Vikramaditya Motwane wants to support all possible platforms for small and indie films which are redefining the audience taste. The filmmaker chatted with Karan Bhardwaj
While mediocrity seems to be ruling the roost, there are filmmakers who are committed to change Bollywood landscape with their cutting edge cinema. One of them is Vikramaditya Motwane, who leaves no stone unturned in nurturing the ‘good cinema’ that could act as a catalyst in the ‘best times’ of Bollywood. The director of acclaimed movies like Udaan and lootera is now associated with Yes Foundation’s filmmaking project where he is judging the efforts of several aspiring and amateur filmmakers. It’s a nationwide project encouraging participants to make social films of up to five minutes in 101 hours on a social cause or everyday hero or an act of kindness. A total grant of `25 lakhs would be awarded to the winners to make the film. The best films produced through this programme would also be screened across national and international platforms to sensitise youth on social issues. “It’s disheartening to see that excellent short films never see the light of the day. If they are made, they are not encouraged to reach the audience. There’s a lack of proper support system or distribution network where small indie films could be broadcast and engage the audience. I think there are lots of promising filmmakers who are coming up with their niche projects and it is important to support them because they are going to make change in the industry, something we have been wanting for decades,” says Motwane, one of the jurists along with Shoojit Sarkar, Pritish Nandy, Guneet Monga and Kailash Surendranath.
The filmmaker believes though we are in the best of times in Indian cinema, there is a need to improve the cinematic sense of younger crop. “An average Hollywood film looks three times better than the Bollywood counterpart because there’s lot of professionalism involved. We don’t have that across the board. We are developing our system. It’s important to improve the overall channel of production,” he says.
In 2011, Motwane established his production house Phantom Films with partners Anurag Kashyap, Madhu Mantena and Vikas Bahl. The like-minded filmmakers joined hands to make content which was away from the conventional methods. “We want Phantom to become a brand in itself. It should be able to pull in audience regardless of stars or directors associated with the movies,” he tells us adding that he and his partners keep a check on each others’ work. “We are very transparent in our approach. Sometimes we argue, fight and hit our heads but share honest feedback. We trust each other. It helps each one of us get better as a filmmaker. We always wanted to break the clutter, so we created our own platform. On a production level, we are able to make difference with our movies. But there’s a long way to go,” he says.
Motwane has also tried his hands in editing and choreography. According to him, advanced technology and improved expertise have helped filmmakers in presenting stories effectively. “Editing and cinematography have got way better. Filmmakers are diving deeper into the subjects and presenting complex ideas in simpler formats,” he says.