Local Film Debuts
“Trade Offs” includes scenes shot in Carlsbad, Encinitas, La Jolla and San Diego

By Angela Holman
Staff Writer

Aug 8, 2003 - For more than a year, Vikram Yashpal has been trading off time he could spend at home with his wife and young son to follow his dream and make a movie.

Yashpal’s feature-length independent movie, “Trade Offs,” is about the greed and temptation that often accompany dreams and desires.
The movie is set in the backdrop of Southern California, during the 1990s dot-com boom.

But more than that, the film is about a girl discovering who she is, what possibilities are in front of her and her gradual evolution into a woman.
“It’s a story of choices people make every day,” Yashpal said. “People make trade-offs in their life all the time.”

The main characters of “Trade Offs” are Manu and Sapna, who were recently married and immigrated to Southern California from India. Their marriage was arranged, so they don’t know each other or their new surroundings.

Manu is lured by greed into becoming an illegal day-trader of Internet stocks in what is known as a “pump and dump” scheme. Manu is so consumed with greed he forgets about his wife and their marriage pays the price.

Sapna is tempted by her desire for a charming, yet cocky young man named Sunny, who relentlessly tries to win her affection only to turn out to be a complete jerk.

Rahul Malhotra, Yashpal’s younger brother and an executive producer of “Trade Offs,” plays Manu. He describes his character as an ambitious risk taker who’s pretty normal, but complex as well. “Everything he’s doing may be bad, but there’s some sort of reasoning behind it,” Malhotra said.

Malhotra came to America from India when he was 17, so he said he can understand the expectations and hopes Manu has, but they look at life from different angles.

Sapna is played by Deypika Singh, who describes her character as a woman who’s had guidelines her entire life, moves to America and realizes those same guidelines don’t fit anymore. “She’s struggling to find herself,” Singh said. “It’s a fascinating transaction that she makes.”
Singh is also from India originally, but that is about all she has in common with Sapna. “She’s a lot more open-minded and gutsy than I am,” Singh said.

“It’s very much a female power movie,” Singh said. “It really shows the strength of a woman. It’s really about a woman coming of age.”
Anup Sugunan, a producer of “Trade Offs,” plays Sunny. Sugunan describes Sunny as a wannabe player who’s very laid back.
“I’m not really a player at all, so this part was really hard for me at first,” said Sugunan. To find the inspiration to be a cocky player, Sugunan thought of his favorite movie character, Hans Solo.

“Trade Offs” had a small budget, but according to Yashpal the movie was made with passion, not money. “Making a small, independent film with no money is a crazy idea,” said Yashpal, who believes the movie only turned out the way it did because of the passion and commitment of everyone involved.

The movie was shot in the San Diego area over 22 weekends because almost everyone involved in “Trade Offs” has a full-time job. Shooting for the film began at 4 a.m. and often lasted until midnight. “It was just fun, because everyone wanted to be there,” Malhotra said.

Yashpal believes all the love he has given away in life came back to him through help from his wife, family and friends. “Every step of the way people have helped me generously,” Yashpal said.

Yashpal’s contagious passion and excitement to make the movie is what really motivated everyone to invest so much of their time in the project, said Singh.

Many people involved had no previous movie experience, including Yashpal, “Trade Offs” writer, director and producer. He said he learned how to do everything through Amazon.com. Yashpal bought books on scriptwriting, producing, budgeting, editing and directing to learn everything he could about making a movie.

Though the story is based on an Indian couple, it is not an Indian film.
“This is an American film, an American story, but shown through a cultural angle, a cultural point of view,” Yashpal said.

Scenes from the films were shot at various locations throughout San Diego, including the Porche dealership in Carlsbad, the beach in La Jolla, Encinitas, San Diego airport, Whole Foods and houses owned by the filmmaker’s friends.

The San Diego Film Commission helped every step of the way and even let Yashpal use their offices to shoot some scenes for the movie. “I would say the San Diego Film Commission is amazing,” Yashpal said.
On Aug. 2, “Trade Offs” premiered at the Carlsbad library. It was the first time anyone saw the movie, including the cast and crew. The movie is lacking a distribution deal, but Yashpal is not worried.

He plans to take the movie to a lot of film festivals. On Aug. 9, “Trade Offs” will be shown at the Toronto South Asian Film Festival and on Oct. 5, it will be shown at the San Diego Asian Film Festival.

Yashpal hopes the movie is a success, but even if it isn’t, Yashpal’s happy he can say he tried.

“It was great making a film,” Yashpal said. “It gave me the experience to become a better human being.”