For this assignment, I have chosen song 5. Listening to it, the first thing that came to my mind was hot India with its small streets filled with the sweet flavor of spices and bdellium. To apply this song to the short story, I would like to write a scene for a docudrama depicting events of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971. The idea is to make this song an associative soundtrack, so it will perfectly fit the recollections of a pre-war happy life of a young Indian soldier.
Before writing the story itself, it is essential to point to some details regarding the plot, so it is easier to imagine all details:
- Actors – young Indian actors (preferably those for whom the film will become the first role and acquaintance with the movie world to point to the problem of invisibility of deaths during wars because, in most cases, people who die in conflicts are not visible in their society or community, even though they make a significant contribution to its future welfare);
- The time frame of a story – December 1971;
- Location of the story – East Pakistan.
The story opens with portraying a young Indian soldier hiding in his fighting position. It is early in the morning, and an enemy is silent. Therefore, the soldier finds himself lost in the recollections of the life he had before this war. He thinks of everything he experienced. The very first thing that comes to his mind is his nonchalant childhood. Even though he was born in slums, his childhood was happy and full of adventures because he spent numerous hours of fun and laughter with his friends, running to the river and swimming, stealing fruits at a local market, and escaping from angry salesmen who caught little troublemakers. This scene perfectly fits with the song. The timeframe is the very beginning of the selected soundtrack – 0:00 to 0:18. It is dynamic to underline the active pace of his life. The idea is to show his moving into adulthood and the way his life changed from being a kid to becoming an adolescent who started working at the same local market to support his family. This scene will as well be accompanied by the music from the soundtrack. The timeframe for this scene is 0:18 to 0:37.
To make the memories of the soldier brighter and attract the attention of a viewer to the problem of violence at wars, the idea is to incorporate the love line in the scene. To achieve this goal, one of the recollections of the adolescent life will end up with a sudden stop – seeing a beautiful young girl at the market. To accompany this scene, one part of the song will be chosen – 0:37-0-42. At this moment, there is a sudden stop – similar to one that happened in the boy’s heart when he was blinded by the beauty of the stranger. Here, it is essential to add voices and noises common for all markets to make the scene more realistic and not isolated from life. However, all of them, along with the soundtrack, will fade out once the main hero sees the young girl.
The following scenes will depict their moments together, including engagement and wedding as well as the birth of their son. All of them will be accompanied by the beginning of the selected song (timeframe – 0:00 – 0:18). The motivation for including this part is the belief that as the young boy met his soul mate, there was a new beginning in his life and a new story. Even though the recollections are beautiful, it is essential to add the sounds of war – fire shots and explosions, so the story is not isolated from the soldier’s military service. The story will end up with a loud explosion that will pull the young soldier out of his recollections and call him to his mission. At this moment, the song will become more silent to show that the young man is no longer occupied with the thoughts about his happy pre-war life. Instead, he does want to survive. The timeframe for this scene is 3:08-3:12 accompanied by explosions.
To sum up, the story will show how soldiers miss home during their military service. The choice of the soundtrack is appropriate because it serves for associative aims. Once a viewer hears the tunes, they will think of India and become wrapped up in the atmosphere of India. However, because the scene depicts a soldier, it cannot be accurate and comprehensive without sound effects – explosions and fire shots. Altogether, they will change the visual of the story and help share the needed message. Speaking of it, the drive is to tell the following: even on war, one does not forget their past life and identity, and the past events are what helps to find enough strength and courage to return home – the place where they once were happy and loved – again regardless of all the atrocities of war and trials of life.