Where do I find a hero? This question came to me when I was 13, on a rainy day, when my bicycle was broken and I was going to school, which was 9 kilometers away.
But I had dreams. I grew up with that spirit, and felt upset looking at the new India where millions of children are still out of school. I was travelling across the country for a documentary on child labour, and spent hours with them on local trains, brick kilns, brothels. The only thing I wanted to ask was - who do they look up to, who should they be inspired by? I decided to work on the story of a child who wanted to become something on his own. I realised I needed a hero to inspire him, and I did not find anyone but Dr Kalam. All I needed was his voice. I could make a film on his words. For me, he is the true hero of modern India- Nila Madhab Panda, director, I Am Kalam
Nila Madhab Panda, who made a celebrated entry into the film industry with the critically acclaimed I Am Kalam (2010), like most Indians, was saddened to hear about the demise of former President APJ Abdul Kalam. While making the film on a child labourer who dreams to become a big shot, Nila was looking for a figure that could inspire the child, and he could find no one more fitting than the Missile Man of India who could motivate a child to follow his dreams. "I Am Kalam is not about a personality or even a film," says Nila, "It is a metaphor for the new India where people dare to dream and go on to achieve it. The protagonist of my film was a child labourer who wanted to become something big. But I was looking for a superhero-like character who could inspire this kid, as I believe aspirations require acceleration. So, my first question was, who could be this superhero of India - a cricketer, or Bollywood hero? But they entertain us more than they inspire us. Also, the basic quality of any hero is that he is selfless. So, could it be Gandhi or Nehru? Then again, we had not seen them or heard them live. At the present time, I saw no one better than APJ Abdul Kalam (nor do I see anyone in the near future) to take up that role of a person who could inspire not just a child, but generations to come. Thus, a film which was earlier named 'I Dare To Dream' became 'I Am Kalam'."
When asked what Kalam's reaction was after watching a film named after him, Nila reminisces, "I had told him that the film was not on his life, but on the message he spreads. He was someone who believed in reaching out to people. Being the self-effacing man he was, he did not comment on his role in the film. But after watching the film, I fondly remember, he said to me, 'You are sending a great message to the world'."
Apart from the film, Nila was himself inspired by the towering personality of the scientist-turned-political figure. "His life is an example that anybody can achieve anything. I am a person who started from nowhere to become whatever I am today, and about 70% of India is like that. They live in their humble abodes and are dreaming to achieve something big. Kalam's words and deeds encouraged us all," he says. Nila also says that that he had studied a lot about Kalam while filming, and had read all his books. "I like all his literary works, but India 2020 remains my favourite," he says.
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