By Arti Das
Filmmaker Amit Masurkar is known for groundbreaking movies like–‘Newton,’ (2017) which reflected the life of a polling booth officer in naxal controlled area of Chhattisgarh, and ‘Sherni’ (2021), which spoke about tiger conservation from the perspective of a forest officer—opines that now probably there is a need for local digital platforms or OTTs to showcase regional or independent films. As of now, it has become extremely difficult to release independent or regional films in theatres or on OTT digital platforms.
Masurkar was here in Goa to conduct a masterclass on filmmaking at the recently concluded Bulbul Children’s International Film Festival at Ravindra Bhavan, Margao.
He added, “Distribution of films is becoming very difficult now (if the movie doesn’t have a star or if it is not a big-budget movie). OTTs are corporations so they are interested in profits. Now probably to release a Konkani movie one can have a Konkani version of OTT like the Bengali OTT,” stated Masurkar when asked about the issues related to releasing films on digital platforms which are low budget or independent and regional films.
Masurkar also stated that compared to 20 years ago, now it is easier to make a film for a budding filmmaker due to the availability of all the information online, and also one can release it on YouTube. He added, “There are many challenges, but a decent film will find an audience, if not now then maybe after 15 years.”
For independent filmmakers, he advised them to keep their budgets very low. He gave the example of his first film ‘Sulemani Keeda’ (2014) which he released on YouTube where one can pay and watch it online. The topic of the movie was about the struggle of writers in the film industry. It was well received and thus it managed to get four times the returns on investment. He also maintained that one should have a fair idea about their audience.
“If you are making a film for yourself then you shouldn’t be bothered about the audience. But if you are making for example for Goa’s audience then you need to find out what Goans like and show something new. Having said that 90 per cent of films made get flopped as even big filmmakers don’t know what will work or not. I feel that you should make movies based on what you like and at the back of your mind you should know who your realistic audience is. It is not an easy profession. It is not like painting where a person does. You need to convince many other people who are interested in the project. It’s not an easy process.”
At the masterclass
During Masuakar’s two-hour class that mainly catered to school children, he spoke on the topic, ‘Dare to Dream: A step-by-step Guide to Making Your First Film’. He stated that the process of making a film is like meditation. He said, “One may not go to a film school to learn about filmmaking. The best way is to train yourself. The first step is to sit down and write. Then visualize and dream about it, scene by scene. It is almost like meditation.”
Masurkar throughout his class asserted that filmmaking is a technical and very creative process where one has to find their own stories, which are all around them, and weave together a narrative to be able to tell your story in the best possible manner.
He also stated, “Only one thing that one has to learn is how to think and no one can teach you that. Only you can do that. Only you have lived your life which I haven’t lived and vice versa.”
