‘Bollywood must transform if it has to progress’
14 Sep 2014 9:30 PM GMT
Often identified with the revolutionary new wave of Indian Cinema, this filmmaker and screenwriter first feature film premiered at RIFF and took away top honours. His production is the only one from India to have won this award at RIFF. M Cream boasts of a pretty cool cast that includes Imaad Shah, Ira Dubey, Barry John, Tom Alter, Auritra Ghosh, Raaghav Chanana, Lushin Dubey and Beatrice Ordeix. We spoke to the man himself to get a lowdown about it all. Read on...
How did this movie come into being? The story and then the screenplay for the movie?
M Cream is truly a story about the new generation in our country today, my generation. It follows the exploits of four friends who set out on a road trip in pursuit of a mythic form of hash to be found only in the distant Himalayas. Through this journey the film attempts to explore the myriad realities of rebellion indicative of contemporary India. Well it’s hard to say when the story came into being. Back when I was still in high school in New Delhi, there was an urban legend about a magical quality of hash. Everyone had a friend who had a friend who had undertaken this ritualistic and life changing adventure.
A few years later, when I was at film school in New York, I was really struck by how radical and politically aware some young people in India were becoming. In this age of commercialism, that really came as a surprise! So I combined the premise that had always intrigued me with this idea of the new generation and I set about writing the script. It took me over a year to complete and the screenplay developed into a portrayal of the new and rebellious India.
What were your inspirations?
When you take a look at the world around, there really is so much to despair about! Unfortunately, the system that is in place encourages us to be passive onlookers. I want to commit myself to challenging that very system even though the situation may seem hopeless. I find so much inspiration from all those acts of conscientious defiance throughout history whether you think about Gandhi, Martin Luther King or Nelson Mandela. We really are missing those heroes today but when I look at so many of my own peers, their simple acts of freedom fill me with hope! It is precisely this resurgent form of radicalisation of the youth in India and across many parts of the world that inspired me to start writing the script for M Cream.
How did you pick the actors?
Barry John was the first actor to be cast. He’s primarily known as India’s topmost acting guru having mentored actors such as Shahrukh Khan and Manoj Bajpai. However he’s a brilliant actor in his own right and he plays an ageing hippie in the film, a role that is sure to delight audiences everywhere! It wasn’t an easy casting process otherwise considering the fact that the script really called for character actors, a rarity in Bollywood.
The four leads in the film are Imaad Shah, Ira Dubey, Auritra Ghosh and Raaghav Chanana. Not only did we feel that they really fit the roles but they also belong to a wonderful tradition of theatre and exemplify the highest commitment to the actor’s craft. The script really demanded actors who could play with the subtext rather than play up the drama, owing to the realistic bent of the story. In addition we were lucky to get Tom Alter and Lushin Dubey on board, two other stalwarts of stage and screen! We also have Beatrice Ordeix, a talented actress from France who’s been teaching at NSD.
As the movie worked out to its final form - is there anything you would have done differently in retrospect?
I really wish I had more time in the pre-production stage. It really is like cooking you might say, the recipe needs to be precise! Even one ingredient that is out of place can lead to a stomach upset. I was lucky enough to have a brilliant Associate Director on board early on, Aban Raza, who has been the creative powerhouse driving this film. I also had two fantastic producers, Vindhya Singh and Mandira Nevatia. It really is credit to them that we were able to ride the wave as we were swept along the shoot! That being said, I do feel that I could have had more control if only I took that extra time in the beginning before diving in.
I also must mention that our film was saved in the edit room! There were so many gaps and we had overshot our budget so there was no question of re-shoots. It really was our editor, the incredibly experience Hemanti Sarkar, who pieced together the film from scratch.
What are your plans next?
We have a busy schedule in place touring with the film throughout this year! Like any other independent film, we will be showcasing M Cream at several select film festivals throughout this world. We had a wonderful reception at the recently concluded Rhode Island International Film Festival where we received the ‘Best Feature Film’ award. Over the next few months, I’m pleased to say that the film will be traveling to several other places in the United States and Europe. Meanwhile we should have news about our national premiere in India soon!
Any plans of mainstreaming? If not then why? If yes then how soon?
To be honest I’ve never really been drawn to mainstream culture, probably because my thought process is so very deviant from what one would consider ‘mainstream’. It’s not that I’ve consciously made a decision to avoid commercial cinema rather I’ve always found that my interests are unequivocally counter-cultural. That being said, the boundaries between commercial and independent, mainstream and counter culture are fast disappearing! So who knows in the near future, I may actually find that I belong to the mainstream! We’ll have to wait and see what happens.
What do you think is the ‘problem’ with movies in India?
Where do I begin? Bollywood as we know it has to undergo a complete transformation if Indian cinema is to progress at all. We still follow a studio system similar to the Hollywood of the 1950s. A handful of major production houses call the shots and have completely monopolised the distribution channels. Needless to say commercial interests dictate the decision-making as far as the creative development of a movie is concerned.
As a result, cinema has degenerated from a form of artistic expression into a commodity to be used and discarded. It makes me very sad to witness this considering the fact that India has such a rich tradition of cinema. Even so called Bollywood films from the ‘60s and ‘70s had a great deal of substance and so much to offer beyond just entertainment. Unfortunately that is no longer the case.
If you could change one thing about the way movies are made and received in this country - what would it be?
As things stand today, movies are very much driven by the star cast. The bigger the name attached, the bigger the budget, the bigger the release! All the aspects of filmmaking that should be valued - acting, direction, music, cinematography, production design and so on, invariably take a back seat as studios care only about the star! As a result, just about every major motion picture with the rare exception turns out to be a formulaic, rehashed script with a done to death storyline!
What are your favourite movies?
It’s a very long list as to be expected! However to mention a few: Apu Trilogy by Satyajit Ray, Breathless by Jean-Luc Godard, Taxi Driver by Martin Scorcese and Y Tu Mamá También by Alfonso Cuarón. I should also mention that when I was at film school in New York, the one film that had turned on more people to filmmaking than any other was The Lord of the Rings by Peter Jackson! That book really was un-filmable and it was such a delight to witness the power of the medium of cinema in translating it to the silver screen!
How did this movie come into being? The story and then the screenplay for the movie?
M Cream is truly a story about the new generation in our country today, my generation. It follows the exploits of four friends who set out on a road trip in pursuit of a mythic form of hash to be found only in the distant Himalayas. Through this journey the film attempts to explore the myriad realities of rebellion indicative of contemporary India. Well it’s hard to say when the story came into being. Back when I was still in high school in New Delhi, there was an urban legend about a magical quality of hash. Everyone had a friend who had a friend who had undertaken this ritualistic and life changing adventure.
A few years later, when I was at film school in New York, I was really struck by how radical and politically aware some young people in India were becoming. In this age of commercialism, that really came as a surprise! So I combined the premise that had always intrigued me with this idea of the new generation and I set about writing the script. It took me over a year to complete and the screenplay developed into a portrayal of the new and rebellious India.
What were your inspirations?
When you take a look at the world around, there really is so much to despair about! Unfortunately, the system that is in place encourages us to be passive onlookers. I want to commit myself to challenging that very system even though the situation may seem hopeless. I find so much inspiration from all those acts of conscientious defiance throughout history whether you think about Gandhi, Martin Luther King or Nelson Mandela. We really are missing those heroes today but when I look at so many of my own peers, their simple acts of freedom fill me with hope! It is precisely this resurgent form of radicalisation of the youth in India and across many parts of the world that inspired me to start writing the script for M Cream.
How did you pick the actors?
Barry John was the first actor to be cast. He’s primarily known as India’s topmost acting guru having mentored actors such as Shahrukh Khan and Manoj Bajpai. However he’s a brilliant actor in his own right and he plays an ageing hippie in the film, a role that is sure to delight audiences everywhere! It wasn’t an easy casting process otherwise considering the fact that the script really called for character actors, a rarity in Bollywood.
The four leads in the film are Imaad Shah, Ira Dubey, Auritra Ghosh and Raaghav Chanana. Not only did we feel that they really fit the roles but they also belong to a wonderful tradition of theatre and exemplify the highest commitment to the actor’s craft. The script really demanded actors who could play with the subtext rather than play up the drama, owing to the realistic bent of the story. In addition we were lucky to get Tom Alter and Lushin Dubey on board, two other stalwarts of stage and screen! We also have Beatrice Ordeix, a talented actress from France who’s been teaching at NSD.
As the movie worked out to its final form - is there anything you would have done differently in retrospect?
I really wish I had more time in the pre-production stage. It really is like cooking you might say, the recipe needs to be precise! Even one ingredient that is out of place can lead to a stomach upset. I was lucky enough to have a brilliant Associate Director on board early on, Aban Raza, who has been the creative powerhouse driving this film. I also had two fantastic producers, Vindhya Singh and Mandira Nevatia. It really is credit to them that we were able to ride the wave as we were swept along the shoot! That being said, I do feel that I could have had more control if only I took that extra time in the beginning before diving in.
I also must mention that our film was saved in the edit room! There were so many gaps and we had overshot our budget so there was no question of re-shoots. It really was our editor, the incredibly experience Hemanti Sarkar, who pieced together the film from scratch.
What are your plans next?
We have a busy schedule in place touring with the film throughout this year! Like any other independent film, we will be showcasing M Cream at several select film festivals throughout this world. We had a wonderful reception at the recently concluded Rhode Island International Film Festival where we received the ‘Best Feature Film’ award. Over the next few months, I’m pleased to say that the film will be traveling to several other places in the United States and Europe. Meanwhile we should have news about our national premiere in India soon!
Any plans of mainstreaming? If not then why? If yes then how soon?
To be honest I’ve never really been drawn to mainstream culture, probably because my thought process is so very deviant from what one would consider ‘mainstream’. It’s not that I’ve consciously made a decision to avoid commercial cinema rather I’ve always found that my interests are unequivocally counter-cultural. That being said, the boundaries between commercial and independent, mainstream and counter culture are fast disappearing! So who knows in the near future, I may actually find that I belong to the mainstream! We’ll have to wait and see what happens.
What do you think is the ‘problem’ with movies in India?
Where do I begin? Bollywood as we know it has to undergo a complete transformation if Indian cinema is to progress at all. We still follow a studio system similar to the Hollywood of the 1950s. A handful of major production houses call the shots and have completely monopolised the distribution channels. Needless to say commercial interests dictate the decision-making as far as the creative development of a movie is concerned.
As a result, cinema has degenerated from a form of artistic expression into a commodity to be used and discarded. It makes me very sad to witness this considering the fact that India has such a rich tradition of cinema. Even so called Bollywood films from the ‘60s and ‘70s had a great deal of substance and so much to offer beyond just entertainment. Unfortunately that is no longer the case.
If you could change one thing about the way movies are made and received in this country - what would it be?
As things stand today, movies are very much driven by the star cast. The bigger the name attached, the bigger the budget, the bigger the release! All the aspects of filmmaking that should be valued - acting, direction, music, cinematography, production design and so on, invariably take a back seat as studios care only about the star! As a result, just about every major motion picture with the rare exception turns out to be a formulaic, rehashed script with a done to death storyline!
What are your favourite movies?
It’s a very long list as to be expected! However to mention a few: Apu Trilogy by Satyajit Ray, Breathless by Jean-Luc Godard, Taxi Driver by Martin Scorcese and Y Tu Mamá También by Alfonso Cuarón. I should also mention that when I was at film school in New York, the one film that had turned on more people to filmmaking than any other was The Lord of the Rings by Peter Jackson! That book really was un-filmable and it was such a delight to witness the power of the medium of cinema in translating it to the silver screen!
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