INTERVIEW: LEENA PENDHARKAR

Director Leena Pendharkar (right) goes over a scene with lead actress Lily Javaherpour, who plays the role of Monica Shah.

‘THE PERFECT BALANCE OF SWEET AND SOUR’ IN RASPBERRY MAGIC

The story of the Shah family is, unfortunately, far from unusual—the father has lost his job, the mother struggles to fill in as the primary breadwinner, and their two school-aged daughters are caught squarely in the middle. Although filmmaker Leena Pendharkar penned the script years ago, the timing for her coming-of-age story about 11-year-old Monica Shah is right on the mark.

“In a time right now where the economy is bad and a lot of families are really struggling, we don’t always think about how children react,” she said. “This isn’t a movie about abuse or something totally crazy, but just the daily struggles that people go through.”

Her film RASPBERRY MAGIC is screening at the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival on Saturday, May 1 at 5:00PM at the Directors Guild of America BUY TICKETS (Encore Screening on Thursday, May 6 at 9:00 PM at the Downtown Independent BUY TICKETS TO ENCORE SCREENING).

The title of the film refers to Monica’s science fair project, in which she hopes to prove that the systematic application of “touch therapy” will help her ailing raspberry plants to grow. When her father abandons the family and her mother sinks into a deep depression, Monica starts to believe that it is her responsibility to fix their problems. She turns all her energy toward her precious raspberry project, believing that if she can urge the berries to grow and win the science fair, her family can be reunited.

Shah knew that it was critical to find the right actress to play Monica, since most of the film focuses on her emotional journey.

“When Lily Javaherpour walked in to the audition, I knew she was right for the part,” said Pendharkar. “She was really stoic and thoughtful. I could have gone quirkier and nerdier with the role, but I wanted someone who was thoughtful and sweet. Lily just nailed the audition with her perfect mixture of maturity and thoughtfulness.”

Indeed, Javaherpour gives a moving performance, as her Monica learns that there is more to life than science and numbers. With her long braids and soulful expressions, she captures the film’s “perfect balance of sweet and sour”—just like her beloved raspberries.

Pendharkar had struggled to find support for the project, since movies about young Indian girls are hard to turn commercial and it would be her first feature film. Moreover, the subject matter wasn’t the usual coming-of-age story for girls.

“It’s been challenging in some sense because I think a lot of young girls’ stories are about sexuality and that’s what people want to see,” said Pendharkar. “That’s really valid and important, but I think that there is an opportunity for a lot more complexity for stories about women and girls.”

With the help of her producer Megha Kadakia, she finally had the opportunity to tell the story just the way she wanted to tell it.

“What I really want people to take away from the film is this idea of children finding a place of happiness and safety in something they believe in,” she said. “That was the main idea, but there’s also a deeper idea about all of our connectivity to one another and about the importance of human relationships.” BUY TICKETS

-Lori Kido Lopez