jay joshi
Underlining that one should follow one’s conviction regardless of profit and loss while making a film, Madhur Bhandarkar stated that digital streaming platforms are offering better opportunities to young filmmakers who are pushing the envelope in terms of creativity today. The veteran director was addressing a Masterclass as part of 50th IFFI in Panaji, and also shed light on how he draws upon narratives from real life in order to make films.
“I was told to make entertaining cinema and not get into experimenting. I did not come from a film family, and getting a break was difficult. People were not willing to put money into message oriented ideas, and wanted safe commercial cinema,” said Bhandarkar. “ There is no doctrine as to what works at the box office. It depends on your conviction. People took it lightly when I made ‘Page 3’ but when the film was released, it was well received at the box office,” the filmmaker stated.
The masterclass session was moderated by film critic and business analyst Taran Adarsh.
Taking the session ahead, Bhandarkar observed that the film industry witnesses a revamp every four to five years, and has changed for the better over time. “Earlier, Censor Board used to be strict with filmmakers, but now, there are OTT platforms which have no censors and offer better opportunities for filmmakers to be creative. Young filmmakers are also pushing the envelope in terms of content. The audience too is open to receiving imperfect and ambiguous endings,” said the filmmaker, responding to Taran Adarsh’s question on why many films faced criticism in early days.
Further on, Bhandarkar also elaborated on his filmmaking style which tends to draw significantly upon people and incidents in real life. “My work doe show real life on screen, and it has indeed seen extreme reactions from people. However, we see people’s personal content being put up on social media, or in books and articles, but why is it that only films tend to stir controversy on this issue?,” questioned Bhandarkar. He further informed that his research and material for movies such as Fashion, Traffic Signal etc comes from insiders from those worlds who often choose to share information and remain anonymous. Bhandarkar also noted that movies wield a significant influence on society.
