The cast and crew of Manoj Bajpayee’s upcoming film Joram had to endure extreme heat and sandstorms during their shoot in Jharkhand’s operational iron ore mines, the film’s director Devashish Makhija has said, revealing that all the actors and non-actors on the sets had to take safety measures that professional miners take to protect themselves.
“Due to Covid we had to push our shoot to May, which is considered as the hottest month of the year in Jharkhand. In the iron ore mines which is the hottest, dustiest and most extreme place with no green cover in Jharkhand. It was 51-52 degrees. The day we began shooting, there was a terrible sandstorm. And this is not mud or soil, it’s rusted ferrous oxide,” said Devashish.
“The team had to take safety measures similar to miners to protect themselves, turning the shoot into what felt like going to war. Despite the extreme circumstances, the team embraced the challenge, mirroring the resilience of the miners they were portraying. We arguably may be the first Indian film to shoot inside a working iron ore mine,” he added.
Centered around a father, who is on the run to protect his little daughter, the movie had its screening at the Busan International Festival (BIF), the International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) and most recently, the Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival.
Manoj Bajpayee, who plays the lead role in the film, said, “We faced unpredictable challenges in Jharkhand while shooting. We had to take necessary precautions to protect ourselves from these extreme conditions. I’m so proud of the cast and crew, and also the local production team who put in incredible efforts. They did an amazing job, and their hard work made our project special, even with the tough situations we had to deal with.”
Directed and written by Devashish and produced by Shariq Patel, Ashima Avasthi Chaudhuri, Anupama Bose, and Devashish Makhija, the film also stars Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub.
A collaborative effort between Zee Studios and MakhijaFilm, Joram is scheduled to release in theatres on December 8.
