Latest news with #Tejpal
The Wire
12 hours ago
- Entertainment
- The Wire
‘Stolen' Embraces Contemporary India With All its Faults and Messiness
A still from 'Stolen'. Real journalism holds power accountable Since 2015, The Wire has done just that. But we can continue only with your support. Contribute Now Karan Tejpal's Stolen might look like a thriller on the surface. But if one pays attention, it reveals itself as a survival film. For the uninitiated, a survival film is a subgenre of films telling tales of a character surviving an adventure gone awry. In Stolen, the misadventure entails residing in India in the 2020s. A nation with obscene inequalities, a broken law-and-order system that couldn't be less bothered about the people who need it the most, and a culture that is a sinister concoction of ancient traditionalism and new-age apathy – India in the 2020s is a whole new beast. It's a place that has picked up the vocabulary of empathy, privilege and virtue-signalling from the West, but one where fans of a cricket team throng a stadium and remorselessly stomp over dozens of people – as a part of their 'celebration'. It's where parts of a country insist on organic vegetables and alkaline water, while in another, farmers kill themselves after being unable to procure water, or a fair price for their produce. It's a country where a routine police complaint or a witness statement can become a life-long trauma in a close-up, and seems like a dark comedy in a long shot. In this country, anyone who thinks they can imbibe a few bookish ideals and implement them in an ordinary day of small-town India, is being too naive. The closer one gets, the more India can seem like a labyrinth – with each corner springing a surprise. It's something Tejpal's film knows all too well. Hence, it doesn't claim to know how to 'solve' it – instead stressing on what one can do with their limited intent. Jhumpa (Mia Maelzer) is one of the countless people asleep on a bench of a platform in a nondescript railway station in Northern India (the dialect suggests Haryana). Next to her is her five-month old infant, Champa. In the film's first scene, a veiled woman – the only one awake on the platform — steals the infant and flees. While running, she bumps into a train passenger, Raman Bansal (Shubham Vardhan), who has gotten off a train to attend his mother's wedding. Raman's brother Gautam (Abhishek Banerjee) is asleep in the parking lot of the station, having driven there in the dead of the night to pick him up. When Jhumpa wakes up a few minutes later, and can't seem to find her infant daughter – all hell understandably breaks loose. She alleges Raman stole her child, who is holding a pink beanie, which fell from the baby when the thief bumped into him. A mob gathers around them, and like it happens in India's smartphone revolution, people start recording the confrontation. It takes Gautam to diffuse the rising tensions, when he asks a simple question to Jhumpa and the police constable nearby – 'Would a thief stick around at the crime scene, holding on to evidence that will implicate him?' Something Tejpal's film does exceedingly well is layer the exposition into throwaway lines of dialogue without drawing attention to themselves. In the first five minutes, it's established that Gautam and Raman have a Shashi Kapoor-Amitabh Bachchan dynamic from Deewar (1975). Gautam is the pragmatic business-owner, while Raman is the idealistic photographer. Raman is painted by Gautam as someone who indulges his bad mental health ('I don't understand this celebration of depression', he says), and feels things a little too strongly. On the other hand, Raman can't understand Gautam throwing money at all the problems he encounters, and someone so consumed with his sheltered life and his efforts to preserve it – that he couldn't be bothered about even the most mundane acts of kindness and consideration. A still from 'Stolen'. It's because of Raman that the two brothers get embroiled in the search for Jhumpa's infant. He knows what Jhumpa has already made her peace with – the cops will probably do something to save face, but it will be too late to find her daughter. Gautam can smell the stink of the situation from far away, because he's dealt with the twisted Indian law enforcement system more than Raman would know. He repeatedly tells him that this is a trap and they should walk away. Both Banerjee and Vardhan have appeared in minor roles before and are painfully on-point as the two brothers, with entirely different skill-sets. While Raman is the empathetic social media warrior, out of his depth while trying to do the right thing, Gautam knows how quickly idealism can curdle into a witch-hunt in the hands of less-than-competent investigators, working out of their many ideological, social biases. Also, Jhumpa is a tribal, making the cops that much more suspicious of anything she says. Not only is she poor, but she's also a woman. The slightest outburst as a result of her desperation and helplessness, means she gets labelled 'hysterical'. Maelzer plays Jhumpa like an open wound of a character, impossible to look away from. Tejpal's film embraces India with all its faults and messiness, realising the many conflicts between the different social orders, schizophrenic ideologies, and a society where truth takes many forms. It's an era where a growing number of people hold smartphones, without a hint of the wisdom to not get carried away by a WhatsApp forward and lynch people in broad daylight. The film delivers biting commentary on how these parts of India are 'consumed' from behind the safety of a screen. One of the film's most tense sequences is viewed from inside the car, almost making us voyeurs to a crime. How does one react — put away the phone and pretend like nothing happened, or introspect about what they just saw? A still from 'Stolen'. As Stolen teases us with the bleakest of ends, some things are contrived in the last 20 minutes to make the climax hopeful. Slightly put off by the contrivances at first, I think I understood the reason behind them much later. Even in the starkest tales, maybe it's the makers' responsibility to leave people with a 'moral' that emphasises on doing the right thing, with the knowledge that it's hard to do over a prolonged period. In India, if you aren't at the receiving end of the system, it's probably because of blind luck or privilege, or both. Tejpal's film wants to tell you that even if you can't go around rectifying an impoverished country battling an identity crisis, when injustice stares you in the face, don't look away. Despite what disenchanted voices will say, Karan Tejpal's film is a reminder that despite all the bad faith around us, it can't be an excuse to do nothing. *Stolen is streaming on Amazon Prime Video The Wire is now on WhatsApp. Follow our channel for sharp analysis and opinions on the latest developments.
Scroll.in
29-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Scroll.in
‘Stolen' director Karan Tejpal: ‘The film is about trust and having a conscience'
Karan Tejpal's Stolen was premiered to a rapturous response at the Mumbai Film Festival in 2023. Tejpal's feature debut, about the nightmarish experiences of two affluent brothers who are mistaken for kidnappers in a rural corner of India, was expected to get a theatrical release. Instead, Stolen has been picked up by Prime Video, where it will be streamed from June 4. The Hindi movie's emergence has benefitted from the backing of directors Anurag Kashyap, Kiran Rao, Nikkhil Advani and Vikramaditya Motwane. Written by Tejpal, Gaurav Dhingra and Swapnil Salkar-Agadbumb, Stolen stars Shubham Vardhan, Abhishek Banerjee, Mia Maelzer, Harish Khanna and Sahidur Rahaman. In an interview, 40-year-old Tejpal described himself as an 'accidental filmmaker'. A product of Mayo College in Ajmer and St Stephen's College in Delhi, Tejpal set out to be a hockey player but instead veered towards cinema. Tejpal worked in the Hindi film industry as an assistant director for several years, starting with Lage Raho Munnabhai (2006). Tejpal squeezed in a filmmaking course at the New York Film Academy, returning to Mumbai to develop scripts and shoot commercials. Stolen was inspired by a lynching that took place in Assam in 2018, a horrific incident that haunts Tejpal to this day, he told Scroll. Here are excerpts from the interview. Stolen is meant for the big screen. Why is it getting a release on a streaming platform? It would have done quite well in theatres. But the theatrical landscape across the world has become muddled with big-ticket films and star-led vehicles. Nobody is willing to take a punt or has a risk-taking appetite any longer. As more and more films with stars fail, this opportunity is shrinking further. In fact, it was a challenge even to get the film onto a streamer. Why is that, considering that Stolen was well received at the Mumbai Film Festival in 2023? It is exactly the kind of movie that streaming platforms are supposed to be championing. It's been an uphill battle. It was eventually only because of the filmmakers who got attached to Stolen as executive producers that we managed to push the film over the line. The Indian landscape is very determined by who is attached to a film. I always thought that if you made a good film, there would be a home for it. The streamers were so busy in the market that you were confident. Perhaps the latest downturn has got them thinking twice about every project. Also, they have backed films that have done poorly on their platforms. That has affected everybody else's chances as well. Every film has its own journey. This has been our journey – a trial by fire. At this point, I am relieved that audiences will get to watch the film. What inspired Stolen? The film was initially a 30-page treatment born out of an incident that took place in Karbi Anglong in Assam. Two men, a musician and a businessman, were wrongly accused of being child kidnappers and were beaten to death by a mob. The videos still give me nightmares. I had already been working as a screenwriter for smaller projects and on advertising films. I met Gaurav Dhingra during an advertising campaign. I pitched the Stolen treatment note. The coronavirus pandemic hit soon after. It was a start-and-stop time for the industry as a whole. We managed to start the shoot in January 2023. Since then, it has been like a bullet train. We shot for 26 days. We were at the Venice Film Festival in August that year. Stolen is set over a night and day, and involves fast-paced action sequences. What went into its making? It was really tough to make. A lot of work went into finding the locations. We shot the film close to where I grew up, in Pushkar, although it isn't set there or any other place in Rajasthan. I was looking for particular things in the locations, and I found them in Pushkar. I've not yet been paid a penny on the film. But what I gave up in terms of a salary, I got back multi-fold in terms of creative freedom to shoot the way I wanted and get the actors I wanted. That's the only way Stolen could have been made. No traditional producer would have let me hire Shubham or Mia, or allow me to shoot long takes. Nearly 50% of the film is one for one – meaning, there are no options for the edit, and you use the scenes as they have been shot. The film was edited in a month, I think. It was a tight schedule. Everything had to be efficient. It was such a rewarding experience that if I had to do it again the same way, I would. What conversations did you have with the cinematographers Isshaan Ghosh and Sachin S Pillai? The in- camera principles were very simple. I wanted the audiences to be on the same journey as my protagonists. I wanted to send viewers on a journey that felt a bit like a social horror. The moment this was decided, every shooting decision was backtracked onto that one principle. We shot 90% of the film with 25mm and 35mm lenses. We decided to shoot only with wide-angle lenses because we wanted an immersive experience that wouldn't be possible with long lenses because then you are looking at things from a distance. Once you have decided on the lenses, the camera position is automatically decided. You need to get close. You're over your main character's shoulder. The perspective becomes very personal because you are in a small space. Since the film is set over the period of a few hours, there are long takes. The less I cut, the more I stay with immediacy. Things are playing out in front of your eyes. There is a crunching of time, a feeling of breathlessness or claustrophobia, which is what the men who inspired the story must have felt like when they were being chased by a mob for no good reason at all. How do you prepare the actors for this kind of a shoot? The five primary actors are all highly trained. Several actors are semi-professional or real persons. Abhishek Banerjee was the first person we went to for the film. Shubham and Abhishek have been friends since college. They are super-close buddies. The chemistry that you see on the screen is real. Abhishek is instinctual and acts from his gut. Shubham is very mental, he performs in his mind. They are different in that sense. Mia Maelzer was cast after I saw some of her films. Harish Khanna and Sahidur Rahaman are again trained actors. It was a collaborative process. Since we shot for such a short period, we did a lot of in-camera rehearsals in advance. The performances were always on the lower scale of the spectrum. Because the shots were complicated and long, the actors were free to do what they had to do because they couldn't repeat the performance. We didn't even have a continuity supervisor. The spontaneity was maintained. If you are shooting from 25 angles and trying to match the shots later, it deadens the performances. What is Stolen saying about the perilous encounter between urban India and rural India? Is it inadvisable to help out in a crisis? The film does talk about the perils of having a conscience. That said, the film is about trust too. Without trust, civilisation would be nowhere, and none of our systems would work. I didn't want to make a nihilistic film. If you have a conscience in this country or anywhere else in the world, you could get into trouble. But have a conscience, do something. Perhaps the film is my callout to myself. Would I stand up in such a situation? I don't have the courage to get out onto the streets and picket against subjects, but perhaps that's why I make movies. The film could be viewed as privilege meeting the rest of India. Absolutely. I come from a privileged background. I got the best education. I belong to a bubble, and I engage with the rest of the country from within that bubble. But the inside and outside worlds intersect in weird ways. The film is about why the two worlds need to coexist, or at least be cognisant of each other. Now that Stolen will be out soon, what are your plans? I'm writing a feature for Mira Nair that will be set in Delhi. I'm also heading the writers' room for the second season of Dahaad. I have a couple of my own projects, one of which is called Umeed, a horror film about a lesbian couple trying to have a baby, written by Abhishek Banerjee, the writer of Pataal Lok and Pari. There's another film I have been working on for a long time, a romantic thriller about a young couple in a taboo relationship. The idea of combining genres with the subjects that I want to talk about is my sort of jam. Play
Time of India
26-05-2025
- Time of India
History-sheeter's illegal factory demolished in Beawar, FIR registered
Ajmer: The Beawar district administration, Monday, demolished an illegal factory belonging to history-sheeter Tejpal Singh Udawat in Gudia village of Raipur. The structure was built on govt land classified as a hill. Officials also initiated the process to revoke his ownership of nearby agricultural land, which was being misused for commercial purposes without legal conversion. The action came after a viral video showed Tejpal assaulting his driver, hanging him from an earth mover on suspicion of theft. The video prompted swift administrative and police response. Deputy SP (Jetaran) Satyendra Negi, Raipur tehsildar Ramkaran, SDM Ravi Prakesh, and police personnel arrived at the site with JCB machines. Villagers gathered to witness the demolition. "The factory was illegally built on government land. Proper procedure was followed for its removal," said SDM Ravi Prakesh. Officials also began the process to evict Tejpal from agricultural land he used commercially without permission. "Under Section 177 of the Rajasthan Tenancy Act, we are acting against the misuse of agricultural land," added Prakesh. An FIR was also registered against Tejpal Singh for breaching a legal bond. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like 자신이 전략의 달인이라고 생각하시나요? 레이드 섀도우 레전드 무료 체험 Undo He had previously been released by the executive magistrate on Oct 15, 2024, under a condition not to engage in any criminal activity for one year, as per Section 129 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). Tejpal was arrested after the assault video went viral. Just a day before the demolition, Raipur police paraded him in the local market to send a strong message against criminal elements. Beawar SP Shyam Singh confirmed the arrest and said, "Strict action is being taken. The law will not tolerate such acts."
NDTV
24-05-2025
- Politics
- NDTV
Man Hung Upside Down, Thrashed In Rajasthan, "Mafia Rule", Says Congress
Jaipur: A man was hung upside down with a rope from an earthmover in Beawar district and beaten over the suspicion of cement theft, police on Saturday said. The incident, which was captured in a video and attracted a strong condemnation from Congress, led to the arrest of a man under section 170 of BNSS (arrest to prevent commission of cognizable offences). Sub-Inspector Naval Kishore, posted at the Raipur Police Station (Beawar), said the video showed accused Tejpal Singh striking the man whose legs were tied to the bucket loader of the earthmover with a rope. "Primary investigation reveals that Tejpal tortured his driver Yakub on suspicion of diesel and cement theft. Tejpal runs a factory and had sent the driver to Jaipur with a dumper loaded with cement nearly two and a half months ago," he said. The SHO said the driver has not given any complaint yet. "Further action will be taken on FIR registration by the victim," another officer said. The state Congress denounced the BJP government over the incident, crying poor law and order. Former chief minister Ashok Gehlot asked the government how long the "mafia rule" would continue in Rajasthan? "The public is asking when will this scary game being played with the connivance of the police and administration stop?" he said in a post on X. PCC chief Govind Singh Dotasra said, "The hooliganism of mafias is at its peak in Rajasthan. In the weak BJP government, there is no fear of law on the mafias." He added, "This inhuman and cruel incident has raised serious questions on law and order, police inaction and political protection being given to criminals in the BJP rule in the state." Dotasra said that the incident was a blot on the entire system. "I demand from the state government strict action in this case and the layers of political protection should be exposed. Also, there should be an impartial investigation of the role of careless local police in the incident," he said. Leader of Opposition Tikaram Jully alleged that the criminals had patronage of the state. "This has crossed all limits of brutality. This is not only the failure of the administration, but is the real mirror of the government," he said. "How long will the mafia rule continue? At whose instigation this open hooliganism is happening? Why is the police administration a mute spectator? Whose protection do the mafias have in power? Does the government have the courage to take strict action against the accused?" he asked.
Time of India
06-05-2025
- Time of India
16-year-old mowed down by truck near Delhi-Gurgaon border, dies
Gurgaon: A 16-year-old died after the motorcycle he was driving was run over by a tractor on Mandi Road in Gwal Pahari, close to the Delhi-Gurgaon border, on Monday tractor's driver sped off after the said Sandeep had bought groceries and was on his way home in Gwal Pahari village, where he runs a food cart, when the accident occurred around 2.55pm near ASF Building on Mandi grandfather Ramkrishan told cops that passersby and commuters rushed to help. The teenager was taken to Marengo Asia Hospital in Sector 56, where doctors declared him Ramkrishan's complaint, an FIR was registered at DLF-1 police station under sections 106 (death by negligence) and 281 (rash driving) of said on Tuesday they are investigating the accident and trying to identify the tractor than 24 hours earlier, a similar incident was reported in told police that a truck rammed a motorcycle around 8pm on Sunday night, killing the pillion rider – Tejpal (32) -- and injuring the two-wheeler's truck driver is on the run."Two men were riding a Bullet when a container truck coming from Wazirpur to Farrukhnagar hit their bike, and the rear-end tyre of the truck crushed the pillion rider," Sunderlal, a shopkeeper who saw the accident, said Tejpal lived in Alimuddinpur village of Farrukhnagar and the bike's driver was his relative, to the other case, the FIR was registered under BNS sections for rash driving and death by negligence, along with 125(A) for endangering human life.
