ONE IN A MILLION

Short List
TitleONE IN A MILLION
BrandP&G
Product / ServiceVICKS
CategoryA06. Editing
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.

Tell the jury anything relevant about the edit. Do not name the editor.

We wanted the editing to be invisible, yet provoke the viewer by bringing attention to Nisha’s condition and her family’s brave support, while still maintaining the dream like quality of the cinematography. Our aim was to build together engaging visuals and scenes that flowed naturally with Nisha’s voice over. As we oscillate between the present day and her younger self, while staying true to her emotions and past experiences, the idea was to also keep the viewer hooked onto Nisha’s journey. It was tricky to edit without a music track, something we composed only after the offline was locked, but in many ways it proved to be the best way of using the sweet and poignant moments captured on camera and chart a more fluid order of shots with the V.O alone. It allowed us to be more authentic this way.

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