The first day of an internship is expected to be exciting, an opportunity to meet new, interesting people and learn wondrous new pieces of information. Fortunately for me, these expectations were more than fulfilled on my first day interning at the Godrej DEI Lab because of a conversation my team and I got to have with Anand Vijay.

Meeting Anand Vijay: A Pioneer in Filmmaking

Who is he? Anand Vijay likes to introduce himself as the only legally blind producer and director in India. In the afternoon we met, Anand kicked off his conversation with an audience of ten eager listeners by starting from the beginning, which was how he fell in love with filmmaking while completing his bachelor’s degree in mass media and chose it as his career path.

Anand then went on to share how his family tried dissuading him from going ahead with it. “My family was a very conventional middle-class family with a father who had a PhD and a brother who unfortunately went to Stanford, leaving a very high benchmark for me,” he told us.

“They were blown out of their wits when I revealed to them, I wanted to make films. They were like, ‘You absolutely can’t do it.’” However, Anand remained steadfast. Today, because of his sticking with his passion for filmmaking, he has received multiple accolades and awards such as the Helen Keller Award and many others.

Founding Flop Films Private Limited

Specialising in the making of commercial films and web series, he founded Flop Films Private Limited in the year 2014 with the simple aim of ‘having fun,’ something he found lacking in the Indian film industry. I loved getting to see how dedicated and passionate he is about bettering Indian cinema, and Anand also has great ideas on how to do so.

One of the things that struck me during the conversation was his multifaceted, broad approach to the world and to work. For instance, we talked about how India, one of the fastest developing nations in the world, is building vast amounts of infrastructure but often runs into problems of quality.

I found one of his suggestions for improvement striking in this regard: he said, simply, that communicating to workers in a modality they understand would ensure that the quality of their work improved.

The Quality Conundrum in Indian Cinema

This matters because he believes this idea could be applied to Indian cinema, too. While the production of films currently occurs at a fast pace, Anand believes that their quality is under par. This realisation might have been prompted by his experience working with a foreign company.

“They asked me, ‘You guys worship your actors, and you produce the most films, yet why are you so bad?’ And I was like, ‘Okay, sorry, but what am I supposed to do about it?’”

Navigating Obstacles as a Legally Blind Filmmaker

Anand’s story of navigating the obstacles he faced as a legally blind filmmaker truly inspired me. As a fellow film aficionado and a student who wishes to pursue a career in cinema, an industry infamous for its gruelling and unpredictable career paths, Anand’s stories were a great motivator.

They taught me not only about how he broke down the barriers posed by the industry but also the ones that arose specifically as a reaction to his disability.

Over the years, Anand has acquired skills that allow him to carry on in his work and make sure to give the best output. For example, he can now tell what exactly is going wrong on set by just hearing what’s going on in the frame.

He has learnt the concepts well enough to be able to discern what’s in focus and what’s not in focus in each shot. He can observe contrasts and fix problems accordingly because he has understood the patterns of his work well enough.

Adapting Gracefully to Challenges

As I listened to Anand’s methodical approach to overcoming his hurdles, it instilled a new drive in me. His words showed me how to adjust to your situation gracefully and make the best of it. While Anand’s story specifically applied to moviemaking, isn’t it applicable in other aspects of life as well?

However, the personal obstacles that arose for him as a legally blind producer and director also caused other issues. For example, while Anand was perfectly capable of doing his job efficiently and effectively, companies would often be wary about working with him.

He jokes, “That’s why it’s easier over email as the other person cannot see you’re visually impaired, rather than face-to-face. When I reach there, they’re like ‘Oh you have a slight eyesight issue,’ and I say, ‘Yeah, just some eyesight issue.’”

Shifting Perspectives on DEI

Those obstacles have also made him feel like he’s had to stay away from certain topics. For instance, topics concerning a very relevant matter in this Lab, diversity, equity, and inclusion.

He believed – perhaps not without reason – that creating films on those topics would take the spotlight away from his work. I’ve learned that this is a real issue for people from historically excluded groups, who are often pigeonholed as experts on a particular type of oppression that affects them closely.

Also, majorities have a way of assigning specific issues as someone else’s problem: so feminist issues become purely a woman’s problem, and disability inclusion becomes purely a matter for people with disabilities.

Anand did not want this narrowing of possibilities to happen to him. He assumed that his collaborators – who he had tried so hard to convince that he would work cheaper, better, and faster than the others – would probably think twice before working with him.

Nevertheless, Anand’s opinion on this has now drastically changed. He refers to his previous decision to not work with DEI as one that was a big mistake. In the future, he wishes to delve deeper into topics related to DEI and believes there should be better storytelling around those stories.

Reflecting on the Importance of Merit

Let me take a detour for a moment to ask: Why was Anand forced to think that he wouldn’t be judged solely based on his work? Why is it that anyone is not judged solely based on their work?

The fact that people must ensure and maintain the spotlight on their work by following certain guidelines is unnecessary. The spotlight should remain on their work, irrespective of the person.

A Memorable Experience at the DEI Lab

At the start of this article, I claimed that an internship is expected to fulfil the expectation of meeting new people and learning wondrous pieces of information, and that my expectations were successfully met by conversing with Anand Vijay. While I certainly did learn about his experience working, which served as great motivation, I also learnt a lot about Anand Vijay that I related to.

For example, he doesn’t prefer to work on the same thing repeatedly. Secondly, I also learnt that Anand dislikes templatism. But perhaps the quality I found most admirable was his dedication towards and passion for the betterment of society. I found his perspective on so much we spoke about to be fresh and pragmatic, putting aside the unnecessary complications we have created that cloud the matter.

Anand Vijay’s visit to the DEI Lab was a truly memorable one. While he joked that he wasn’t prepared for such a large audience, he held our attention masterfully. A rare sunny day in these gloomy monsoons was made brighter with Anand’s optimism, his stories of tenacity, and his commitment to the art form that is filmmaking.

Text by Jai Shah. Jai is an intern at the Godrej DEI Lab and a high school student. Image by Rolie Breja.