When "Uma" is shown to people, the first question they may ask is: Why such a movie?

Because UMA is a very different kind of film from BUGABOO, Naatak's first film.

BUGABOO is a story about Silicon Valley engineers from India. It is the story of the people who

made the film.

It is about their prosperous, secure and uninteresting lives, and their attempts to find "spice" in

those lives. From BUGABOO to ASPHYXIATING UMA is a long distance for Naatak to travel

and some may wonder at the direction we have taken. UMA is not a film about Indian engineers

in Silicon Valley. It is neither a story of their problems and fantasies, nor a commentary on their

social situation. Instead, it is a story as old as the oldest Hollywood or Bollywood masala film:

a murder plot. Although the characters are almost all "Indian engineers working in Silicon Valley",

both in their off-screen lives and their on-screen portrayals, the story is not about them. It is about

a plot to murder Uma, no more and no less. And the story could have been set anywhere, among

any kind of people, in almost any century.

In one sense, UMA represents the coming of age of Naatak. We no longer want to make films about

sub-sections of society and then sell them as niche films that speak about some issues. We simply

want to make films about "general" people and their flaws, shortcomings, strengths, plans, successes

and failures. In another sense, UMA represents a return to the basics. NAATAK was not formed to

serve as a voice for certain sub-sections of society, whether they be oppressed or enlightened. It was

formed to stage thought-provoking, high quality Indian plays about the "average" Indian, the "generic"

Indian. UMA is a film about the "average" residents of Silicon Valley who merely happen to be from India.

Now we must admit that the "average" people of Silicon Valley are not as violent or "evil" as the plotters

in UMA. However, "average" people have many quirks and idiosyncracies (and of course, dark secrets) when

studied closely. And that is what we do in UMA. We look into the minds of average people and discover

their dark, hidden lives. And we want people to watch the film for its plot, its execution, its presentation. In

other words, we want them to watch it for itself, not for what it is "about".