Right from when filmmaker Dibakar Das Roy was in the prestigious Doon School Dehradun, he was involved in some pretty elaborate theatre productions where he learned to act, write and direct from stalwarts. Starting off as a writer in the advertising world, Dibakar plunged into filmmaking to tell his own stories the way he wanted. Now, his debut feature film, Dilli Dark that recently had its International Premiere at the 27th Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival as part of the First Features Competition Section, is garnering praises for its deft handling of a perturbing issue.
The 100-minute dark comedy film in Hindi, English, Yoruba and Pidgin languages is about a Nigerian boy living in New Delhi who wants to get his MBA and settle in India. But his part-time job gives him a dubious double life in a city notoriously difficult for outsiders.
Starring African actor Samuel Abiola Robinson, Geetika Vidya Ohlyan, Shantanu Anam and Stutee Ghosh in prominent roles, Dilli Dark will soon be released commercially and we speak to Dibakar about the movie and more.
How did the idea about Dilli Dark cross your mind?
Many of us have grown up seeing blatant prejudice against dark skin in our country, and this is something that has affected me deeply since childhood. It makes one feel like an outsider in one’s own country – and this led me to create a story about a Nigerian man living in New Delhi and struggling to belong.
I had seen many articles and real-life stories of Africans being mistreated in Delhi for being dark-skinned and I could identify with their hurt as I have been bullied in the past for being dark-skinned too. This shared emotion inspired me to create the story of an African man struggling to find a space for himself in a hostile city, where he becomes a metaphor for every person who may feel like an outsider in the world today.
How was it working with Samuel Abiola?
I was auditioning other African actors based in India but somehow I was not happy with their physicality and style of performance. This was when I came across an article about a Nigerian actor who had moved to Delhi and I got in touch with him. I sent him the script and we seemed to vibe from the get-go. He is a talented actor and was willing to put in the work to bring the character to life and I think all our hard work and prep has come to fruition.
Your upcoming projects?
I just completed a screenplay and several others are in the developmental stage. There is an element of comedy or satire in them, no matter what their genre is, and yes, these are all stories that are OTT friendly, united under my vision of making meaningful yet entertaining cinema for the masses.