Riding Solo To The Top Of The World
Riding Solo To the Top Of the World wouldn’t have happened if we had convinced the few financers we were talking to about Gaurav’s idea of making a 52 part television series about a group of bikers on a two-year journey to the remote parts of India. The plan was – five bikes, five riders, no back up vehicle, no film unit. The travelers would film their own journey. There would be no pre-planned screenplay, locations or events to cover and of course minus the reality television situations. No one backed us. The concept was considered dangerous, as it was “a two-year on the road” project. It was also rubbished for not having a proper film crew and a pre-planned screenplay and plots. The result - Gaurav, without any prior knowledge of handling the camera and recording sound, embarked on a solo motorcycle journey to make a film he thought was possible. A film that would bring out the true essence and romance of travel.
He returned after 70 days with 40 hours of recording and clueless about the next step. Friends and strangers who believed in the project joined in and after two and half years the film is finally out.
Riding solo for us is not about one man's motorcycle journey. It is about the journey of everyone who put in their energy, money and time behind the film. The lows they have experienced are much more agonizing than camping in sub zero temperatures and functioning as a one man film unit at 16,000 plus feet.
Having said that, all the hard work and patience has finally paid off. Discovery Channel has bought the telecast rights of the film for the Indian territory. We have received hundreds of e-mails from people who have seen Riding Solo at film festivals or the online trailer, appreciating and relating to our efforts. Jury members at Mumbai Internationl Film Festival and SIGNS Film Festival have voted it as the Best Documentary.
Brief synopsis
Riding Solo is a film about filmmaker Gaurav Jani's solo motorcycle journey from Mumbai to one of the remotest places in the world, the Changthang Plateau in Ladakh, bordering China. The film is even more extraordinary for the fact that Jani was a one-man crew who loaded his 200 kg bike with over 100 kgs of equipment/supplies and set off on a journey to one of the world's most difficult terrains.
Credits
- Director : Gaurav Jani
- Producer : Dirt Track Productions
- Executive Producer : P. T. Giridhar Rao
- Project Co-ordinator : Rajiv B. Menon
- Editor : Sankalp Meshram
- Music : Ved Nair
- Mixing Engineer : Dwarak Warrier
Awards
- Jury Award at Vatavaran Nature and Wildlife Film Festival.
- Audience Award at Independent South Asian Film Festival in Seattle, USA
- Nominated for Best International Documentary Award at the Bollywood and Beyond Film Festival - Germany
- Best Non-Feature Film at the 53rd National Film Awards, India 2006
The film leads the viewer from revelation to revelation, giving us an opportunity to come to love and know the 'Changpas' and their unique lifestyle. - Technical Award for Sound Design - Dwarak Warrier at the Indian Documentary Producers’ Association (2006).
A delightful documentary with simple but good sound of consistent quality, with the sound track adding to the film tremendously. - Technical Award for Editing - Sankalp Meshram at the Indian Documentary Producers’ Association (2006).
The film kept the viewers' interest alive for 94 mins in a feat of sleek editing. - Documentary - Gaurav Jani at the Indian Documentary Producers’ Association (2006).
A true celebration of the documentary, this solo adventure translates into a film that is an experience both personal and universal. - Audience Award for Best Documentary at the Kathmandu International Mountain Film Festival (2006)
- Nominated for Best International Documentary at the Calgary International Film Festival (2006)
- Recipient of Golden Conch for Best Documentary at the Mumbai International Film Festival (2006)
- Recipient of National Critics Award at the Mumbai International Film Festival (2006)
- Recipient of Best Documentary Award (Biography Category) at the Signs Film Festival, Kerala (2006)
- Critics Jury, Mumbai International Film Festival
