Pankaj Advani, Writer-Director

“The city is not a concrete jungle, it is a human zoo.” 

Mumbai – a city on the move… frenetic, energetic, chaotic, dramatic, even neurotic, a city with a heart, a city that never sleeps, a city on the brink yet a city of hope and last but not the least, a city of contradictions. And it is this city I wanted to make a film about. One thing I was sure about, that the genre would be comedy. 

Then came the characters, or rather rats, scurrying for loose change, trying to sniff their way out of holes they’ve dug for themselves, rogues all of them, but the loveable kind. Desperate inhabitants of a city gone mad, where could it culminate? The garbage dump of course! The idea excited me and I worked backwards, atleast that's how it started.  

I was soon ready with the script, it became a comedy thriller, somewhat on the lines of my earlier film Urf Professor, though not as dark nor as anarchic. (This time I wanted to make a film that would get released goddamit!)  

And then began the uphill task of getting the film made. Two false starts and a lot of heartache later, finally there was light at the end of the tunnel and this time, it wasn’t an approaching train! The funding taken care of, I began making the film. 18 important characters, more than 60 locations, countless scenes that required razor-sharp comic timing, some action, songs, the works. It was one hell of a ride which can easily be turned into another script full of adventure, comedy, high drama, action and even some horror. But thanks to my great cast and crew, I could finish the film in around 30 days.

Coming back to the garbage yard, it was one shoot I'm sure my cast and crew would never forget. Miles and miles of garbage mounds all around us. We not only shot there, but had our breakfast and lunch amidst the dunes. It was hot, the stench was unbearable. We had supplied everyone with surgical masks, which soon started getting discarded as the shooting progressed as they were coming in the way of communication. We had to lug the equipment all over the place, the scene was long, there was some action involved and also crowd, bulldozers and trucks and what is more, the terrain was swampy, we all had to be careful. But we managed it quite well. 

The saying goes, “No one wants to hear about the labor pains, they just want to see the baby”. I agree. Well, Sankat City is coming soon, to a theatre near you. Hope it rocks! 

Chirantan Das, Cinematographer

Though the film is releasing in Cinemascope format, it was shot on Super 16. The film has a certain grainy look, which I think, kind of helps the film in its grittiness.  

When we had discussed the look of the film, Pankaj had said that since some of the situations are freaky and over-the-top, the look has to be absolutely real - as if no film lights have been used. Of course, I had to use lights in a lot of places but I hope the film still has a realistic look.

Pankaj and I have worked together lots of times earlier. But this was a totally unique experience as far as the obstacles we had to overcome to even complete our shoot. There were innumerable breaks in our schedules due to various problems.  But it was gratifying to see the first copy and realise that there still is a uniformity in the film's narrative, look and mood.

Hemanti Sarkar, Editor

The backdrop is neither the old colonial Bombay, nor the dark depressing slums, nor the gritty underworld we see in films, but the untidy suburbs with its wannabe inhabitants scrounging for an extra buck. Every character is ready to con each other while guarding their own innocent dreams.  

A car-thief dreams of his garage, a taxi-driver searches for his lost brother, a flop film-director dreams of owning his own studio. This eccentricity of middle-class Mumbai is poetically put in a scene in the climax where a bag full of money bursts in a garbage dump and the protagonists join rag-pickers to retrieve the money blown by the wind. These strange, quirky characters make the film a little more than just another fun-filled comedy which I have enjoyed editing.  

Cutting the comedy like a fast-paced thriller is very different from the way normal comedies are cut. Though time and budget constraints resulted in a low shooting ratio, we managed ways out by kinky cuts which have only enhanced the comedy. Even the use of special effects and bold transitions give the film a different look but does not destroy the simplicity of the characters or the narrative. 

Unlike the other films that I have done which are dark and cynical and end up leaving me depressed every evening after pack-up, the three months that I worked on Sankat City, I laughed my way back home noticing and finding more quirky people who just could have been in the film!

There's much that works and works well in Pankaj Advani's Sankat City, one of the best efforts at black comedy in Hindi cinema post Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro (1983). The film is one helluva ride - wild, crazy, breathless, corny, hilarious, fresh, unexpected, over–the-top and, yes, even silly as the characters madly scramble about searching for that elusive pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

After a looong time, one finally sees a Hindi film with a screenplay that has been constructed with much care and thought. For all the mayhem in a city gone mad, Sankat City is extremely well-plotted and the inter-linking of various characters trying to outcon the other and the situations they find themselves in is done most cleverly. What's more, most of the gags hit home, thereby giving the film a high likeability factor.

The film shows you how dialogue can be used most effectively. Of course naturally witty in a lot of places, the film also shows that you don't have to be obviously 'punchy' to get your point across but rather the right dialogue should be said at the right time in the right situation in the right manner.  Sankat City excels here. Just see the impact of the otherwise rather innocuous Do chhota sardar dialogue for one! Hats off to Dilip Prabhavalkar here!

Admittedly, the film takes a little bit of time to settle in and then take off but once it does, there is no let up as Advani unabashedly pulls out all the stops in this masala comic caper. Money, murder, revenge, greed, fear, double crosses, twists and turns and even romance - it’s all there and in plenty! Like any good film of the black comedy genre, Sankat City makes a dig at several issues, but thankfully without deviating from its extensively plot-driven narrative. And that, really, is one of its biggest strengths. Mumbai is very much a part of the film as it makes great use of numerous Mumbai underbelly locales including...the garbage dump!

Of course, there is the odd gag that is done to death (the locket to identify lost brothers) or the occassional pay off  that needed to be stronger like the fish one after all the build up but still, overall the film has a narrative cohesiveness that most Hindi films today lack totally.

The performances of the enthusiastic ensemble cast is spot on. What's more they all seem to be having a great time enjoying themselves to the hilt responding to the OTT material. Even Rimi Sen delivers beyond expectations and after quite some time, Anupam Kher too is clearly inspired. Dilip Prabhavalkar, of course, effortlessly steals every scene he is.

Techncially, Chirantan Das's cinematography is efficient with some great on-location camerawork. Especially when you consider the film covers almost 60 locations in just 27 days of filming! Hemanti Sarkar neatly maintains the pace of the film even as she ensures that the razor sharp comic timing is balanced perfectly well with the thriller elements of the film. The sound design, though multi-layered, is a tad too overloaded while the music appears too staid in comparison with the tone of the film and perhaps needed to be funkier.

Still, no two ways about it. Go for this one.