After Smile Pinki's Oscar, RK Dhar waits for luck to smile on him

New Delhi, Nov 8 : Directors of 'Smile Pinki', a film which charts transformation of 'cleft lip-ridden' Pinki of Uttar Pradesh from a life of gloom to happiness, may be basking in the glory of the much-coveted Oscar but Delhi-based filmmaker R K Dhar, who himself suffers from the disability, still waits for luck to smile on him in tinsel town.

'Smile Pinki' deals with the work done by the NGO 'Smile Train' to alleviate thousands of people suffering from cleft lips in India.

The efforts by the NGO may have brought a smile on the face of Pinki but Dhar feels that despite the film getting an Oscar, while bringing the disability of cleft lips to light, thousands of people suffering with this ailment still continue to face social ostracism.

Talking to UNI, Dhar said the Oscar for 'Smile Pinki' had raised his hopes that production houses in the Mumbai film industry would recognise his potential.

Unfortunately, even after knocking the doors of various Bollywood production houses, whom he approached with his experience in production and direction of films on the issue, Dhar met with nothing but dejection.

Dhar alleges that he was not given a chance to exhibit his talent just because he suffers from a disability.

The filmmaker says just like politics is being increasingly dominated by a few families, the film industry too has become a preserve of the kins of famous actors and directors.

Dhar said he had come to Mumbai with several story ideas in his mind and with dreams of a flourishing career in films. He had resolved that through his talent, he would prove to the world that disability was no hindrance in his directorial skills.

In the direction of fulfillment of his aim, Dhar approached several filmmakers with his credentials but while some of them dismissed him within a few minutes, others asked to hand over his stories to them without any conditions.

Barring a couple of filmmakers, none expressed any sympathy towards his cause, Dhar says.

A known face in media circles in Delhi, Dhar is best recognised for the serial 'Badhte Kadam' based on the life of the disabled, for which he received several congratulatory letters from several renowned actors of that time.

His father Ravindranath Dhar was a renowned cinematographer of his times, who worked with famous filmmakers like Bimal Roy and Nitin Bose.

Though he has not done any technical course in cinematography, Dhar says it is in his blood.

Currently, Dhar is working on two Hindi feature films based on issues of migration of rural people to cities and 'Global Warming'.

Dhar laments the fact that despite working in the media for a long time, the media has not recognised his talent.

--UNI

(c) 2009 Published with permission from United News of India.
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