.A. We started the filming with the blessings of Lord Krishna at Iskon Temple-Toronto. We would like to thank City Of Toronto-Film and Television Office for giving us filming permits for several locations in Toronto. The best locations were Humber Bridge, Humber Park, City Hall-Toronto, Perry Street, King Street, Riverdale Park, Dupont Street and many more. We did the filming of the house scenes in Brampton.
Scene descriptions and approvals from the respective authorities were given for all the locations, which were very well scouted out. When we went for review of Humber Bridge location on December 25 for the filming on December 30 we were very worried. The scenes needed to be filmed there but it was all covered with snow and there was not even any space to walk or do the stunt scenes. Fortunately by the 30th the snow was less and we were good to complete the scenes despite the freezing cold.
ICB Were there any unexpected events?
M.A. At one point we were running late by 6 hours, which was very unusual but challenging for everyone. We even worked on the office and club scenes until 4 a.m. and successfully achieved perfect takes as required. There were few very challenging scenes. It was freezing cold when we were shooting on the Humber Bridge on December 30. There was a scene where Raj Mittal is running. It was very difficult for me since my hands and faces turned red because of freezing cold, but it was done successfully in 7-8 takes. On the City Hall -Toronto Grounds there was a soccer practice scene, which was to be done wearing shorts and a scene where water was pouring on our faces. Again it was freezing cold and that scene was done in 5-6 takes.
ICB What are some of the fascinating aspects of the film and its music?
M.A. The most fascinating aspect of the films music is Farita (www.farita.com). She is a well-known singer from Australia and USA. Her songs will definitely rock the audience. The hip-hop song from Righteous also adds value to the music of the film.
ICB Are there any stunts and/or villains that we can look forward to seeing in this film, as ‘Aisha and Rahul’ were sans these?
M.A. Yes, there are negative roles played by John and Catherine. Stunts will be done through special effects – running scenes and others from different sequences in the film. There is an interesting musical chairs game in the film.
ICB When and where can we expect to see ‘The Taste of Relation’?
M.A. Actually … you can see ‘The Taste of Relation’ in every family … but the audiences can see this in film festivals, on DVD and in theaters by the end of 2009.
ICB Thank you Mukesh.
M.A. Thank you.
