1982, Monsoon. I was working for the Ananda Bazar Patrika Group. I had a meeting next day in Bombay (now Mumbai) and was scheduled to catch a late evening flight. I returned home to collect my bag and start off for the airport. The streets were completely waterlogged. As I reached Ballygunj Phari I found in the dim light a man standing on the footpath and much like in foreign countries making signs to stop the car to take a lift. I noticed, hesitated but did not stop. A few meters away I told my driver to make a U-turn. A gentleman with a foreign accent trying to wade off the torrential rain requested for a lift to the airport. What a coincidence. I told him to hop in and as he was wet he opened the front door slightly and started to shout: Gotam… Jagga. Two men came rushing. They were Goutam Ghosh and Jagganath Guha. He told them he has found a transport. Goutam Ghosh was elated. Off course I know Aloke! But the gentleman introduced to me as Sergio Scapagnini would have nothing of that. I found him while you were searching for a Yellow Cab. We got talking all the way to the airport and thus began our lifelong friendship.
2001. Summer. Sergio came to Calcutta and I met him with my son, Rahul who was then five. Sergio narrated to Rahul a story of little boy. His name is Lala. Lala is an eleven year old boy who leaves his village for Mumbai to help his poor parents buy the land they had been farming on lease. It’s about his adventure — both good and bad — in a big city where he strives to create a world of love and honesty for himself, his family, and everyone around him. The story is based on a true character that Scapagnini met during one of his many trips to India. He met this boy in Madhya Pradesh when he was working on a project to build a Centre for the Bhils in Madhya Pradesh funded by Allessandro Borgia. Most of you must have heard about the Borgias in Italy, but that is another story.
2004. Spring. The Story of Lala is published by Penguin Books India. Translated from the Italian by Frederico Poole ; illustrated by Anitha Balachandran. The book reaches the top with 10,000 copies sold and start getting translated into many languages , both Indian and foreign. The heart wrenching rags-to-riches story of a little village boy. Lala is eleven when he resolves to go to the great city Bombay to aid his parents, who are desperately poor, and to buy his father the plot of land which he has been tilling for years as a tenant. Lala's dream is simple: he wants to create a little world of honest and rewarding work so that his family can live without fear. But this simple dream is not easy to realize, and at each stage lie new and bigger challenges for the little boy. From his first sight of a market in Benaras to his first train ride, from his encounters with the Great City to his life as a fisherman where he takes on the might of the ocean, Lala's days are marked by hardship and misadventure, but also by love, friendship and humour. And he never lets go of his dream. This is the true story of a boy whom Scapagnini met on his annual trip to India.
2005. Winter. Sergio Scapagnini went on to produce a documentary 'The Impermanence, a journey into the world of the DalaiLama', directed by Gautam Ghose, which had its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival attended by Richard Gere. Sergio Scapagnini thus introduced Dalai Lama to the world in a big way through this award-winning documentary film and also to Ghosh.
2006. Spring. Sergio Scapagnini and Gautam Ghosh plans to make The Story of Lala into a film which will see a top Hollywood actor make his debut in India. The film, which will bring in the issues of the Narmada Bachao Andolan in the context of human displacement of a boy, might star Richard Gere in the role of an author. The story was about how a child is forced to leave his village and move to Mumbai. His only dream is to buy a plot of land for his father which he has been tilling for years as a tenant. Gautam developed the story further and contextualized it in Madhya Pradesh and integrated it with the backdrop of the Narmada Bachao Andolan. For Gautam this movement has a lot to do beyond the ecological matters. Without getting overtly political, “Lala” will deal with the issues of human displacement. This young boy meets up with a European author who had written a book on Madhya Pradesh. After 20 years, this author returns to Madhya Pradesh to see what kind of development has taken place. It is during this reality check that he chances upon Lala on the Juhu beach. This meeting changes his whole outlook towards the Narmada Bachao Andolan. Sergio was the producer of an award-winning documentary on His Holiness Dalai Lama. Richard Gere is also very close to Dalai Lama and thus the link to get Richard Gere on board to be part of the film. As for the 11-year-old boy, Ghose wants to cast a new actor. Considering the Narmada Bachao Andolan is a very important part of the film, will Medha Patkar feature in the film. Ghosh had long discussions with Medha regarding this movie. She has helped a lot and given a lot of contacts that has helped in the recee. There is a part in the film where Goutam could have Medha doing a cameo. But Ghosh is yet to decide whether to shoot that in a documentary style or not. Shooting for this Indo-Italian co-production will be done in the Nimad Valley of Madhya Pradesh, Mumbai and some parts of either south of France or south of Italy. The script requires shooting either in early spring or during the monsoons.
Sergio has expressed that there will be other award-winning technicians working on the film also like Amado Pagani. It is a film that a lot of people in Italy are looking forward to.
2020. Summer. With the pandemic the production of The Story of Lala has come to a halt. It is the first Indo-Italian co-production based on the first novel of a well-known Italian producer Sergio Scapagnini. The film will be the first co-production after India signed a treaty with Italy.
2021. Summer. 'The Story of Lala' , based symbolically on the legend of Ulysses is in the first stages of production. At the moment, the filmmaker is on the lookout for a talented Indian boy who would play the title role of Lala in the film. The Italian cast is finalised with Marco Leonardi, Emanuele Esposito, Cristina Donadio. The producer of the film : Indrapur Cinematografica, Classic, Rai Cinema, supported by Ministero della Cultura, Ime Motion Pictures, Aadi Culturtainment.
Wish them all the best to get the film moving after the pandemic with so much of positivity .
Images : Sergio Scapagnini and Goutam Ghosh on the lawns of the Consulate of Italy in Kolkata.
The cover of the book published by penguin.
One of the Original Manuscript given to Rahul by Sergio.
Richard Gere.
Sergio, Rahul and myself.