Indie filmmakers say big production houses are finally showing an interest in marketing their work. By I Kaur
Digitisation may have benefited all of us in some way or the other, but the way it has enhanced the growth of Indian cinema is something we are witnessing today,” said director Umesh Vinayak Kulkarni while discussing the space for independent cinema in India. He was taking part in a panel discussion at the launch of Dharamshala International Film Festival (DIFF) recently. “Today anybody who wants to express his thoughts through a film and has even the slightest of resources to do it has a big chance. This is only because of having platforms like YouTube which help them showcase their work. There is great liberation and people have the power to say what they want. The great examples of this are films like The lunchbox, Shahid, Bombay Talkies and The Good Road,” he shared.
However, the same is difficult for regional filmmakers. According to him, the market for regional films is small and the cost for production is quite high. Economical distribution is also a problem. But the situation is much better now because there are small festivals everywhere in the country that showcase young talent, but what after thatIJ There is still long road for short films, amateur content and documentaries to rise at par of commercial films. The good part is that filmmakers no longer need NFDC to finance a film’s distribution, thanks to social networking.”
Hansal Mehta whose film Shahid is set to release said that big production houses are always willing to back newcomers. “A big name like UTV will back newcomers simply because they are easy to manipulate. But whatever it is, ultimately it helps the filmmaker set his brand image,” he added.
DIFF will be a four-day-long festival in Dharamshala that will showcase approximately 30 films from all over the world covering various genres. Festival director Ritu Sarin spoke about her recent release at the PVR Director’s Rare, When Hari Got Married, and how it fared at the box office. She said, “A lot of people warned me before I put my film up in PVR, but I felt that I needed to know the response to my film. We were competing with a lot of films, so the time slot we got for the screening of the film was not very good. What was interesting was that the ones, who saw the film, loved it. What I learnt from the experience was that we are ready for such independent films. Probably if we were backed by a big production house like UTV, we could have sailed through at the box office easily. Nurturing the audience is important and film festivals are meant to fulfill that sole purpose.”
For the film festival, Umesh has created a package of eight short films across various genres. Some of those films are Dance of Ganesh by Vikas Mishra, local by Bharat Pawar, Good Morning Mumbai (animation) and Ghirni by Umesh. “I think all the films I have used are of excellent quality and deserve to be seen by people. The ability I have to present the work of these young filmmakers is what I have used to the fullest,” he summed up. DIFF will be held from October 24 to 27.