Jessica Jakoinao
In the spirit of this issue’s theme of ‘capriccio,’ a celebration of whimsy and playful creativity, I dig up an old film from the family archive. In 2007, my family received a CD-R from Jammu, titled in green marker pen, Forest Kungfu and alternately Jungle Don. It is Uncle Frank’s one-and-only movie till date. I was eleven years old at the time and my cousin brother would have been seven, while the other was still a baby. I’d known my uncle for his stoic and serious demeanor, through many martial arts training sessions he’d make us children perform. So, the film was a surprise. It’s not every day you find a civil servant moonlighting as a filmmaker! The film revealed an eccentric side of him I never knew existed. Fast forward almost a decade, with the experience of surviving the daily grind, I’m surprised again by his otherwise short-of-cinematic feat.
The one-shot film, Jungle Don, emerged from the forest officer’s imagination at a forestry training institute in Jammu & Kashmir. A film combining martial arts training with conservation ethics, I’d say was innovative. Inspired by a love for martial arts, the principal officer at the time, J. Frankoi, wanted to instil both physical and mental resilience in his trainees. His vision was to enhance their commitment to protecting forest resources, all while throwing in a few kungfu moves.
The film was an in-house production, featuring a cast and crew of institute trainees and trainers, distributed on limited CD-Rs among department members, friends, and family. It was met with a mix of appreciation and amusement. Uncle Frank, both the screenwriter, director, and even starring as the martial arts trainer, orchestrated his masterpiece with minimal rehearsals. A legendary chapter in the institute’s history for sure.
Now, let’s talk about the film itself. It’s shot…well, let’s say it’s shot with a lot of enthusiasm! The complete lack of camera technique makes it impossible to suspend disbelief, yet somehow, the story feels real. The actors are clearly untrained, but there’s sincerity in their performance under a theme so close to home. While the film lacks nuance—life isn’t just black and white, good versus evil, as the plot makes it to be—it consistently breaks the fourth wall, as it tells a tale as old as time, of hundreds of incidents of forest officials getting beaten up by smugglers and lives lost in the line of duty. There’s real danger ahead for the forest officers against the overwhelming figure of the eponymous Jungle Don. However, the film in its victorious conclusion with the don’s capture, is hopeful and whimsically delightful.
In the end, Uncle Frank’s film is a testament to never knowing when creative passion may take hold of your person. Who knows, maybe there’s a Jungle Don in all of us, just waiting to break free.
Ptenopus 