the goan I network
PANAJI
Can digital space pose a threat to cinema or is it a blessing? The interesting panel discussion at IFFI 2017 witnessed eminent film personalities like Shekhar Kapur express their views.
Speaking on ‘Digital Space - a threat or a blessing to cinema and the opportunities available to everyone using the online medium, Shekhar Kapur narrated an incident, "Someone met me outside the auditorium and asked me how to become a filmmaker. So I asked him if he is able to shoot the movie on his phone, edit it on the computer, and upload it on You Tube, he said yes. The question is do you want to be an iconic filmmaker or a filmmaker. In order to be an iconic filmmaker over a period of time, you develop the idea of the gatekeepers and in today's time, Amazon and Netflix are the new gatekeepers. So they decide but before that there were studios, production houses, etc. There's a huge technology shift. Netflix and Amazon became the rebels and became icons themselves in their space. Gatekeepers take advantage of technology."
Nachiket Pantvaidya stated that the internet medium is almost free for the consumers. So the pipes are already laid and the consumers are getting it free. "There's almost one million crore rupees invested in the pipe and so there's a huge gap between the content that is served on the pipes and investment on these pipes. There's a huge gap between Naagin and Narcos. For instance, we only have homemade food available as compared to having Mughlai or any other variety in terms of the content. That's a very important space that we are going to occupy. Digital is the way by which you can do home delivery for cinema. You can order at home and enjoy it in a different atmosphere."
Sudhir Mishra was of the opinion that most of the digital content is being watched on the smartphone. "The digital space is wonderful because it allows you to work freely," he opined.
Sameer Nair pointed out, "It's always been audiences who decide the fate of the films, and as they rightly say there's no entertainment without applause. The gatekeepers are driven by revenue and economics, so it has always been the audience that decides. Digital is a good space to be in. Today, we are not talking about theatre screens but mobile screens."
