Exploring The Real Life At IIT-Kharagpur With Pratik Patra

Exploring The Real Life At IIT-Kharagpur With Pratik Patra

For most middle-class students, the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) presents the hope of successful careers with big pay packages at the end of rigorous academics. But for a few others, the Mecca of engineering is the launchpad for newer aspirations. Pratik Patra, the director of ‘Alma Matters: Inside IIT Dream’, is of the latter breed. My City Links got into a freewheeling chat with the young filmmaker on his passion for celluloid as well as the docu-series on the lives of IIT students streaming on Netflix India.Excerpts:

You dropped out during your final year at IIT-Kharagpur to pursue filmmaking. Tell us about the journey.

I was born and brought up in Rourkela. I later moved to IIT-Kharagpur for further studies. At that time pursuing a degree at IIT seemed the right choice because we did not know of any career option other than engineering and medical. But after joining the institute, I realised that I did not have the interest for engineering or its rigours.On the other hand, there were several extracurricular clubs on campus and I joined filmmaking. Then there was the realisation that I was passionate about filmmaking and it really intrigued me. So in the final year of my engineering, I dropped out. My parents were of course disappointed because IIT was a big deal. Nevertheless, they supported me to explore my passion.

Tell us more about your association with filmmaking on the campus and beyond.

IIT-Kharagpur is located on the outskirts of the city and the campus is supposed to be your entire world. So the students have started different groups and clubs and are very actively involved in it. On my part, I became involved with a few seniors who worked on short films and other projects.

One senior, Ashay Ganguar, started a company called Camera and Shorts after his graduation. I got in touch with him and came to Mumbai. Things panned out thereafter. I met Prashant Raj of Dopamine Media. He pitched the idea of making a documentary on IIT-Kharagpur. Basically we wanted to present the elite institutions of India and explore what goes on inside them and what makes them what they are.

So how did you finally start shooting Alma Matters?

Yes. I directed one episode and co-directed two otherswith Prashant Raj.

Initially we were clueless over how and where to start. Then we thought of exploring an on-campus event called ‘Illumination’. It is organized during Diwali. Students at IIT-Kharagpur celebrate it uniquely and lavishly, though fireworks are banned. Lighted diyas are tied to big frames and it looks truly astounding. We chose this event because it would give us an insight into the camaraderie and bonding on campus during the celebrations.

But after shooting the Illumination event, we realised that there are many more things that need to be told about the institution. There are several more layers to be explored such as campus placement, friendship among students, gender issues and so on.

In this way, our docu-series focuses on arts, sports, elections, event management and several other pursuits in which the students immerse themselves on the remote campus that is their whole world for the five years they are there.

How is your documentary different from what we generally know about IITs?

A lot has been talked about big institutions like FTII and IIT, but the entire truth has never been revealed. People are shown the sparkly life, glamorous placements, huge salary packages or the darker side with student suicides.

The narrative of this docu-series is exploratory in itself for the students who come in with grand ideas, are disillusioned, and then spend time figuring out what they really want in life.

But there’s much more to it than what meets the eye such as the culture in these institutions, the influences on the students, what makes themsuccessful, their vulnerabilities and other issues. In other words, Alma Matters explores the hidden aspects that comprise life at big institutions; the complete journey of the students there.

Does the documentary reflect your personal journey as well?

It is both an exploration of what I experienced at IIT-Kharagpur as well as what I had missed out. Since I had dropped out in the final year, I had no idea about the placement scenario. So this was exploratory and a new revelation for me.

The journey of the students through different rounds of the placement, the stress involved and how they handle failures and success. During the nine days of placement filming, at one point, I had the option of choosing to either film the toppers who had been placed and were celebrating or follow the students who had not fared so well academically, and were still clueless about what they wanted to do. By following the latter, we explored anaspect of IIT —students who are unsure about their own aspirations and future — that is often ignored.

How did the shoot go?

Everything was shot at the institution itself. I believe people in India aren’t yet open to documentaries because all they have seen are the ones on Nat Geo and Discovery Channel. So we wanted to explore the genre, give information, raise questions and conversations and yet be entertaining at the same time.

So we wanted to push through the barriers of what people think documentaries should be. So we had ex-IITians as well sharing their experiences. We wanted to show their perspective too so as to compare how things have evolved. It was fun actually. We had a very small crew. The students were helpful as well.

Tell us something about your upcoming ventures.

Documentaries are what interest me the most. So more documentaries are coming up, I believe. But everything is on pen and paper now. Documentaries take a long time to make. It needs research, exploration and expertise.

Finally, what is your message to IIT aspirants?

Explore the inner you and know what your potential is or where your interest lies in. Manage your expectations and balance it out with reality. Understand that this is a place of learning that is going to define you as a person and also how you think. It is not about changing your life, your perspective, and it is certainly not a manufacturing unit to set your life. Believe in yourself and you are good to go.