Writer-director Ravi Kapoor stops by on Close-Up Culture to talk about his film, Four Samosas.
The film follows an unmotivated rapper, along with three other first-time thieves, who plan a heist on a grocery store owned by his ex-girlfriend’s father, in order to steal her wedding diamonds and disrupt her pending engagement.
You can see Four Samosas at the Raindance Film Festival in October – Four Samosas + Q&A – Raindance
Four Samosas will screen at the Raindance Film Festival. How excited are you to bring the film to the UK?
I’m super excited! I’m originally from the UK. Born and raised in Liverpool, and I lived in London for ten years, so I’m stoked to share FOUR SAMOSAS with family, old friends and the Raindance audience!
Four Samosas is a heist movie. What do you enjoy about this genre, and what twist did you want to put on the genre?
I think heist movies are ultimately relationship movies. They’re about people coming together and trying to see eye to eye; dealing with issues of trust; and how the stressful situation of stealing somebody else’s shit reveals deeper issues and anxieties. And while we have that stuff in FOUR SAMOSAS we are definitely leaning into the quirky comedy version of it.
Also, I was really interested in doing a “low-fi” heist film with no guns or car chases or fancy gadgets, but still keeping the emotional and comedic stakes high.
Can you tell us about your collaboration with Sagar Desai on the music for Four Samosas?
Sagar had worked on the music for my very first short film and he’s quite brilliant. He’s from Chicago but then he moved to India to work out there, so he’s got the western, South Asian, and all the stuff in between, musical cannon covered. He also really gets the quirky sensibility of the film and is able to push into it.
You also have a role in the film. What can you reveal about that?
Yeah, I figured I might as well give myself a day of acting work while I was writing, directing and being a producer on the film. Figured I should cover all the bases and have some fun too.
Four Samosas is set in LA’s ‘Little India’. Can you tell us more about the setting and how it is felt in the film?
Artesia is LA’s “Little India” and it’s definitely got its own vibe. It tends to have less foot traffic than places like Southall or Jackson Heights in New York. That’s partly to do with the Southern California heat – which we wanted to bring out in the lighting – and driving culture. But it’s all happening inside the sari stores and restaurants and threading salons. FOUR SAMOSAS is a bit of love letter to every “Little India” anywhere; principalities where you can get a taste of the motherland without getting on plane!
I’ve already heard wonderful things about the film and it looks like it’ll be a great success. What will be your biggest takeaway from this project?
To artistically lean into the things that appeal to you and trust you’ll find an audience that likes that same stuff, rather than trying to game what you think others might like.
What can audiences at Raindance expect from Four Samosas?
A giggle and a warm feeling in the upper left-hand quadrant of their chest.
What are your plans and ambitions for the future?
Make more films! I got something set in Liverpool I’d really love to do. Just sayin’.
See Four Samosas at Raindance – Four Samosas + Q&A – Raindance
Keep up with Four Samosas on Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/foursamosas