In Outsider by Siddesh Shetty, all that Indian-Nepali youngster Veeru wants is to find a friend and to be an equal part of the village. As he embarks on an adventurous journey from childhood to adolescence, the film reveals his most profound feelings, and the heavy burden he carries due to his father’s ancestral Nepalese roots.
For director Shetty and producer Kanishka Sonthalia of Kopuku Films, it was important to explain to the SSD audience the establishing ethos of their story. “Before we dive deeper, we would like to briefly talk about the relationship that India shares with its neighboring country, Nepal, both India and Nepal share an open border, where Indians and Nepalis can travel across without a visa. But a lot of Nepalis who come to India for work become vulnerable to racial discrimination because of the uncertain economic and political situation. The implications of this discrimination, especially on the younger generation, provoked us to talk about this issue,” said Shetty.
The film notes explain how In his birthplace, a remote Himalayan village in northern India, Veeru is often subjected to ethnic slurs and physically bullied by children his age. He is frequently accused of stealing and ostracized from religious activities. This hostility challenges his naturally high spirits and pushes him towards an existential identity crisis. He finds comfort in his inner world, one that gods inhabit, but he is also on a mission to find a friend…
“We have been on this mission with Veeru since 2017, when he was only six years old,” tells producer Sonthalia. “While he was on this lookout…he soon realized that there was something causing a hindrance, a hindrance that he really couldn’t understand. Then, when he was eight, he started to understand that it’s his father’s Nepali roots that is causing this.”
“But he wondered that if he was born in India in the same village where he lives now to an Indian mother, so why will the villages not accept him as one of their own,” continued Sonthalia. “While he is a devout worshiper of Lord Shiva, and dreams about him every other night, why wouldn’t he be allowed to enter the temple to worship him?”
Added Shetty, holds a Master’s Degree in Cinematography from FAMU, Prague; “Outside is a coming of age story where the theme of discrimination is approached by a young child with great maturity. Shot over a period of five years we see Veeru understand the meaning of his mixed identity, come to terms with it, accept it, and eventually battle the hostility around it and complete the mission to find a friend.”
The film, whose budget is €230,000, of which €192,800 is raised, is expected to be completed June 2023. The project was invited to attend Dhaka Doc, a pitching and mentoring platform for documentary filmmakers held in Dhaka, Bangladesh, and the Let’s Doc Fellowship in Kolkata, India. It also won a grant from FAMU International, a Whicker Docedge Bursary Award and the SSD Prize at TokyoDocs. The film was also developed with the support of the BBC.
French co-producer Christilla Huillard-Kann of Elda Productions also revealed that the France TV platform 25 Nuances de Doc (25 Shades on Doc) is on board. “Supporting young directors is a part of my commitment as a producer, especially when the story opens up an exciting narrative and cinematic perspective,” she commented.
Added Shetty: “The film can resonate with audiences, not just in India and Nepal, but across the world, regardless of race, nation, gender and social class, because it’s about the journey of finding an ultimate human desire – to find closure and be accepted. The audience will learn about a side to India that is rarely shown in the media and how many of the issues faced by Veeru are not so different from the issues faced by people in your own countries.”
