Summer 2007
Encyclopedia
Summer 2007 is a 2008
India
n drama film
directed by the debutant Suhail Tatari. The film deals with five medical students who undergo a rude awakening of sorts after visiting a Maharashtrian
village and witnessing the misfortune of villagers. The film stars Sikandar Kher
, Gul Panag
, Yuvika Chaudhary
, Arjan Bajwa
and Alekh Sangal. Ashutosh Rana
and Divya Dutta
play the supporting roles.
), Priyanka (Yuvika Chaudhary
), Qateel (Arjan Bajwa
), Bagani (Alekh Sangal) and Vishaka (Gul Panag
) are medical college students with carefree attitudes. Rahul and Priyanka's failed relationship is shown in flashbacks. The group goes to a village in rural Maharashtra
that is struck by farmer suicide
. There they work as medical intern
s in the village hospital. The group plans a vacation to Goa
until they are awoken to the plight of the poverty-ridden villagers by the village doctor, Mukya (Ashutosh Rana
). In addition to their torment, a cruel zamindar
(Vikram Gokhale
) and his son (Prosshant Narayanan
) trouble the villagers with excessive interest rate
s.
As a solution, a reformed criminal (Sachin Khedekar) offers monetary aid to the oppressed in form of microcredit
loans. This comes as an able ally to students who vow to help the villagers. However, naxalites and corrupt politicians complicate their efforts. How these socially-awakened students rise above these problems forms the rest of the story.
Suhail Tatari, had previously directed features for Doordarshan
's Surabhi, a popular programme in the 1990s. He continued his association with television by directing soap opera
s such as Reporter, Kanyadaan, Kashmeer and Don. After making an award-winning documentary on breast cancer
, Tatari felt the urge to venture into commercial cinema. After meeting producer Atul Pandey, who was contemplating on a story about college students, Tatari convinced him to make it more relevant to the farmer suicides.
Actress Gul Panag
treated Tatari as her mentor who moulded her into an actress. Hence, she thought it was obvious that she acted in his first film. Coming from a modest beginning, Yuvika Chowdhary was happy that her stint in the television industry helped her to adjust well to films. While shooting a cameo appearance
in Farah Khan
's Om Shanti Om, Yuvika was offered a role in this film. She was, however, unsure of committing to it because of the number of newcomers. However, Shahrukh Khan
admonished her for the reason and cited examples from his own professional career. Chowdhary, after completing the shoot, was happy for her decision to act in this film. Being the son of veteran Bollywood
character actors, Anupam Kher
and Kirron Kher
, Sikander Kher considered himself lucky that directors readily gave him their time if he sought an appointment. Kher, whose debut was first with Woodstock Villa
, thought that Yuvika Chaudhary was a glamorous and a fun-loving person and this helped him enjoy working with her. Being cast opposite two newcomer actress, Chowdhary and Neha Oberoi (in Woodstock Villa
), Kher thought he cared more for the character than being cast alongside established actots. He was grateful to the director for choosing him to work in the film. Alekh Sangal, the son of veteran filmmaker Ambrish Sangal, thought that despite four other characters sharing screen space with him, he was happy with the way his character was sketched out. He was also quite happy working with Kher and Panag and felt that the movie was a good learning experience for him.
The story, which is based on the agrarian crisis of the Vidarbha
region of Maharashtra
, was written by Bijesh Jayarajan. While talking about the extremities in the urban and rural parts of India, Jayarajan said that the focus of his story was on how money-lenders are exploiting the helpless farmers. One of the characters, which Jayarajan created was inspired by Muhammad Yunus
, the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize
winner and founder of Grameen Bank
, Bangladesh
's biggest microcredit
institution. About what he termed as success for the film, Jayarajan said:
Due to technical and logistic reasons, the film was shot in Wahi instead of the originally planned setting of Vidarbha. Throughout the shoot of 45 days, the cast was aware of the farmer suicides. Panag became emotional during their discussions during filming breaks.
2008 in film
This is a list of all major films made in 2008.-Highest-grossing films:Please note that following the tradition of the English-language film industry, these are the top grossing films that were first released in the USA in 2008...
India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n drama film
Drama film
A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...
directed by the debutant Suhail Tatari. The film deals with five medical students who undergo a rude awakening of sorts after visiting a Maharashtrian
Maharashtra
Maharashtra is a state located in India. It is the second most populous after Uttar Pradesh and third largest state by area in India...
village and witnessing the misfortune of villagers. The film stars Sikandar Kher
Sikandar Kher
Sikander Kher is an Indian actor. Son of Kirron Kher and step-son of Anupam Kher, he began his filming career with Woodstock Villa . His foray into Bollywood has been met with hope and promise by the media, and received several positive reviews. As a multi-faceted person, he assisted Sanjay Leela...
, Gul Panag
Gul Panag
Gul Panag is an Indian actress, model, and former beauty queen who competed in the Miss Universe pageant. Her notable films include Dor, Dhoop, Manorama Six Feet Under, Hello, and Straight....
, Yuvika Chaudhary
Yuvika Chaudhary
Yuvika Chaudhary is an Indian actress. She was born in Baraut, Uttar Pradesh into a middle class family.She has appeared in Bollywood films such as Om Shanti Om, Summer 2007 and Toh Baat Pakki. She also acted in a Kannada film Maleyali Jotheyali.-Career:Yuvika participated in Zee Cine Stars Ki Khoj...
, Arjan Bajwa
Arjan Bajwa
Arjan Bajwa is an Indian actor who has acted in Telugu and Hindi films.-Background:Born and brought up in Delhi, His father was the Deputy Mayor of Delhi - S. S Bajwa and his mother is a homemaker. Arjan has a Graduation degree in Architecture. He used screen name Deepak for the Telugu movies...
and Alekh Sangal. Ashutosh Rana
Ashutosh Rana
Ashutosh Rana , born Ashutosh Jaisingh Neekhra is an Indian actor working in the Hindi Film Industry and the Telugu Film Industry.-Biography:...
and Divya Dutta
Divya Dutta
Divya Dutta is an Indian actress from Ludhiana, Punjab, India who appears in Hindi and Punjabi films.- Career :She did her schooling from Sacred Heart Convent, Ludhiana...
play the supporting roles.
Plot
Rahul (Sikandar KherSikandar Kher
Sikander Kher is an Indian actor. Son of Kirron Kher and step-son of Anupam Kher, he began his filming career with Woodstock Villa . His foray into Bollywood has been met with hope and promise by the media, and received several positive reviews. As a multi-faceted person, he assisted Sanjay Leela...
), Priyanka (Yuvika Chaudhary
Yuvika Chaudhary
Yuvika Chaudhary is an Indian actress. She was born in Baraut, Uttar Pradesh into a middle class family.She has appeared in Bollywood films such as Om Shanti Om, Summer 2007 and Toh Baat Pakki. She also acted in a Kannada film Maleyali Jotheyali.-Career:Yuvika participated in Zee Cine Stars Ki Khoj...
), Qateel (Arjan Bajwa
Arjan Bajwa
Arjan Bajwa is an Indian actor who has acted in Telugu and Hindi films.-Background:Born and brought up in Delhi, His father was the Deputy Mayor of Delhi - S. S Bajwa and his mother is a homemaker. Arjan has a Graduation degree in Architecture. He used screen name Deepak for the Telugu movies...
), Bagani (Alekh Sangal) and Vishaka (Gul Panag
Gul Panag
Gul Panag is an Indian actress, model, and former beauty queen who competed in the Miss Universe pageant. Her notable films include Dor, Dhoop, Manorama Six Feet Under, Hello, and Straight....
) are medical college students with carefree attitudes. Rahul and Priyanka's failed relationship is shown in flashbacks. The group goes to a village in rural Maharashtra
Maharashtra
Maharashtra is a state located in India. It is the second most populous after Uttar Pradesh and third largest state by area in India...
that is struck by farmer suicide
Farmers' suicides in India
India is an Agrarian country with around 60% of its people directly or indirectly depend upon Agriculture. Agriculture in India is often attributed as gambling with Monsoon because of its almost exclusive dependency on Monsoons...
. There they work as medical intern
Medical intern
A medical intern is a term used in the United States for a physician in training who has completed medical school. An intern has a medical degree, but does not have a full license to practice medicine unsupervised...
s in the village hospital. The group plans a vacation to Goa
Goa
Goa , a former Portuguese colony, is India's smallest state by area and the fourth smallest by population. Located in South West India in the region known as the Konkan, it is bounded by the state of Maharashtra to the north, and by Karnataka to the east and south, while the Arabian Sea forms its...
until they are awoken to the plight of the poverty-ridden villagers by the village doctor, Mukya (Ashutosh Rana
Ashutosh Rana
Ashutosh Rana , born Ashutosh Jaisingh Neekhra is an Indian actor working in the Hindi Film Industry and the Telugu Film Industry.-Biography:...
). In addition to their torment, a cruel zamindar
Zamindar
A Zamindar or zemindar , was an aristocrat, typically hereditary, who held enormous tracts of land and ruled over and taxed the bhikaaris who lived on batavaslam. Over time, they took princely and royal titles such as Maharaja , Raja , Nawab , and Mirza , Chowdhury , among others...
(Vikram Gokhale
Vikram Gokhale
Vikram Gokhale is an well known Indian film, television and stage actor, notable for his roles in Marathi theatre and Hindi films and television...
) and his son (Prosshant Narayanan
Prashant Narayanan
Prashant Narayanan is an Indian actor, known for his roles in films like Chhal, Waisa Bhi Hota Hai Part II, Shadows of Time, Bombil and Beatrice, Via Darjeeling and Murder 2. Certainly his big break came in the Bhatt banner film Murder 2.-Early life:Born in Kerala, Narayanan grew up in Delhi...
) trouble the villagers with excessive interest rate
Interest rate
An interest rate is the rate at which interest is paid by a borrower for the use of money that they borrow from a lender. For example, a small company borrows capital from a bank to buy new assets for their business, and in return the lender receives interest at a predetermined interest rate for...
s.
As a solution, a reformed criminal (Sachin Khedekar) offers monetary aid to the oppressed in form of microcredit
Microcredit
Microcredit is the extension of very small loans to those in poverty designed to spur entrepreneurship. These individuals lack collateral, steady employment and a verifiable credit history and therefore cannot meet even the most minimal qualifications to gain access to traditional credit...
loans. This comes as an able ally to students who vow to help the villagers. However, naxalites and corrupt politicians complicate their efforts. How these socially-awakened students rise above these problems forms the rest of the story.
Production
| "We are always talking about India being a superpower, and just 70 km away from any of us, the reality is something else, where 70 per cent of the people are unhappy." —Suhail Tatari, director, while speaking about the choice of the subject. |
Suhail Tatari, had previously directed features for Doordarshan
DoorDarshan
Doordarshan is an Indian public service broadcaster, a division of Prasar Bharati. It is one of the largest broadcasting organizations in India in terms of the infrastructure of studios and transmitters. Recently, it has also started Digital Terrestrial Transmitters. On September 15, 2009,...
's Surabhi, a popular programme in the 1990s. He continued his association with television by directing soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
s such as Reporter, Kanyadaan, Kashmeer and Don. After making an award-winning documentary on breast cancer
Breast cancer
Breast cancer is cancer originating from breast tissue, most commonly from the inner lining of milk ducts or the lobules that supply the ducts with milk. Cancers originating from ducts are known as ductal carcinomas; those originating from lobules are known as lobular carcinomas...
, Tatari felt the urge to venture into commercial cinema. After meeting producer Atul Pandey, who was contemplating on a story about college students, Tatari convinced him to make it more relevant to the farmer suicides.
Actress Gul Panag
Gul Panag
Gul Panag is an Indian actress, model, and former beauty queen who competed in the Miss Universe pageant. Her notable films include Dor, Dhoop, Manorama Six Feet Under, Hello, and Straight....
treated Tatari as her mentor who moulded her into an actress. Hence, she thought it was obvious that she acted in his first film. Coming from a modest beginning, Yuvika Chowdhary was happy that her stint in the television industry helped her to adjust well to films. While shooting a cameo appearance
Cameo appearance
A cameo role or cameo appearance is a brief appearance of a known person in a work of the performing arts, such as plays, films, video games and television...
in Farah Khan
Farah Khan
Farah Khan is an Indian film director and choreographer. She is best known for her choreographical work in numerous Bollywood films. Khan has choreographed dance routines for more than a hundred songs in over 80 Hindi films. Khan has since become a noted Hindi film director as well...
's Om Shanti Om, Yuvika was offered a role in this film. She was, however, unsure of committing to it because of the number of newcomers. However, Shahrukh Khan
Shahrukh Khan
Shahrukh Khan , often credited as Shah Rukh Khan, is an Indian film actor, as well as a film producer and television host. Often referred to as "the King of Bollywood", Khan has acted in over 70 Hindi films....
admonished her for the reason and cited examples from his own professional career. Chowdhary, after completing the shoot, was happy for her decision to act in this film. Being the son of veteran Bollywood
Bollywood
Bollywood is the informal term popularly used for the Hindi-language film industry based in Mumbai , Maharashtra, India. The term is often incorrectly used to refer to the whole of Indian cinema; it is only a part of the total Indian film industry, which includes other production centers producing...
character actors, Anupam Kher
Anupam Kher
Anupam Kher is an Indian actor who has appeared in nearly 400 films and 100 plays. Though mainly appearing in Bollywood films, he has had roles in some films from other nations as well...
and Kirron Kher
Kirron Kher
Kirron Kher is an Indian theatre, film and television actress and a TV talk show host.- Early life :Kirron Kher was born in Bangalore in a JatSikh family of Punjabi background. She was brought up in Chandigarh, Punjab, where she did her schooling and later college from Panjab University, Chandigarh...
, Sikander Kher considered himself lucky that directors readily gave him their time if he sought an appointment. Kher, whose debut was first with Woodstock Villa
Woodstock Villa
Woodstock Villa is a 2008 Indian musical thriller directed by Hansal Mehta and produced by Sanjay Gupta and Ekta Kapoor. It features newcomers Sikandar Kher, Neha Oberoi and Arbaaz Khan in the primary roles while Shakti Kapoor, Gulshan Grover, Sachin Khedekar, Boman Irani and Anupama Verma essay...
, thought that Yuvika Chaudhary was a glamorous and a fun-loving person and this helped him enjoy working with her. Being cast opposite two newcomer actress, Chowdhary and Neha Oberoi (in Woodstock Villa
Woodstock Villa
Woodstock Villa is a 2008 Indian musical thriller directed by Hansal Mehta and produced by Sanjay Gupta and Ekta Kapoor. It features newcomers Sikandar Kher, Neha Oberoi and Arbaaz Khan in the primary roles while Shakti Kapoor, Gulshan Grover, Sachin Khedekar, Boman Irani and Anupama Verma essay...
), Kher thought he cared more for the character than being cast alongside established actots. He was grateful to the director for choosing him to work in the film. Alekh Sangal, the son of veteran filmmaker Ambrish Sangal, thought that despite four other characters sharing screen space with him, he was happy with the way his character was sketched out. He was also quite happy working with Kher and Panag and felt that the movie was a good learning experience for him.
The story, which is based on the agrarian crisis of the Vidarbha
Vidarbha
Vidarbha is the eastern region of Maharashtra state made up of Nagpur Division and Amravati Division. Its former name is Berar . It occupies 31.6% of total area and holds 21.3% of total population of Maharashtra...
region of Maharashtra
Maharashtra
Maharashtra is a state located in India. It is the second most populous after Uttar Pradesh and third largest state by area in India...
, was written by Bijesh Jayarajan. While talking about the extremities in the urban and rural parts of India, Jayarajan said that the focus of his story was on how money-lenders are exploiting the helpless farmers. One of the characters, which Jayarajan created was inspired by Muhammad Yunus
Muhammad Yunus
Muhammad Yunus is a Bangladeshi economist and founder of the Grameen Bank, an institution that provides microcredit to help its clients establish creditworthiness and financial self-sufficiency. In 2006 Yunus and Grameen received the Nobel Peace Prize...
, the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize
Nobel Peace Prize
The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes bequeathed by the Swedish industrialist and inventor Alfred Nobel.-Background:According to Nobel's will, the Peace Prize shall be awarded to the person who...
winner and founder of Grameen Bank
Grameen Bank
The Grameen Bank is a microfinance organization and community development bank started in Bangladesh that makes small loans to the impoverished without requiring collateral...
, Bangladesh
Bangladesh
Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
's biggest microcredit
Microcredit
Microcredit is the extension of very small loans to those in poverty designed to spur entrepreneurship. These individuals lack collateral, steady employment and a verifiable credit history and therefore cannot meet even the most minimal qualifications to gain access to traditional credit...
institution. About what he termed as success for the film, Jayarajan said:
The mainstream media in the country has made a conscious effort to shield people, especially youngsters living in metros, from the rural realities. If those watching Summer 2007 at multiplexes realise this, and wonder why they never bothered about Vidarbha, the film will have achieved its goal.
Due to technical and logistic reasons, the film was shot in Wahi instead of the originally planned setting of Vidarbha. Throughout the shoot of 45 days, the cast was aware of the farmer suicides. Panag became emotional during their discussions during filming breaks.