2. Saffola Masala Oats, in many ways has brought about a true revolution in Indian cuisine; in the way we eat food, perceive food and in what food means
to us. It is a globally known fact that Indian cooking is a burst of flavour in your mouth, it is scrumptious, delicious and absolutely mouthwatering. But for
those of us who are calorie and health conscious, Indian food can be a bit of a challenge to fit in our routine regimen. In this modern world however
where almost nothing seems impossible, why should that be the case! Why can’t there be a quintessentially Indian dish that is both a burst of flavour
and good for health! Saffola asked that question; they recognized the importance of keeping in step with the progressing times while retaining the legacy
of Indian cooking. Our film focuses on one such Indian dish; Pongal, a dish that is an inherent part of Indian regional culture and gives it a modern,
contemporary twist. Saffola is able to marry Indian culture and modern values to give us a contemporary cuisine that is both flavoursome and healthy.
While this revolutionary dish is clearly the central theme of our film, what makes the film unique, compelling, engaging and truly progressive in nature is
its characters and storytelling.The beauty of this film is not just in its truly liberal and progressive ideology with the blurring of the gender roles but also
in the unpretentious and casual way it is handled. When the wife finds out that her husband is cooking pongal for the two of them, she is happy but
subtly so, she is proud without being overwhelmed with sentimentality that can sometimes feel artificial and forced. It is this quiet progressiveness and
modern thought that needs to come to the fore through performances and treatment – this film doesn’t mean to be preachy or pushy; it is indeed
quietly revolutionary.
3. Story Flow
We open the film inside a living room where a beautiful young woman is busy on her treadmill/stationary
cycle. Irresistible aroma wafts in her direction and unable to continue, she stops the exercise and walks into
the kitchen following the fragrance. As she enters the kitchen, she is surprised to find her husband cooking
first thing in the morning. She closes her eyes and takes in the incredible aroma. Carried away by the
emotion and flavour she mumbles, “Hmmm pongal.” Feeling her weakening resolve, she opens her eyes,
shakes off the temptation and says,“You’re making Pongal?”
The husband realizes only then that she is standing there. He looks up at her and quickly musters, “It was
supposed to be a surprise. Oh well! SURPRISE, your weekend favourite.”The woman vehemently protests,
“But Rahul…meri fitness!” and starts mumbling,“…aaj to calories double…”The husband looks at her and
raises the pack of Saffola Masala Oats Pongal and exclaims, “Again…SURPRISE.”The wife is now intrigued.
She looks at the pack and wonders where the surprise is.The husband is quick to explain,“Yeh oats se bana
hai.”The wife breaks into a smile and gushes “Really?!” She rushes to the packet and starts reading.
4. We transition into the product window. In ultra high speed, we see
the grains of oats fall into the boiling water. In a time slice, we can
go around these falling grains and see how thin, flaky and fibrous
each grain is.
VO: Authentic ingredients. Authentic taste. Now, made better with
oats.
The husband and wife sit and enjoy the delicious Saffola Masala
Oats Pongal Surprise.
VO: Naya Saffola Masala Oats – Pongal Surprise.
https://youtu.be/rQmnLWkyAMw?t=7
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17dxaW8UpIs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RnkmlU9l_7Y&spfreload=10
https://youtu.be/GLX7uDw7zPk?t=65
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WBJIY1ahqVQ
5. Character, Mood & Chemistry
Our film is a tribute to progressive thought and liberal
values. Progressiveness in our film is not an inconvenience
to a traditional way of life, it demonstrates how it can
coexist with tradition and heritage that give us roots and
identity. While our couple appreciates the cultural values
and lifestyle with which they have been brought up, they
are truly modern and liberal in their thinking.Two theses
clearly shine through in our film; gender equality and the
significance of leading a healthy life. Both our characters
become a mouthpiece for these modern and progressive
values without being pretentious or pedantic.Their casual
and matter of fact performances suggest that this sense
of gender equality and blurring of gender roles is an
intrinsic part of their personalities and something that
comes naturally to them. It is an attitude that they have
either been brought up with or adopted through
conscious and scientific thinking. They are a beautiful,
adorable South Indian couple that immensely loves each
other, respects each other and understands each other’s
attitudes towards life. It is this mutual respect that makes
our film truly unique, aspirational and admirable.
While they take their ideology seriously, they are fun-
loving and playful people who bring peace and
cheerfulness to each other’s lives. They are an upper
middle class couple and live in a nice house in Bengaluru.
They are both originally from Chennai but work has
brought them here.They are away from family but their
love for each other fills up the space around. Their
relationship as a married couple is still in its nascent
stage but they know each other extremely well.Theirs is
a love marriage and they have known each other for a
long time, they know the behaviour, the attitude, the
lifestyle and also how the other thinks in what situation.
It is this flawless mutual understanding that makes them
a special couple. Perhaps they studied together in college
and it’s an old love story. Their respect for each other
comes not just from this wonderful relationship but also
from a friendship that predates this new relationship.
Even though the film is simply treated without much
fuss, their chemistry and love for each other is quite
evident in every frame, even if it is portrayed only
through simple gestures, expressions and body language
and not so much through words. In fact, it is this very
approach that makes this film feel natural and authentic,
much in the vein of ‘slice of life’.
7. The husband is a software engineer who stays
incredibly busy on weekdays but on such a Sunday
morning, when he is with his beloved wife in a
wonderful home that he and his wife have
decorated with great care and nuanced detail, he
wants to make the most of it. He appreciates how
special this time, this day is when he is with his wife
who he has been married to only for a year or so.
He loves and respects his wife and while she is busy
doing her routine workout, the husband without
making a fuss starts cooking pongal for the two of
them. It is not done as a great gesture or with the
intention of impressing the wife but casually as if it is
a natural part of life and one of his duties as an
equal partner. The other striking feature of his
personality is not just that he cooks for her but also
takes into consideration her taste, her choice of
lifestyle and her health.
9. The wife is a young South Indian woman who is liberal
and modern in her thought and has a scientific outlook
towards life. She is a working woman like her husband
and comes from a progressive family that believes
strongly in education, equality and the importance of a
career for both men and women. She is a well educated
woman and works in a corporate set up. She enjoys a
good position in her company and much like her
husband, weekend is one of those rare days when she
can spend a stress-free day with her beloved husband.
Both are still young, career oriented and happy in each
other’s company which is why they do not feel the need
to have a kid just yet. She clearly is very health conscious
and believes in taking care of herself and her family by
eating the right kind of food.
The wife loves and appreciates her husband for who he
is but she is not overwhelmed by his actions because she
finds equality more natural than discrimination. He may
not be a great cook, he may not be able to contribute in
the kitchen significantly but she has never felt his
contribution towards the house any less. If he is not
cooking, he is possibly helping out with other chores.
All things considered, it is important to realize that this
modern thinking is still a transitional phase for Indians
and which is why while she doesn’t make too much of it,
she is also never under-appreciative. She respects the
fact that her husband willingly helps at home. While to
them gender equality comes naturally, they are aware of
the world they live in and ensure that they never take
each other for granted. It is this balance of casual attitude
and quiet understated appreciation for each other that
makes their relationship appealing, endearing and truly
successful.
10. T H E B E A U T I F U L ,
AMIABLE, LIBERAL &
HEALTH CONSCIOUS
WIFE
11. Look, Feel & The Visual Magic
This wonderful uplifting film about one beautiful
relationship paints a warm picture of the world we live in.
It leaves behind a positive feeling that stays with us
beyond the length of the film. A film with content so
profound and rich needs to be told with the most
flourishing strokes.The look and the feel of the film gives
us the opportunity to infuse the moods and the
emotions of our characters into the world around them.
Their happiness, their joy, their desires, their hopes and
moments of peace & tranquility would get projected in
the space around them. The world around them
becomes a visual manifestation of their psyche and their
state of mind. The space around them becomes an
extension of themselves, it becomes a part of themselves.
This marriage of the inner being and the outer world
gives us the opportunity to narrate the tale of these
wonderful characters and their relationship through
mesmerizing visual lyricism.
The film unfolds inside a beautiful modern house where
our couple lives.The warmth and affection they feel for
each other clearly reflects in the house they live in.They
have done up this house together and they love the
space that they call home. Pastel walls form the base of
the house, earthy fabrics and furnishings add a sense of
warmth to the setting, furniture in a mix of dark woods
like teak, mahogany and walnut and light ones like pine
and birch lend depth and dynamism to the room. A
sense of careful gleaning reflects in every piece that
resides in this house. A pop of bright colours, in pinks
and yellows, breaks the monotony of the beige and the
brown and occasional greenery in pots adds a sense of
freshness. In order to bring in the true personalities of
our characters, we would add some cultural elements to
the house in form of furniture, curtains, motifs on fabrics
and smaller props to suggest their rootedness and
affinity to their cultural legacy.
13. Generous amount of sunlight seeps into the house
through the sheer and embroidered curtains draped
across the windows to create wonderful patterns and
textures on the floor and the walls. This beautiful
textured sunlight envelopes the house in its golden glory
on this fine morning. Corner lamps fill up the dark spaces
and the pendant lamps hanging atop the countertop in
the kitchen lend beautiful highlight to the contours of our
characters making them look warm and ethereal.
The kitchen in its feel is much the same as the living
room – bright, beautiful and cheery but it’s a little more
chaotic and cluttered than the living room. It’s a mix of a
traditional mother’s kitchen and a modern one. A lot of
ceramics, china and metals come together to give the
space a dynamic vibrancy. Some of the open and glass
shelves showcase a collection of china handed down
through generations. Copper and brass vessels,
earthenware, stone mortar and pestle and other such
quintessentially Indian elements add a traditional touch to
this primarily modern kitchen. Colourful fruits and
vegetables strewn all over the kitchen counter and
different mugs in the backdrop add a pop of colour to
the room. Greenery by the window adds incredible
freshness to the space.
In order to make this film truly interesting and distinct,
we can give it a natural, slice-of-life like feel with hand-
held camera movements. We will make the film
evocative and visceral through interesting close ups and
centre framing to capture the peppiness, the mood and
the emotion of the characters.
The most important element of the film is food
photography. The ultra high speed shots of the oats
falling from the pack into boiling water would look
absolutely stunning and mesmerizing. In order to make it
dynamic, we can even do a time slice with camera going
around the grains to show how thin and crisp every
single grain of oat is.The Pongal in the bowl is delectable
and mouthwatering. Top good contrast lighting would
ensure that all the ingredients in the bowl look
beautifully rounded and their bright colours shine
through. A somewhat high angle shallow focus
photography will make the dish the hero with out-of-
focus elements around complimenting the dish and
adding colour and depth to the frame.
17. DY N A M I C
F R A M I N G
TO M A K E
T H E F I L M
L O O K
EVOCATIVE
& DISTINCT
18. F O O D
S H OT S –
DELICIOUS
M O U T H -
WATERING
O A T S
PONGAL
19. Music
Music is an ultimate expression of thought and emotion. Music creates
an environment, a desired atmosphere in a film while enhancing the
overall mood and emotion of the film. A happy and progressive film
such as this deserves a piece of music that is bright, cheerful, peppy and
soothing, all at once. Beautiful strings and chords create a mesmerizing
melody that interweaves into the rhythm and groove of the film to
create a piece of music that is truly evocative, visceral and emotionally
powerful.To give the film a sense of cultural adherence, a sprinkling of
Indian sounds would add a dynamic layer to the film. With heartfelt
strings mixed with Western percussion, the music would please the ears
while making the feet tap. This mélange will lend the music a more
personal and relatable touch. Modern India is a beautiful amalgamation
of Indian traditional values and Western culture thanks to globalization
and just as that reflects in everything else, it is only natural that it reflect
in the music as well. The music would reach its crescendo at the end
with the shots of oats pouring into water to create a dish that is healthy
and delicious.
20. It would be my absolute honour to be a part of a film that is a tribute to contemporary India which is a marvelous mélange of ancient heritage and
modern progressive thought. It is this inherent modernity of thought that makes this film truly distinct. The casualness with which it is portrayed and
presented makes it unpretentious and matter of fact; the way it should be. A film that is both aspirational in its flavour and progressive in its thought can
create a silent revolutionary ripple and set an example for all future films to come. Through the naturalistic performances of the characters it would
become apparent that the husband’s gesture is not grand or extraordinary, it is just the way it is. For a family that truly believes in equality, this is the new
normal.
This wonderful film demands detailing and nuance in all departments – visual, music and performances – in order to create a wonderful film that is
profound, layered and complex. The most important aspect of the film of course is the love and mutual respect that our characters share. Their
relationship is both identifiable and aspirational in nature.The performances of our actors, their actual chemistry and their inherent ability to get into the
skin of these characters will make the characters come alive.The content of this film is so rich that it is bound to etch itself in the minds of the audiences
for a long time to come. I look forward to working with you on this quietly inspirational film!
Thank you!
