Moon on the Man by Prince Shah takes a hard look at reality, illusions and truth

Moon on the Man is a documentary by Prince Shah about two once-iconic characters and the turn their lives have taken

By Ananya Uthaiah and Dipti Wadhera

As an assistant director, Prince Shah has worked on movies such as Tenet and Mission Impossible – Ghost Protocol, and has won numerous awards both in India and abroad. With Moon on the Man, screened recently at the Bangalore International Centre, he charts the lives of one of India’s youngest freedom fighters and a former child artiste who worked with the greats of his time.

In a talk with The Hindu, Prince Shah shared the inspiration behind the documentary and the journey of transforming it from a mere idea into a finished film.

Driven by curiosity and a desire to understand why the protagonist of the film, Praklawn — a man well into his 80s dwelling in the red light district of Mumbai — lives as he does, Prince pieced together almost five years worth of footage to bring to life Moon on the Man. Prince met Praklawn by chance while loudly discussing a film with his friends outside a theatre. A long-haired old man approached them and introduced himself, as he often did, as a former associate of Guru Dutt.

Now 85, Praklawn, one of India’s youngest freedom fighters, has worked with actor and director Guru Dutt. He also collaborated with Ian Fleming, the creator of James Bond, in Miami. Named Prakash Lalwani, Praklawn was how Fleming addressed him and the moniker stuck.

“He has this great energy and aura, he’s a legendary guy,” said Prince, talking about him at the event.

Moon on the Man also features Sailesh Kumar, a 55-year-old man living on the pavements of Marine Drive. Prince’s college was opposite Sailesh’s usual spot, making their meeting inevitable. Conversations with Sailesh revealed that he had once been a celebrated child actor appearing in over 60 films, including some with Amitabh Bachchan and Raj Kapoor.