Zero budget, mega dream

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A poster of Lo! Ho Gai Party

At a time when film budgets in Bollywood are skyrocketing, painter-turned-filmmaker Tejas Padia makes a film for gratis. Hard to believe? Well, Tejas made the impossible possible with his film Lo! Ho Gai Party, which is Bollywood’s first zero cost film.

Tejas, who is a painter by profession, started out by making portraits of famous filmstars. Later he worked as an assistant director before he made India’s first short mobile film Ek Shukravar, entirely shot using a cellphone.
Initially, without any financial backing, the concept seemed impossible to Tejas, who says, “I had been struggling for years in the industry. I wanted to make a film but had no means. But being an optimist I did not give up. One day I thought, what does it need to make a film? Money? Yes. But filmmaking is my passion. When you are passionate about something, nothing is impossible. Hence, I decided to make a movie without money.”
From the scriptwriting and casting, to music direction and shooting the film, everything was conceptualised by professionals. Having worked with Satish Kaushik as an AD, Tejas felt comfortable to share the idea with him, who encouraged him to go ahead with the project. He even acted in the film.
However, convincing people to join him was a big challenge. “It was difficult to persuade people about the idea and work for free. But eventually I met like-minded people, who shared my vision and offered support, trust, patience and resources that played a key role in materialising the project,” he says.
Lo! Ho Gai Party is comic story of five friends, who decide to celebrate the arrival of a second-hand car. What happens after that makes for a hilarious watch.
The entire project took more than two years to complete while the shoot was wrapped up in just 21 days. Since people were busy with their “salaried” work, they quickly finished shooting for the film, says Tejas.
He adds, “Many a time the shoot had to be cancelled as somebody from the cast bagged another assignment. I was prepared for it as I was not paying anybody, so I didn’t expect them to drop everything for my film. But in the end it paid off.”
Tejas plans to release the film on January 4, 2013. The promo is already available online and the publicity for the film has also been done for free. “I am thankful to digital media and people who came forward to spread a word about the film for free, keeping the zero budget concept alive.”