‘Blue Mountains’, writer-director Suman Ganguli’s first directorial venture, that is scheduled for a nationwide release on Friday, explores the psychological impact of failure on teenagers in the form of depression and mental agony and their struggle to overcome them.
The film made on a shoe-string budget makes apt use of a gripping storyline that revolves around its main protagonist, Som (real name Yatharth Ratnum, a participant of the 2009 television reality show ~ Sa Re Gaa Ma ~ who had missed the finalist’s trophy by a whisker).
Amid the daily struggle for academic excellence among teenagers and youth faced with cutthroat competition, failure is a dreaded word. Small setbacks tend to drive teens on the brink of adolescence to depression and in extreme cases to suicide.
According to London-based ‘Lancet Commission on Adolescent Health and Well-being’ there are 28.65 lakh youngsters in India in the age bracket of 10-24 who suffer from depressive disorders. In the same age bracket, 62,960 deaths were reported due to suicides in 2013. The causes of depression might vary from poor showing in exams to setbacks in career and unfulfilled aspirations.
Given the backdrop of the alarming rise in cases of mental disorder, including depression among teenagers and youth, a point recently underlined by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his ‘Mann Ki Baat’ broadcast, ‘Blue Mountains’ seeks to address the contemporary issue in a poignant and effective manner using a singing reality show as its central theme.
It is about the journey of a hill town boy Som, who participates in a singing reality show and becomes a household name in just a few weeks. The film traces the steps he took to reach that instant stardom to his struggle in life after an unfortunate turn of events in the show.
“The idea came to me while watching a popular singing reality show. It then struck me what trauma that child must have undergone at the defeat he had to face. Researching about the unsuccessful participants for the film’s plot I realised it’s the need of the hour to educate parents and teachers to not just inculcate the drive to win but also to inculcate an emotional fortitude to face defeat courageously,” Ganguli told The Statesman.
Speaking about the title of the film, he said it stands for "the unattainable, the ocean the sky and success too, and mountains as we aspire to reach the top of any field/career we choose. Also the actual colour of the mountains isn’t blue, so it highlights the changing colours of life from the distance one looks at it".
At the first screening, where 204 films from across the world were in the running for the Golden Elephant award at the 19th International Children’s Film Festival, 2015, the jury comprising adolescents adjudged Blue Mountains the ‘Best Feature Film in Asia’.