Shuaib Wani revisits his 30-day non-stop journey with Umar Dar and Shadab Gillani
After the newsroom decided to get into Jashn-e-Ramzan (JeR) 2, with a male host, it took a few days to motivate and encourage Shadab Gillani to anchor the show. As the managerial backend man, I needed a camera person who is a driver too. Eventually, it was me and Umar Dar who had to be in either-or partner with Shadab.
Unlike JeR 1, the sequel was better structured and had a full-fledged research team, a proper crew, a male host, and a female editor. It was a 30-part, double of JeR1.
Getting Equipment Ready
In a few days, I arranged a Sony 4K camera, three iPhones, a gimbal, some extra storage cards, batteries and chargers so that we did not face the mid-shoot mess. On the eve of Ramzan, we visited Srinagar’s Shahr-e-Khas to shoot certain sequences for the first episode.
As the month of fasting set in, I had suhoor and headed to the office only to be shocked that Umar was unwell and had not reported to the workplace. This is not something that we did not anticipate. We are trained to deal with anything as long as the anchor is all right.
Knowing that all journeys’ first steps are difficult, we started from Khanqah-i-Muala, Islam’s first major address in Kashmir. We captured the shrine inside out and then it was time for the quiz. In a panic, we had forgotten the quiz gifts at the office so we requested Imran to get them. He arrived with the gifts from the office and extra equipment and assisted me in recording the rest of the show.
Big Crew
Every time, we start a new series, we always need extra help because each episode is a basket of several ingredients – quizzes, bytes of people, small stories around and b-rolls. The latter is a complete section because they make the film. Our focus was basic: to capture the feelings, experiences, and people of every location we visit; and explore the surrounding beauty of life and locality. Till Umar recovered, a week later, I had to manage entirely on my own, almost akin to JeR1. I did my best but a lot was amiss. Tragically, most of the time was consumed in encouraging folks to speak up and face the camera.
This may look humorous but the fact is that the most difficult aspect of our work was finding a safe place to park the car and then lifting the gifts and equipment manually. Every episode had five questions, five giveaways, in fact, some more for kids. I recall a couple of occasions when we got correct answers but we had no gifts as they had to be fetched from the car. By the time, we got the gifts, the participants were home!
In Tral, one of our friends, an erstwhile internet at Kashmir Life assisted us in carrying gifts and arranging the bytes. On the way home, we recorded an episode in Awantipora, which had previously been tough because no one spoke and I could not capture B-rolls owing to the bright sunshine. So we waited and captured the quiz and the data. We were engaged in capturing the Ziyarat Mantaqi Sahib when we heard the azaan. It was iftaar time, and we could not locate anything to break our fasts, so I located a bottle of water in the car for breakfast. We resumed work after the Namaz.
Umar’s return was a great help. He used to film the B-rolls as we two talked to people.
We normally wanted to get through the quiz part quickly, but luck was not always on our side. Getting people to talk was the most challenging part.
For peripheral locations, we would start after the Suhoor. For working in urban locations, we had to wait till markets opened. The best moments to shoot are always sunrise and sunset, but we had to shoot all day, whether in the morning, noon, or evening.
The most difficult thing for a filmmaker is to remain completely present while capturing individuals. Many people get into the frame but wish they were not recorded. Many individuals approached us saying, “Bhai, please delete this video.”
There are interestingly mischievous people around, almost everywhere. At Charar-i-Sharief on a Friday, when we were talking to a roadside vendor, a young man “alerted” him that we were photographing him without his permission. We had to show him the camera record to ensure that we did not record anything.
Fasting and Travel
Working while fasting is beneficial as it allows you to focus solely on work and worship. Normally, part of the day gets consumed in tea breaks and lunch. Working on this series was both a privilege and a challenge. We barely slept after Suhoor and arrived home late. However, we offered prayers across Kashmir’s best Masjid’s and Khanqah’s that we had the privilege of profiling. It was a spiritual odyssey.
Special Moment
Certain moments were unforgettable. In Dal Lake, a dawn shoot was mesmerising as we captured incredible beauty with only birds chirping. Deep inside the waterbody, we captured the maze of waterways and wooden roads. In a perfect setting, we captured the anchor in all poses possible. We got an interesting shikarawala who rowed us into the entire lake, helping us meet some people whom we might not reached normally.
Capturing Ramzan 2024 was a unique experience in storytelling in a different way. We hope we repeat it in 2025.
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