ONE IN A MILLION

Bronze Spike
TitleONE IN A MILLION
BrandP&G
Product / ServiceVICKS
CategoryA02. Script
EntrantOFFROAD FILMS Mumbai, INDIA
Idea Creation PUBLICIS SINGAPORE, SINGAPORE
Production OFFROAD FILMS Mumbai, INDIA
Additional Company PROCTER & GAMBLE Singapore, SINGAPORE

Credits

Name Company Position
Khalil Bachooali Offroad Films Founder & Executive Producer
Anand Gandhi Offroad Films Director
Fahad Pathan Offroad Films Producer
David Foulkes Offroad Films Cinematographer
Abhirama Kanekar Offroad Films Associate Producer
Ajay Thrivikraman Publicis Singapore Chief Creative Officer
Mihir Dhairyawan Publicis Singapore Creative Director
Maithreyi Jagannathan Procter & Gamble Associate Brand Director
Aman Pant Offroad Films Music Composer
Nitin Zihani Offroad Films Producrtion Designer
Yogesh Bhadra Offroad Films Editor

Write a short summary of what happens in the film

Nisha plays herself in the re-enactment of her true life story. Through her surprisingly witty narration, we uncover her guiding principles of never judging a book by its cover, and that love, compassion and equality can help overcome the greatest of hurdles in life.   This is also a film about parenting. Nisha walks us through endearing glimpses from her childhood, interspersed with what appear to be daily routines, but are much more challenging for young Nisha. It is these simple day to day activities that are made easier because of the care and attention she receives from her parents. This film is also about a young girl's effortless conviction in life itself, that enables her to live as normally as possible. But, Nisha’s life also bears a magical little secret - a secret that breathes hope to a larger issue in India today.

Cultural/Context information for the jury

India today has over 29 millions orphans. Having said this, ‘adoption’ is almost always treated as a last resort whenever a couple is unable to 'naturally' conceive. To add further complexity, parents who do consider adoption would never have the courage to adopt a child with a disability. Armed with this powerful cultural insight, we attempted to capture a true, honest and culturally sensitive film about a girl who was adopted despite her physical disability and brought up in the most normal manner possible, by her loving parents and siblings. It is this treatment that allowed the film to permeate into the mainstream consciousness of India, in the last 6 months. The thesis that we wanted to explore was that ‘every child, no matter what his/her physical and mental condition, deserves a touch of care’ and an equal chance to fulfil their birth-right to a respectable existence.

Provide the full film script in English.

Nisha’s distinct and unusual face fills the screen. V.O: She smiles at the viewer and says, “When you first saw me, I'm sure you asked yourself, ’Who gave her that flower?’… Mummy did.” At Nisha’s home, we follow her 7-years-old self as she plays with the family dog, her mother and siblings. She becomes the referee when playing football in an empty swimming pool. Later her mother applies lotion on her flaky, paper-thin skin after a hot day of playing outdoors. V.O: “She’s been doing it since I was a child. And I did the same with Pony! I spent my childhood playing all the time with my brothers and sisters. I always asked to be the referee. We all have our own techniques to feel comfortable…mine are just a little different”. Her mother reads her a bedtime story to soothe her as her father looks on, while an aggravating episode induced by her sickness makes her weep in pain. When a boy hands out birthday invitations in class, an alienated Nisha is upset and kicks him. Aloma teaches Nisha to apologise. V.O: “If there's one thing I learned from stories…it’s that everyone has problems. Mine just happen to be a lot more visible. Except when there's a birthday party, then I become totally invisible”. Nisha is now older. Mother and daughter, while taking a bus ride home, experience subtle discrimination from a fellow passenger, but they have learnt to laugh at these incidents. V.O: “My skin condition is called Ichthyosis. It’s not infectious. I was born with it. It has no cure… a bit like some people’s mindset”. Nisha now has the ability to laugh off incidents of discrimination, thanks to her Mother’s teachings. We see Aloma lying on a bed, ill and tired. Nisha cares for her and caresses her head. V.O: “My condition affects one in a million, but it’s my Mummy who really is one in a million. My disease is a part of my life... It is not my identity. Because my story is like everyone else’s. With some hopes, some dreams, some struggles”. Nisha and Aloma garden together in their little balcony and spend time together in their courtyard. She and her father bond over a telescope. Nisha peers through it with her partially-blind eyes. She reads from a book with passion, to a group of intent listeners at a school event. They applaud at her storytelling skills. Now, we go back to the first shot from the film. Present day Nisha is addressing a group of couples in a modest room. A screen behind her plays back photographs of instances we have seen in the story. David and Aloma are standing at the back of the room, watching their daughter with love and pride swelling in their eyes. V.O: “But there wouldn’t have been a story to tell…if, 17 years ago, two people hadn’t taken a decision. The decision to adopt me”. It is finally revealed that Nisha was adopted by her parents and that she has been narrating her life-story to a room full of potential adopters, in the very same orphanage where she was adopted, 17 years ago. V.O: “They didn’t take it out of charity, but out of love, out of care. And today, you’re about to make the same decision that they took 17 years ago, in this very orphanage”. As we pull out, we are taken back in time. The corridor is busy with kids and caretakers. Aloma and David’s younger selves are led by the warden into the same room we exited. Their excitement and anticipation is evident. Aloma and David move excitedly towards a crib. We stay on a tiny arm with flaky skin. It’s baby Nisha. This is love at first sight. V.O: “So how will you know who’s the right one for you? When you see her… ask yourself the same question my parents did when they first saw me, ‘Can’t she be ours?’” SUPER with an old photograph of a jumping Nisha: ‘Nisha was abandoned when she was two weeks old. She was adopted by Aloma and David Lobo. There are 29.6 million orphans in India. In the past year, only 42 children with disabilities found a home’. ‘Every child deserves the #TouchOfCare’.