Ask him why he chose to shoot in the city and the young producer reason “We have a partnering university in Kolkata and hence, we decided to film it here."
Max Zahle, on his pan, explains, India is a magical place. I've always been looking far an opportunity to visit India. But I've never felt comfortable being a tourist. I’m not interested in sights or artifacts. If I come to a coun­try, I’m interested in people, culture and traditions. Such encounters move me and this is the basis of artistic expression"
And the voting team's expression lakes shape in narrating a socially rele­vant topic. It's the story of a German couple coming to Kolkata to adopt an Indian orphan. After a couple of days, the child runs away and the new father starts looking for him in the busy streets of Kolkata. While on his journey he gets to see the magical sides of this
City that lead him to a deeper under­standing of himself. Suddenly, he becomes aware that adoption is about finding parents for children and not about finding children for parents
Ask Max if there was any particular reason that the story has a German cou­ple coming to India to adopt a child and lie answers, “Any narration can never be fully objective. There is always a message, a certain form of judgment. It would be inappropriate if I wanted to tell an Indian story. India has great directors. They should do this. I have a lot to tell and to argue about the situation in Germany and Europe. About prejudice, arrogance. egoism. So this can only be a German story but with a strong connection to Kolkata due to the fact that I feel strongly related to this place even after a couple of weeks."
Stefan continues. "We are not against adoption But we want to create a consciousness within Germany and the European society towards this concept. Fact is people opt for adoption without thinking how it might affect the child If he/she is uprooted from his/her famil­iar surrounding and placed elsewhere."
Now that the German team has been placed in Kolkata, one wonders what the experience is like. Stefan adds. "I am figuring out the process of film­making in Kolkata.” And for Max. "It is the greatest adventure of my life. I enjoy Kolkata and its people; but to shoot a movie here is a great challenge. I'm used to the German way of produc­ing movies and I've done many com­mercials over there. We're adapted to a different pace of work, to longer work­ing hours and to a different way of dis­tributing responsibilities amongst crew members.”
And talking of the cast, two of Germany's very renowned film person­alities, Wotan Wilke Mohring and Julia Richter are part of this venture.
Arindain Sil too is part of the cast apart from being the executive producer of the same.
The team had approached the stars with the first draft of the script and the concept. "They liked it and decided to be part of the venture,” Stefan fills in.
Max too wastes no words in their praise. "I love the way they approach their roles. I’m a great admirer of their work as actors. It is a great gift that both of them have decided to join this adven­ture. And being a student director I’m very proud of having the opportunity to work with such renowned actors."
The experience of being part of an international venture is undoubtedly exciting for this actor whose name was suggested by Gaurav Pandey to the German team. "I play Aran, the director of an NGO here and most of my shots are with Wotan, whose name is Jan Julia plays his wife and her name is Sarah. Wotan is a fantastic actor. In fact, the team is so professional that it doesn't look like a student’s project. Before a scene, I remember rehearsing at least 10 to 15 times to get that perfect shot," says Arimdam,  adding , “Wotan and I have teen exchanging notes on cinema and he said that he has a lot of
respect for Indian films.”
The team will be here till August 10, shooting in New Market, Latubabur and other plances that highlight Kolkata’s rich heritage.