Day 475: Mausams for Charity?

8 March, 2011

The profits for all my previous productions (plays mainly) had gone for charity. I usually produce the show, i.e. make the necessary investments, but cover the costs with ticket sales and give all the profits towards charity. Whatever the profits were (sometimes in a couple of thousands, sometimes in a few hundreds), there was always a feeling that at least the whole exercise benefited someone somewhere other than just the working team who gained some memorable, fun experiences.

With Mausams I had not intended of doing the same for the simple reason that even breaking even, let alone making a profit, doesn't seem likely. Even though the costs are really "minuscule" when associated with a feature film, it is still a reasonable sum personally and my screenings in Singapore are not going to cover it.

So somewhere in the back of mind I had this nagging (almost guilty) thought that this time my project is not doing anything for a bigger cause. Somehow that didn't seem right.

But to be frank, I had not given it too much thought either because I also didn't want to get into the very tedious process of finding a suitable charity that I believe in, organizing special screenings for the purpose, finding out what the donation process would be etc. You would be surprised at the work needed for these things sometimes! It's not as simple as writing out a cheque! They are not always straightforward and I didn't want to go through the hassle since am fighting enough fires with the current issues regarding the ratings and screenings of the film already.

But today, as I was trying to spread the word about the screenings with my friends, one of them popped up and suggested this idea of doing an exclusive screening for a charitable organization that she is part of. And better still, she offered to figure out all the logistics for the event herself!

It was like a message from God! Looks like Mausams is destined to contribute something for the bigger cause after all! Obviously, I pounced on the offer.

The whole deal would be finalized only post the screenings that have already been planned in Singapore and also depending upon the suitability of the film to the audience at the charity. But at least a door opened for me to throw out the nagging feeling and at the same time not really having to put in much effort, because the ball is completely in my friend's court. But I sincerely hope it works out!

In any case, the offer made my day!

525 more to go.