You have previously said,  ‘a place can be defined by its people, houses and streets.’ Why?

One can get some sense of a place from a certain time through its people – the way they dress, its streets, the way houses look, and the landscape. There are some things that never change, like a sunset from the top of a hill. Somethings change slowly, like a heritage site. Somethings change gradually, like a street or a grassland. Places where there was once nothing now have houses, malls, schools or parked cars. I started to find all this interesting as I travelled more and realised the photos I’d been taking along with what I do for my blog, kind of gave an idea of a place. It’s a different thing if what I have recorded and made so far (above) may not present that idea as perfectly as I want, because at the time of recording these videos I didn’t have a direction in mind.  

This is your first foray into films, which you have been meaning to make for a long time. During the last few weeks, what have you discovered about the medium of film that has struck you most?

I’m not sure. I can present an idea, or tell a story the way I want, with some videos set to music. It’s certainly more exciting and a step up from photography. Film can be moving in ways a photograph cannot be and that stirs me.  

How did this idea first take precedence and develop?

I don’t think there was much of an idea. It’s just putting all the videos together one after another. At the time of shooting, I didn’t have a direction. It was more a personal documentation of my travels. I was already taking photos and whenever I could remember to film, I would. I felt that one day I’d put all the footage together and it would be interesting. Motion, movement, films always interested me. If I saw a beautiful sunset, or a nice house, or an interesting scene, I recorded it on film. If not for the residency (and my talk – for which I specifically made the first 15 minute long version of this film), I’d have probably made this a year later. While editing I realized I like things really simple and noticed some technical issues so I will probably need to get some very basic filming equipment.  

What are the geographic names of the places in this film?

Bombay. Jodhpur. Shillong. Dimapur. Kohima. Mokokchung. Aizawl. Thimphu. Paro. Punakha. Siliguri. Dharamsala. Chennai. Delhi. Gangtok.  

You’ve mentioned this is an ongoing body of work, what are your future plans for this film?

Not sure. I think I want to make town/city specific films, but that can change. Maybe I will do a long documentary once I have good quality footage from different regions of India. It could take a long time.  

Tell us a little about the film?

Moving slow, observing, and connecting.  

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Portrait of Aizawl, 2013

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Manou is a photographer and author of the blog Wearabout. He began to photograph while studying at NIFT and started his blog in 2010 focusing primarily on documenting street fashion, runways & running short interviews with his subjects. He has been commissioned by Wallpaper*, Burberry, GQ, Vogue and his blog has been written about in numerous publications including The New Yorker, The Guardian and The Economic Times. Manou used to live in Mumbai but has been traveling since October 2013 and plans to continue exploring India/Bhutan for the foreseeable future.