- India
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The hairstylist-cum-musician-cum-filmmaker on her many roles
See,this is why you need gumboots, says Sapna Bhavnani,leaping into a puddle and splashing water everywhere. Can you guys do this? she yells,as she jumps up and down,clearly pleased with her most recent purchase,a funky but sturdy pair of wellingtons. Its only just stopped raining,but earlier that day,when Bhavnani invited us to go street shopping with her,the inclement weather drove everyone indoors. In Bhavnanis case,it was one of the shoe stores lining Linking Road,Bandra. I need a pair of gumboots since the rains are already here, she says,trying on two different pairs,as her scruffy Doc Martens sit next to her. No,shes never polished them,she says,referring to her abandoned DMs. I ride a bike and polished boots just dont go with the look, she explains.
Bhavnani has a lot on her plate a music track called Mad O Wot performed by Ishq Bector and choreographer Uma Shankar,a short film production house called Mad O Wot Productions and her band,Translation of Intent. The production house happened on a whim, Bhavnani says,I wanted a song for the salon,since were so big on music. Arijit Datta,the vocalist of Airport,spun out a lovely combination of R&B,rap and qawwali. Its totally commercial,but its also very creative, she says. It was when they were shooting the video that a friend suggested to Bhavnani that she seriously consider making short films.
Short films really dont have a suitable platform in India, says the 39-year-old. Mad O Wot Productions is already working on two films. One is about a woman whos decided early on that she doesnt want children. She has multiple abortions without realising that they can wreak havoc on the reproductive system. The other story is about the process of creativity, she adds.
At the moment,shes most excited about the upcoming release of the track Mad O Wot. I picked that name for the song because its such a Mumbai thing. No matter what people here talk about,a mad o wat will creep into their conversation, Bhavnani explains,The song captures the spirit of the city and with its mish-mash of genres and slang,manages to be commercial,but also creative.
Later,when Bhavnani sits down for a late breakfast at a nearby cafe,she reveals that shes never really had formal training in anything. I took some training in hair cutting only after Id already been at it for sometime, she says as she scoops in a forkful of scrambled eggs. Similarly,Ive also taught myself filmmaking. She even took YouTube tutorials to learn how to play bass in her band,which besides herself and Datta,also has drummer Adrian DSouza and Vinay Lobo of Airport. Shell be playing classical Indian ragas,but the experiment doesnt scare her,just like a lack of training in hairdressing didnt keep her from opening her own highly successful salon. I believe in pushing the boundaries, she says,So I go left,when everyone else is going right. Otherwise,how will you get noticed?
Playlist
Raat – Airport
Tere Naina – Kailash Kher
Raanjhan – Begum Abida Parveen
Mockingbird – Eminem
Bomb Track – Rage Against the
Machine