Niharika Lal (BOMBAY TIMES; November 30, 2019)

Speaking at a session titled ‘Indian Cinema Inspiring Entrepreneurs’ at Film Bazaar, organised by NFDC on the sidelines of International Film Festival of India (IFFI), Vishal Bhardwaj reminisced about the first film he made and shared how the internet gave rise to opportunities that didn’t exist when he had joined the film industry. He also spoke about how the film industry has changed over time with more women occupying important positions. Vani Tripathi Tikoo, CBFC member and co-panellist in this session, advised budding filmmakers to celebrate rather than feel disheartened by rejections. Excerpts:

MY FIRST FILM TAUGHT ME MARKETING, DISTRIBUTION AND PRODUCING A FILM: VISHAL
Sharing the trouble he went through to release his first film, Vishal said, “The Children’s Films Society of India (CFSI) sponsored Makdee, my first film. They had invested around ₹ 50 lakhs. And when I showed the first cut to the committee, they rejected it. I came from a music background and there was no precedent that a music composer could become a director. When I showed the film to my friends they said that it was not a Pather Panchali, but it was not a bad film either.”

Vishal said that this gave him the courage to take the film forward. “I bought the film from CFSI, and got a loan of ₹50 lakhs, which was a huge amount for me at that time. For a whole year, I must have screened Makdee over a 100 times for distributors, and finally, I was able to con someone (laughs)! But in that one year, I had learnt marketing, distribution and every other aspect that comes after filmmaking. Those days, I used to be depressed, but later, I realised that because of that one year, I learnt how to become a producer. After this, I wrote, directed and co-produced Maqbool (2004).”

LEARN TO ACCEPT REJECTIONS WITHOUT BEING HEARTBROKEN: VANI TO BUDDING FILMMAKERS
Talking about rejections, Vani Tripathi Tikoo told budding filmmakers at the session, “You should be able to accept rejections. I tell my students not to feel bad because someone said no. The no is for the work, and not for you. You shouldn’t question your capabilities because of rejections. Instead, you should work on improving your craft. For a film, you have to work with several people, who may have a different mindset than yours. It’s almost like certifying a film.”

UNLIKE EARLIER, IT’S EASIER TO CONTACT A STUDIO NOW: VISHAL
In reply to a question on scriptwriting, Vishal said, “There was a time when it was difficult to reach a studio, but now, if you have good content, you can contact a studio. Most of the studios are now hiring writers. Junglee Pictures had developed their films’ scripts with in-house writers. Delhi Belly came to be because Kiran’s (Rao) amusement while reading the script caught Aamir’s (Khan) attention. Akshat Verma (scriptwriter of Delhi Belly) had simply sent the script to Aamir.”

Adding to it, Vani said, “Recently, I met a young filmmaker (Sanjeev Vig) who never attended any film school. But he felt very strongly about a subject and put it into a script for a short film and then sent it to Naseer bhai (Naseeruddin Shah). Naseer, who is otherwise very picky with projects, called Sanjeev and asked him to meet. The film was called Rogan Josh (2018), and it bagged several awards.”

IT’S THE BEST TIME TO BE IN THE FILM INDUSTRY: VISHAL
Vani emphasised that a young person has more opportunities to write and direct now than before. She said, “You can’t wait for eternity for someone to come and pick your script to make a film. You should make it yourself ! If no one chooses your script, use your phone camera, shoot it and post it.”

Vishal told budding filmmakers that now with the availability of multiple channels and digital platforms, it was the best time to be a filmmaker. He said, “When I came to the industry, there were two TV channels and then there were films, there was nothing in between. Today, there are so many opportunities. I think the digital boom is so good, films are doing well at the box office, so it is the best time to be in the filmmaking business. When we came to the industry, tab aisa tha jaise - film industry mein jana gunaah hai. Film mein aapka beta ja raha hai toh matlab khatam, beti ki toh baat hi chhoriye. Now, we have more female assistant directors, more female studio heads in the industry.”