Chetan Bhagat’s latest book, Two States, inspired five students of the Indian School of Business (ISB) in Hyderabad to make it into a film for their project. The story, which describes how the two protagonists, hailing from different communities, convince their families for their wedlock, was scripted into a film and shot in three days for a project on the subject Negotiation Analysis.
The five students, Shadab Hasan Tari, Mamta Saini, Mariah Michael Lall, Saurav Paul and Kanishka Tongya, are pursuing a one-year post graduate programme in management. “Two of us had read the book, Two States, and agreed that it dealt with a contemporary, evergreen issue of inter-community marriages, which most families feel is a non-negotiable deal. Many of us on campus are likely to have been in such a situation,” said Shadab, the student who played the lead in the film.
Prof Amit Nandkeolyar, who teaches the elective subject of negotiation analysis at ISB, said, “The presentation was good. They were given a brief to work on a group project that dealt with negotiation. Students were free to select the medium and topic, but had to make a presentation in 15 minutes and answer queries on the project in class.”
The film, produced under the banner, Double Standards, is of one-hour duration, but was shortened for classroom screening. It has been uploaded on the internet. “We wanted to show the film to our friends outside the campus, so we uploaded it (http://www.vimeo.com/ 8254187). We have received several positive comments from people who’ve seen it,” Prof Amit said.
The film was shot on campus, with students doubling up as actors. “We shot the film in one take and just improvised as we went along, without following a fixed script,” Shadab said.
