How a six-year-old Canadian boy made an Indian film possible

Who would have thought that a little boy in a small town in Canada would inspire a filmmaker in India to make a film on him? The story of little Evan Leversage and the people of St George town in Canada affected National-award winning filmmaker Srijit Mukherji so deeply that he decided to base his latest film ‘Uma’ on them.

“I happened to come across a story on Facebook back in 2015. The article titled ‘The Boy Who Moved Christmas’ was about how a small town in Canada had made Christmas possible in the month of April for Evan Leversage, a six-year-old boy who was suffering from a terminal illness.” The doctors weren’t sure if Evan would live that long and hence the people of the town decided to make his dream come true. Complete with Christmas parade and snow, the town celebrated an early Christmas to bring a smile on Evan’s face. Evan ultimately died that year in December- few weeks before Christmas.

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The spirit of goodness inspired Mukherjee to take up the story and adapt it for the Indian audience. So in his film, ‘Uma’, a little girl suffering from a terminal illness travels from Switzerland to Kolkata, India to witness the city’s biggest festival- Durga Puja. The catch is that Puja takes place in the month of October every year, but Uma has limited time and her father makes her dream come true in the month of April. The story then narrates how her father hires a film crew to set up Durga Puja in Kolkata in April and how Uma gets to live her last wish all thanks to a few good men and women in the city of joy.

In its second week at the cinemas, the film is running to packed houses in Kolkata and select cities outside of Bengal. Mukherji feels it’s the story of hope that is making everyone watch ‘Uma’. “It is an incredible story. I thought of making a film on it because such a story had to be narrated. It just reaffirms one’s faith in humanity.”

Did Evan’s family show any apprehension when Mukherji contacted them for the film? “ I think they were just moved by the fact that Evan’s story could affect and inspire someone all the way in India. They weren’t apprehensive at all. Just happy that his story could be taken to India.” The director though had to explain how Durga Puja is celebrated in India. “ A cross between a New York Christmas and Rio Carnival- that's how grand Puja is in Kolkata, I told Evan’s mother.”

Mukherji also spoke to the people of St George to get their anecdotes on Evan and how they celebrated an untimely Christmas. The filmmaker states that some of the scenes in ‘Uma’ were based on the actual incidents. “ A scene in Uma has her uncles creating rain for her. In Evan’s case, the film company which actually took the task to recreate Christmas, brought in snow machine so that Evans could wake to snow in front of his house.”

Mukherji feels that in the Indian context, the story could be adapted to any other city and any other festival because it ultimately celebrates the goodness of people. “ But Durga Puja, and the way Kolkata celebrates it is cinematically stunning. I can imagine this story with Diwali as a backdrop and in a city like Mumbai and Bangalore even. Not in Delhi though,” the director adds.

'Uma' stars Sara Sengupta in the titular role. Sara, daughter of Bengali actors Jishhu Sengupta and Nilanjana Sengupta, has been earning praises for her debut film. “ Her parents are close firends of mine and I have seen her grow up. She is like my own daughter. So when I was writing the script, I kept her mind and wrote it. Sara was, of course, a natural choice for the role.” Sara’s father Jisshu Sengupta plays her father on screen as well.

Does Mukherji plan to make the film in Hindi to reach out to a wider audience? “ Not right now. Let it run its course. I am taking the film to Melbourne Indian Film Festival in few weeks.”

'Uma' has already been screened at seven international film festivals including the New York Indian Film Festival and London Indian Film Festival. And what about a screening at Evan’s hometown, where it all started? “That has to happen of course. His mother has attended the Kolkata premiere. We will take the film to St George in July. We plan to screen it in a park right outside Evan’s home.”

'Uma' is a Bengali language film. It released in theaters on June 1st to packed houses. It continues to do well at the box office.